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From hybrids to electrics to diesels that run on vegetable oil, it's a whole new ballgame.
The verdict is in on hybrid cars: Americans love them. But just suppose, some environmentalists have been asking, you had a bigger battery pack in your hybrid and the ability to plug it into the wall. Wouldn't that give you the ability to drive to work on electric power, with the small gas engine available in reserve for longer trips? This concept started out as an environmentalist's dream, propelled by activists like Felix Kramer of Calcars.org and the utility-backed Plug-In Partners. But now it's headed for the market. And other high-tech green cars are on their way, too.
In 2005, the late Dave Hermance, then Toyota's environmental engineering guru, had this to say about plug-in hybrid vehicles: "At some point it might be feasible, but it isn't there yet." He added, "They say this is the next great thing, but it just isn't."
What a difference a year makes. In 2006, Toyota was singing a rather different tune. The plug-in hybrid, Hermance said in an interview, "is an appealing technology in terms of energy diversity for transportation. Depending on the grid mix, it may offer reduced lifecycle carbon dioxide (CO2) and reduce fuel consumption at the same time." Others go further. Dr. Andrew Frank, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of California, Davis, envisions a plug-in hybrid that can achieve 60 miles of all-electric range using a currently available, 350-pound lithium-ion battery pack that would last 150,000 miles.
A New Day for Clean Cars
Interest in cleaner and greener auto technology is exploding. From fuel cells to plug-in hybrids, the industry is showing more research and development zeal than at any time since the halcyon days of 1900, when gasoline, steam and electric vehicles (EVs) were competing in the marketplace. Companies such as General Motors, ridiculed for stodginess and worse in films like Roger and Me and Who Killed the Electric Car? (see sidebar) are revealing a much leaner side. In fact, GM has made the first plug-in hybrid production commitment in the U.S., using an intriguing new approach. It is developing an entirely new propulsion system, shown at the recent Detroit Auto Show as the Chevrolet...