What are the Alternatives to Petrol?

The price of a barrel of oil is reaching new heights on a daily basis and pricing analysts forecasting that consumers can expect prices to rise even further. The rising price of oil will flow on to the petrol pump. Lately the oil prices surged past $120 a barrel for the first time and there is nothing that business owners and consumers can do to lower the price of oil on the world market. As a result, companies have to look internally at ways they can reduce their dependency on oil products. That’s why the car industry has increased work on developing alternative fuels, as well as cars that are less petroleum dependant.

Hybrid Cars have gained popularity and several hybrid models have made their way on to the market, like the Toyota Prius, Lexus RX 400 and the Honda Civic Hybrid. Hybrid cars have a much better fuel economy than conventional vehicles as a result of their hybrid electric/petrol engines and as a result, they are the cleanest cars on road. The main propulsion comes from the internal combustion engine and the electric motor assist the engine, when the car is accelerating, climbing hills or driving at low speed. The hybrid cars do not need be plugged in for recharging, because they charge themselves while driving. The energy that is normally wasted during breaking and coasting is converted into electricity, which is then stored in a battery until it is needed by the electric motor. The only disadvantage is that Hybrid cars cost more than conventional cars, but this is soon recovered by fuel savings.

Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCV) probably won’t be on the market for the next 5 years or more, but it could represent a major breakthrough. The cars operate in a simiar way to electric cars, but instead of the batteries being charged by an external electric source, the FCV batteries create their own power via a chemical process using Hydrogen fuel and oxygen from the Atmosphere. There is a big environmental benefit in that the only by-product of the chemical reaction is water. Additionally, fuel-powered vehicles can be twice as efficient as similarly sized conventional vehicles.

Another alternative are the Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)

powered vehicles. It is a much cleaner alternative to other vehicle fuels such as petrol and diesel. The fuel efficiency is generally equal in comparison with petrol engines. The technology is mature and there is a good selection of LPG powered cars with many of the car manufacturers worldwide. Unfortunately, only a limited number of petrol stations stock LPG due to the large tanks that need to be installed. The countries with the largest number of LPG vehicles are Argentina, Brazil, Pakistan, Italy, Iran and USA. In Argentina almost 15% of all vehicles are LPG powered and they are the cabbie's vehicle of choice.

Hybrid cars, in the short term, are the best choice for the fuel and environmentally conscious, because they are already established in the market place. They are always more fuel efficient than conventional vehicles and are environmentally friendly. Even better for our environment, are Fuel Cell Vehicles, which are completely emission free. But the automobile industry needs to invest heavily in this fuel technology so that these cars can be put into serial production!!!

Car Hire companies are getting in on the act and many fleets around the world have Hybrid Cars to rent. DriveAway Holidays can supply a Hybrid car through companies like Hertz here in Australia and overseas. As more and more people become environmentally concious as well has being price sensitive, Hybrid cars will become more and more common.