As long as gas prices keep going up, people will keep talking about cars that don't use gas. There are a lot of alternative fuel cars on the market today, like ones that run on ethanol made from corn or bio-diesel cars that can run on the same oil that McDonald's fries are cooked in. However, most of the alternative fuel cars on the market today are hybrids.
Hybrid cars are alternative fuel cars because they use both fuel and electric power to get better gas mileage. Alternative fuel cars have been around since about the same time that the first car was made, but the market favoured fuel-only cars because of their speed and power. Before, hybrid alternative fuel cars could only go about 25 miles per hour, and it took them about 10 minutes to reach that speed.
Because gas prices are going up and cars are making more pollution, the auto industry is putting a lot of money into cars that don't use gas. Hybrid cars that use other fuels have become very complicated, and each car maker uses the hybrid part of the car in a slightly different way. Some hybrid alternative fuel cars use the electric part to give the car's engine an extra boost while it's running or when it's starting up. Other hybrid alternative fuel cars use the electric part to turn off part of the gas engine when it's not needed.
Recent hybrid alternative fuel vehicles, like the Honda Civic hybrid, still had problems because they didn't have much power. However, some of the newer hybrid vehicles on the market today, like the V6 Honda Accord, have more power and save more fuel at the same time.
The auto industry is putting a lot of effort into making better hybrid alternative fuel cars that can keep their power and get better gas mileage. Hybrid ideas are also being used in trucks. Hybrid trucks get a little bit better gas mileage without losing power, and they also have a place to plug in power tools right on the truck.
No one knows what will happen to hybrid alternative fuel cars in the future, but it's likely that gasoline, which is the most common fuel source, will be phased out in favour of cheaper and more accessible fuels. Future hybrid cars that use alternative fuels may be able to get even better gas mileage and more power, and they will produce less pollution.
The starting price for a car that runs on something other than gas is about $20,000. Alternative fuel cars are in high demand, but their production hasn't caught up with that of regular cars. This has kept the price high. In the US, if you buy a car that uses an alternative fuel, you can get a tax break. The government also puts money into alternative fuel cars. Alternative fuel cars will continue to be a popular topic of conversation among people who drive to work, and they will keep getting better over the years.
