Published March 17th, 2011
Important Car Buying Information
Initial car buying information, people think about speed, luxury and style when considering a new car. But nowadays fuel is also a key concern for buyers. Many are examining not only the look of the car, but also its fuel economy. Fuel-efficient vehicles have become a popular choice for car buyers. In addition to efficient cars, some consumers are also considering vehicles that use alternative fuels.
Buying a vehicle that uses alternate fuel can save you a lot of money in the long run and help reduce air pollution. Some alternative fuels include ethanol, biodiesel, natural gas, propane and hydrogen.
Ethanol actually comes right from corn. You may already be using this alternative fuel without even realizing it. Ethanol is currently mixed into some of the fuel supply, and has been for decades. It helps reduce exhaust emissions by adding oxygen to gasoline. And E-10 (a 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline mix) can already be used by cars from every major automaker in the world.
Biodiesel fuel is even cleaner-burning than ethanol and is produced from vegetable oil. The oil must be produced to meet industry specifications, but is already being manufactured by several producers and distributors. It is important to note that biodiesel fuel is different from raw vegetable oil. However, biodiesel fuel is easy to incorporate into your vehicle. Any diesel engine can use biodiesel fuel with few or no modifications to the car itself.
Another option is getting a car that runs on natural gas. Natural gas is already used for things like heating and electricity in buildings. But it can also be used in cars. The setback, for now, is that this requires modifications to the vehicle. But overall, natural gas is cheaper and cleaner burning than gasoline. It is 90 percent methane, which allows it to burn more efficiently than gasoline.
A byproduct of natural gas is actually propane, which can be used as a fuel in its own right. Propane does tend to be more flammable than other fuels, but is available widely already; it is currently the third most popular vehicle fuel. With a few modifications, a gasoline-burning engine can be changed to burn propane instead.
Hydrogen is also becoming a popular alternative in vehicles. However, the cost of this technology is holding it back at the moment. While hydrogen is extremely environmentally friendly, equipping a car with the technology to use hydrogen as fuel, and paying for hydrogen itself, is a costly endeavor.
The alternatives mentioned above often involve modifying an existing car or engine. But there are cars out there already built to run on alternative fuels. Hybrid vehicles most commonly combine electricity and gasoline. This combination allows the vehicle to burn dramatically less gasoline.
Gasoline-electric hybrid cars still have gasoline engines like convention vehicles, but they also contain electric motors. This allows hybrids to use far less fuel. These cars can even shut off their engines entirely in situations such as red lights.
Alternative fuels and hybrid technology have come a long way. Environmentally-minded consumers may want to look into hybrid vehicles or vehicles that can be modified to burn alternative fuels. They may cost more initially, but these vehicles have the potential to be vital in the near future as environmental consumers continue to loom large in consumers’ minds.