Cool Car Facts

It used to be that cool cars were big, fast, loud hot rods. They still are cool, especially with modern engine technology. But a new kind of cool car is here, one that produces less air pollution. Electric, hybrid and fuel cell vehicles are being built and sold today. In the future we could all be driving some of these cool cars.

Electric Vehicles

No cords attached! And no tail pipe. Electric vehicles produce absolutely no emissions, so they need no tail pipe. Today, electric cars that run on powerful batteries can go up to 100 miles before needing to be recharged. As batteries improve their performance,we'll be able to travel farther.

Hybrid Vehicles

Hybrid vehicles run on a combination electric motor and internal combustion engine. You start the engine with the electric motor and as speed increases, the internal combustion engine automatically turns on and takes over. It charges the batteries as it powers the vehicle. While hybrid vehicles aren't zero emission like electric cars, since they do have an engine that uses gasoline, their emissions are extremely low.

Fuel Cell Vehicles

Fuel cells have been around for more than 100 years and in fact have been used to power spacecraft. But they were always thought of as too expensive, too big and too heavy to use in vehicles. Now that is changing. Fuel cells now power some experimental cars and buses. The fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and powers vehicles with no pollution at all.

Better ICE

How have ICE (internal combustion engines) been improved?

Through the years, technology has tweaked and toyed with the engine to save gasoline, improve performance, and reduce emissions. Some improvements include:

• Catalytic Converter – to change polluting emissions into non-polluting emissions.
• Fuel-Injection – To mix just the right amount of fuel and air for more complete combustion.
• Variable Valve Tuning – To analyze the type of driving condition and adjust how much fuel is needed.
• Direct Injection – To deliver the fuel right into the engine cylinders which allows for ultra-lean mixtures of up to 50 parts air to one part fuel.

Each of these technologies -- some used now, some still being worked on -- will cut down on the amount of fuel used and the amount of emissions going into the air.