Not Your Grandfather’s Car

Cars today are built differently then they were in our grandfather’s day.  Today they are an engineering masterpiece of at least 15,000 different parts and moving pieces.  They still use the standard combustion engine, have four rubber tires and metal bodies, but of course the design of the vehicle’s body have changed considerably.  All vehicles need energy to run and they may still use gasoline or diesel fuel, and of course oil to keep all the parts lubricated and moving smoothly.

There are cars today that run on a combination of gasoline and electricity.  These hybrid vehicles work in tandem, running on electric until the special battery winds down and then switching over to gasoline as the battery charges back up.  Hybrids are helping to keep the pollution level down, but they are still expensive to buy and the way the vehicles are made makes them heavy.  Some countries offer owners of hybrid vehicles tax breaks for purchasing them.

Another alternative power source for vehicles that is being tested is fuel cells.  These are composite membranes, wires, and a box that is combined together to hold fresh supplies of hydrogen.  It mixes with oxygen with the aid of a catalyst to make the chemical energy that drives the motor.  The only by-product of fuel cell energy is water.  While fuel cells may be the most economically sound energy for a vehicle, it is still only in prototype and testing stages.

Published by admin on September 24th, 2008 in Economic Cars, Saving Fuel, General