New (err old?) Technologies

Fear not, there are some interesting, and entirely plausible technologies that are being developed that could in fact make the 200+ pounds of Carbon Dioxide emissions per fill up a thing of the past.

The first thing that comes to mind, is an all electric car. For years, it was completely cast aside because the technology was not there - there was simply no way engineers could get an electrical battery to produce the kind of power a combustion engine could. And then, once they could do that, it cost a fortune.

Now it's arguably gotten better, with the Chevrolet Volt on the horizon. Sure it's just one vehicle and it won't change the industry (even the Toyota Prius, the face of hybrids hasn't changed the entire auto industry) but it serves as a good example of what engineers are coming up with to simply use less gasoline.



The Chevy Volt is different than normal hybrids because it operates on the concept of series, rather than parallel. It has a battery which, under normal driving conditions, is supposed to power the car, without any use of gasoline, for up to 40 miles. From then on, the gasoline engine kicks in, keeping the car's batteries charged. And once you're home, the Volt then plugs in to an outlet and charges the batteries. All said, General Motors claims that the car will get 230 MPG.

Yes, I'll say it again. 230 miles per gallon. Personally, I'm a skeptic of this, because as we now know, driving habits will make things so much more different in the area of fuel economy, and plus, what is GM's definition of "average driving conditions"? Nevertheless, even if it's a more respectable 100+ miles per gallon, it could theoretically change the industry.

Note theoretically. You would think that people would flock the car, but they won't for one particular reason.

Cost.

It's the curse of every new technology. The Volt is said to be available as a 2011 model late next year, but at somewhere around $40,000. This places well above the mainstream consumer, which becomes a problem for anything to change an industry. More than likely, we will see these cars, and any other cars like it from its competitors, have a slow start and maybe after 5-10 years, will pick up.

New technologies are always an odd bet - by the time one technology matures and becomes mainstream, it almost always becomes obsolete by then. So we will see what happens.