Common Sense Things We Can Do To Decrease America’s Reliance On Oil (and Save a Few Bucks) (Part 2 of 10)

Think Gas Sipper

If you are looking at buying a new vehicle or looking to downsize your gas-guzzler, there are a few options available right now that will reduce your gasoline consumption. Electric hybrids are the latest craze. They achieve excellent fuel economy for the consumer and because the vehicle still runs on gasoline, it was relatively inexpensive for the automobile industry to retool and there was no need for the petroleum industry to retrofit their service stations. The most fuel-efficient hybrid, the Toyota Prius, gets 48mpg city (45mpg hwy). You no longer sacrifice automobile size because most vehicle classes now have electric hybrids available.

Flex-fuel vehicles have been around since the 1980s. Flex-fuel vehicles can run on gasoline as well as E85, a bio-fuel blend composed of an 85% ethanol/gasoline mixture. Flex-fuel vehicles reduce gasoline consumption but at the expense of fuel economy. E85 gets 20-30% less miles per gallon than gasoline alone. There are a few other disadvantages. There has been a backlash against the bio-fuel industry because ethanol plants compete with the food industry for corn, the main source of ethanol in America. This has driven up the prices of food goods in the supermarket. Flex fuel vehicles are not any greener than your regular gasoline powered car or truck. E85 is cheaper than gasoline, though, and as the cost of gasoline continues to increase, an E85 blend will become more economically appealing to consumers. There is no argument that based solely on the mission of reducing reliance on foreign oil that flex fuel automobiles make good sense.

So, what’s the next evolution in the auto industry? A common sense way to increase fuel economy is to reduce the automobile’s mass. A car that weighs less takes less fuel to push it down the road. Now, I know what some of you are thinking, “Man, I’m not giv’en up my Suburban to drive something akin to a Yugo.” That of course, would be ideal, but it’s not how it has to be. I said lighter, not smaller. Breakthroughs in materials science have provided automakers with a lighter alternative to the steel frames in today’s vehicles. Quite possibly the car of the future will have a carbon fiber composite frame, the same material used for the skin of the Boeing 787 “Dreamliner”. Carbon fiber is light and strong. It weighs 1/5 as much as steel and is just as strong and stiff. A carbon fiber frame could increase fuel economy by as much as 30% without tampering with the internal combustion engine. Prototypes with carbon fiber composite frames like the Hypercar and Toyota 1/X are already road tested.

Now couple carbon fiber technology with a better engine. Electric cars are an attractive alternative to gasoline-powered automobiles because they “don't have to be as complex mechanically as their gasoline counterpart. Sophisticated electronics and software take the place of the pounds and pounds of machinery required to introduce a spark and ignite the fuel that powers an internal combustion engine.” Another bonus, electric cars produce zero road emissions. Not only do they reduce our reliance on foreign oil, but they are greener. Just plug the car into the wall socket at night and you’re ready for your morning commute. Critics argue that electric cars merely divert pollution to the smoke stacks of power plants. To the contrary, electric vehicles are at least 50% cleaner than their gasoline counterpart when powered by coal source energy and the capability is there for power to come from renewable sources like water, wind, and solar. The biggest knock on electric vehicles is that they are still comparably expensive to today’s automobiles. There are companies, like Tesla Motors, that are trying to make a go of it. And if you can’t get over the stereotype that an electric car won’t have the same ‘muscle’ as your GTO, check out the Tesla Roadster.

If hybrids and flex-fuel vehicles don’t fit in your budget and you can’t wait for the next generation gas sipper, simply think lighter. Lighter vehicles with smaller engines burn less gasoline. Yes, you may sacrifice testosterone laced, muscle throbbing engine power, but your checking account won’t take a hit every time you fuel up. And possibly maybe the ladies or the soccer moms will respect your patriotic, environmentally sound, pocket book friendly, good common sense.