Getting Rid of Gas

Sometimes it’s hard to tell the players without a scorecard — a phrase that’s just as true in the automotive world as it is in sports. 

Drivers are already tooling around in vehicles propelled by electricity, fuel blends, clean diesel and biodiesel, plus hybrid engines that combine various power sources. Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles loom just over the horizon. 

Here’s our guide to the various technologies that will be powering our vehicles for the foreseeable future.

Clean diesel

In the 1980s, concerns over pollution resulted in the declining popularity of diesel engines. But the world’s dwindling oil supply and ever-rising gas prices have brought about a renewed interest in the technology, which is up to 30% more efficient than traditional gasoline engines. As the name suggests, clean diesel is up to 97% cleaner than the black-exhaust-spewing fuel we all knew (and despised) 20 years ago. 

German automakers are leading the way in putting clean diesel technology onto the highway. Volkswagen currently offers four different clean diesel models, Mercedes Benz three, Audi and BMW two each. Detroit’s efforts have mostly gone into heavy-duty SUVs and pickup trucks — clean-diesel versions of the GMC Sierra 2500, Ford F-250, Chevy Silverado 2500 and Dodge Ram 2500.

Biodiesel vehicles

Biodiesel is typically made by blending chemically reactive lipids — like vegetable oil or animal fat — with alcohol. According to the National Biodiesel Board, it can be used in all diesel engines. 

“Any diesel vehicle — [including diesel versions of the] Ford F-150, Jeep Liberty and Dodge Ram — can use biodiesel,” said Jessica Robinson, spokeswoman for the biodiesel board. “So purchasing a biodiesel vehicle is the same as purchasing a diesel vehicle.” 

Most manufacturers’ warranties cover up to B20 — a blend of 20% biodiesel and 80% petroleum diesel. 

Biodiesel is more common than you might think. Nationwide, more than 25,000 government and commercial vehicles run on biodiesel blends. The San Diego Padres are one of several professional sports teams that donate cooking oil from concession stands to companies that will convert it into biodiesel. And in 2007, the MTV show “Pimp My Ride” transformed a 1965 Chevy Impala into a biodiesel hot rod to honor Earth Day.

Flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs)

Although the idea of a car being powered by something other than gasoline seems like a space-age concept, flexible-fuel vehicles have been around for more than a hundred years. The Model-T Ford could run on gasoline, ethanol or a blend of both. 

More than 9 million FFVs are currently cruising American roads. Flex-fuel vehicles are designed to run on gasoline or a mixture of gas and up to 85% ethanol, a blend called E85. Ethanol costs slightly less than gasoline — currently about 30 cents a gallon less in Southern California. Drivers won’t notice a loss in performance while driving on 85% ethanol. The lower price isn’t the only thing this so-called “corn fuel” has going for it. It’s also cleaner and reduces U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

The big drawback in this part of the country is the lack of service stations that dispense E85 — there’s only one in Los Angeles and just six in all of the Southland. Most of the thousand or so E85 stations in the U.S. are located in the Midwest. 

Hybrids