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12TuesdayJanuary282014ByDONJAQUEItisanexcitingtimeforcarandtruckbuyerswithsomanynewoptionstochoosefrom.Highergaspricesinthelastveyearshaveledtocustomerdemandsforloweroperatingcostswhichtranslatetomoreefciencyandlightervehicles.LegislationbytheAmericanshasrequiredimprovedgasmile-ageaswell.Vehiclemanufac-turershaverisentotheoccasionandtheresultisarapidchangeinengineandchassisdesign.Mostmanufacturersarestillcommittedtogasolineastheprimeenergysourceforpow-eringvehiclesbutthereareseveralotherfuelsthatarecomingonfastDieselisabout15percentmoreefficientthangasolineandenginesusingithavebeenrenedtoeliminateodourandthatcharacteristicrattle.Strictemissionsstandardsrequiringthelteringofparticlesfromexhausthavecleanedupdieseltothepointthatinsomecasesitisevencleanerthangasolineasapowersource.Addtothatmorepowerandefciencyanditiscertainwewillseemanymoredieselenginesinthefuture.Thereareotheralternativeformsofpoweringvehiclesin-cludingsolarandhydrogenbothofwhicharecompletelycleanwhichmaytakeoffinthefuture.Naturalgasisusedineetve-hiclessuchasschoolbuseswithslow-lltechnologythatllsapressurizedtankovernightbutthatisexpensive.AnewhomeappliancewasrecentlyunveiledExcitingtimesastheautomobilefutureunfoldsthatcostsabout600andallowshomeuserstollanaturalgaspoweredvehicle.Sincenaturalgasischeapcleanandiscom-monlypipedtoeveryhomeincitiesthroughoutthesouthitmaybetheautomobilefuelofthefuture.Electricpoweredvehiclesarecurrentlyinproductiontooandbecomingmorecommon.Criti-caltothattechnologybatterystorageefciencyandcapac-ityhavebeenincreasingwhilepricescomedown.Electricve-hiclescomeinseveralformsandallvehiclemanufacturersareofferingthem.Regenerativebrakingrecoversthekineticforwardmotionenergywhenavehicleslowsconvertingittoelectricalen-ergyandstoringitinbatteriestopowersupplementaryelec-tricmotorsasneeded.ElectriccarsincludingtheChevVoltandNissanLeafhavespawnedanumberofimitatorsandnowtheTeslahasproventhatahighper-formanceelectriccarispos-sible.Thosetypicallyhavelimitedrangeusuallylessthan80kmandalthoughgrowingrapidlyinpopu-larityareusedmainlyforshort-haulurbanuse.Hybridsrunonelectricpowerbuthavesupplemen-taryenginesusuallygaso-linepoweredwhichextendtherangetoseveralhundredkilometers.TheFrenchpostalserviceLaPosterunssmallelectricvehicleswithhydrogenfuelcellrangeextenders.FedExwithoneofthelargestalter-native-fueldeliveryvehicleeetsintheworldwillsoonfollowtheirleadwith20testvehiclesthathavestandardrechargeableelectricpoweredmotorswitha100-kmrangesupplementedbyfuel-cellsthatareexpectedtodoublethatrange.Thiscouldbeagamechangermarkingthersttimehydrogenfuel-cellsareusedasapowersourceinthemassmarket.Therearepredictionsthatsolarpanelswillbeusedbythemassmarkettothepointtheywillbesoaffordablethatproducingelectricityathomewillbethestapleofeveryhousehold.OneStanfordUniversitylecturerpre-dictsthatby2030solarpowerwillmakeelectricityfromfossilfuelsobsolete.Healsopredictsthatwithcheapsolarelectricitycertaintobeavailableineveryhomeplug-inelectriccarswilldothesametotheautomobileindustrybumpingoutallotherpowersourcesonroughlythesameschedule.Themarketwilldetermineifandwhenthatwillhappenbasedonwhensolarpanelsandelec-tricvehiclestoragebatteriesbe-comecheaperthanextractingandtransportingcarbon-basedfuels.Fornowconsumerscansitbackandenjoytheexplosionofinnovationintechnologyde-signandengineeringasvehiclemanufacturersstrivetoexcelandprosperinthisbravenewworld.Itisallhappeninginanticipationofyouthenewvehicleshopper.GeneralMotorswasoneofthersttoofferahybridelec-tricvehiclewiththeVolt.Youcandrive61kmonbatteriesbeforetheVoltsgasmotorskickinforanestimatedrangeof600km.MorepracticalforNortherndriverstheChev-roletCruzepicturedaboveroomyandsolidtodrivegetsanimpressive8.75Lper100km2746mpgcityhwywiththedieseloption.AttheDetroitAutoshowFordshowedoffmoreofitspack-leadingpersonalitywithanewrst-of-a-kindC-MaxSolarEnergicar-completelysun-poweredThenewlydesigned2014FusionshownaboveisbettersuitedtoNorthernhigh-ways-astylishspaciousmid-sizedsedanwithregenera-tivebrakesprovidingexceptionalfueleconomyevenwithouttheavailablehybridoption.ThebuzzatDodgewasthenewsixcylindereco-dieselinitsRam1500pickup.MentionedonlyinpassingisthatthesamemotorwasofferedintheJeepGrandCherokeelastyear.ThenewGrandCherokeepicturedabovehasnotableoff-roadabilities.Equipitwiththedieselandyoualsogettowingmus-clecapableofhauling7200lbsplusimpressiveefciencyat10.77.8Lper100km2230mpgcityhwy.