Fuel economy has become a major concern over the past few years. There are many reasons why but mainly it is because of the ever rising gas prices and the growing concern over global warming. As we know, carbon dioxide contributes to the rise in Earth’s temperature. One of the contributors to the high Co2 levels is what is emitted from our vehicles (the transportation sector). Additionally, the US is very dependent on foreign oil and because of this dependence we have to pay whatever the market price is for gasoline because we have no other choice…or do we?

This image depicts how much energy is lost and from where when it comes to a vehicle.

The automobile industry has been making strides in trying to develop more fuel efficient cars.  One of these developments being the Hybrid vehicle. Hybrids use both traditional gas engines in combination with electric motors improving upon the vehicles overall fuel economy. One of the many cool features of a Hybrid car is the automatic start/shutoff. The car’s engine shuts off when it is stopped and comes back on when the gas is pressed. This is just one way that the car saves on energy.

Below is a simple diagram of a Hybrid Vehicle.

In addition to the Hybrid the automobile industry has also developed electrical vehicles which are powered by rechargeable batteries. These cars emit NO tailpipe pollutants into the air. With this plus, there are some downfalls to the electric car which may account for why they are not very popular. For one, the battery is very expensive and it is inconvenient for the driver  to have to keep recharging the battery. Some might say that this is a small price to pay for saving our planet but others may disagree when they are in a hurry to pick up their child from soccer practice and the car still has an hour left to charge!

Lastly, alternative fuel vehicles are an option. These cars use fuels other than gasoline to power them. Although this helps with our dependence on foreign oil these alternative fuels still pollute the air and contribute to the rise in temperature.

Below is a chart from Consumer Reports Feb. 2012 that lists the top fuel efficient cars.

 

		Fuel Economy
Rank	Make & model	CR Overall MPG	City MPG	Highway MPG	150 mile trip MPG
1	Nissan Leaf SL	1061	861	1181	1241
2	Chevrolet Volt	612	452	761	702
3	Toyota Prius Four	44	32	55	53
4	Toyota Prius v Three	41	33	47	46
5	Lexus CT 200h Premium	40	31	47	46
6	Honda Civic Hybrid	40	28	50	50
7	Smart ForTwo Passion	39	30	44	46
8	Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE	38	32	43	42
9	Honda Insight EX	38	29	45	46
10	Volkswagen Golf TDI (MT)	38	27	49	44
11	Volkswagen Passat TDI SE	37	26	51	27
12	Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI (MT)	36	25	49	37
13	Honda CR-Z EX (MT)	35	26	45	41
14	Volkswagen Jetta TDI	34	25	45	41
15	Fiat 500 Pop (MT)	34	25	42	41
16	Ford Fusion Hybrid	34	25	40	41
17	Scion xD (MT)	34	25	40	42
18	Mazda2 Sport (MT)	33	25	40	40
19	Fiat 500 Sport (MT)	33	24	42	41
20	Mini Cooper (base, MT)	33	24	41	41
21	Hyundai Sonata Hybrid	33	24	40	39
22	Honda Fit Sport (MT)	33	24	37	41
23	Ford Fiesta SE sedan	33	22	45	41

In conclusion, I think that it is a step in the right direction that the automobile companies are developing more fuel efficient cars. This is because, there are so many people on this Earth and many of these people drive cars on a daily basis. This fact greatly contributes to green house gas emissions and in turn, global warming. As I have stated in previous entries it is definitely going to take more than a few people driving Hybrid cars to end global warming; it is going to take a more drastic collaborative effort. I also, think that the automobile industry should continue to make advances because they have done great things and I will be interested to see what they will be able to do in the future.

References:

www.fueleconomy.gov/

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/new-cars/buying-advice/most-fuelefficient-cars/overview/index.htm

http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/