Tunney 1

Jerry Tunney
Dr. Rand
UWRT 1103
10 November 2014
What is the fuel of the future in automobiles?
At many times throughout history, man had made a series of discovery that changes the
way, shape, and form of daily life. Usually the goal is to make life easier, better, and safer.
Traveling has always held a very high interest in human nature. Whether for hunting or visiting
other people, traveling far distances has never been something man has turned away from. So,
after the domestication of the horse to cover even greater distances in a less amount of time with
more cargo, the general scope and industrialization of human interaction with the planet became
even larger. Whole continents were being explored, and in the mid-14th century, the first
confirmed cross continental trip was made. Fast forward about 400 years, and you will come
across the invention of the automobile in the late 19th century. The first models were crude, large,
heavy pieces of equipment that do not even recognize with what is considered a car today. They
were very unreliable and were powered by engines that ran off of coal gas, which had to be
heated by a separate on-board boiler. Enter the invention of the gasoline powered engine, and
what is known as the Otto cycle. This type of engine was patented by Nokolaus Otto in 1876
(Bottorff) and is largely the same principal modern gasoline engines are based on. Diesel engines
used today are quite similar, but differ on how the fuel is actually ignited. Karl Benz is credited
with inventing the car we know of today. (Bottorff) He was the first to combine a gasoline
engine with a tubular framed vehicle and successfully drive it a great distance. (Bottorff)

Tunney 2
Development continued for years between engineers and inventors in both the United States and
Europe, but in 1896 a man by the name of Henry Ford had his first running prototype, which
would eventually lead to the model T which was released for sale in 1903. This was the first
automobile that was affordable to the everyday person. This vehicle started the car craze across
the United States. Many others were being sold, including the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, but they
were massively expensive, and something the average person couldnt afford. Ford wanted an
automobile to be parked in the driveway of every house in America, and from 1903 until its end
of production in 1927, the Model T was the number one selling vehicle in the United States with
more than 15 million being constructed between 1913 and 1927 (history.com). It revolutionized
the way we live, work, and travel. Like its successors, including most cars today in the United
States, it ran on gasoline. Gasoline is a fossil fuel that is the product of the refinement of crude
oil. Its has for the most part been considered the cheapest and easiest fuel to produce and
transport due to its liquid state. When burned in an internal combustion engine, it provides huge
amounts of explosive energy that is captured and converted into mechanical energy that is then
used to move our cars forward. This type of engine and fuel is hugely inefficient however, with
only about 14% to 30% of the total energy actually moving you down the road. The rest is lost to
heat and friction. Diesel engines are more efficient, at 18% to 40%. (fueleconomy.gov) However,
for the sake of argument, were going to combine these two into one category known as the
internal combustion engine. Personally, I love wrenching on cars and engines. Theyre easy to
modify, cheap to build, very reliable, and in recent years have become very quiet and
economical. However, fossil fuels are a finite resource. There will not be enough to supply the
whole world with oil, especially with the industrialization of countries such as India and China.
So, what are the alternatives? Many have been developed already, and more are on their way. In

Tunney 3
the past ten to fifteen years there has been a huge push toward alternative sources of energy for
cars. Some have been developed successfully, some are still being worked on, but were going to
take a look at the most promising forms of technology currently available, as well as the
alternative that are being dreamed of today.
Electric cars have never been so successful; take Tesla for example. Theyre whole
company is based off of one vehicle, the Model S, but as small as they are its causing the giants
such as GM and Ford to take notice. The main issue with electric cars is the range. It is very
limited due to the current battery technology we have available today. However, the Model S
changed this notion with its advanced battery pack that allows it to go hundreds of miles on a
single charge. Another issue is charge time, or refueling time. At home, the car takes up to 8
hours to re-charge. But, Tesla has started building supercharger stations across the country that
can recharge a car in about 30 minutes. This relives most of the burden of having an electric car.
It is now possible to travel continuously across the United States using Teslas Supercharger
stations. This sounds great, but there still is one issue: cost. With a Model S coming in around
$63,000 (Tesla.com), it is not affordable to the average person. This is mostly due to the very
high cost of the battery pack. Tesla is however building what its calling a Gigafactory. Here,
they plan to start producing their own batteries which they predict can lower the cost of the
vehicle by as much as 30%. This will help make the electric car available to more and more
people as time goes on and prices fall. The same trend was seen when the original automobile
came out; only the very wealthy could afford to buy them. Then, Ford released the Model T
which was affordable for most people. Tesla can been seen as the modern day Ford with their
Model S. This seems to be the best chance for electric cars to begin to take over market share for
the automobile. They currently hold less than 2% of the total number of vehicles sold in the

Tunney 4
United States, but in 2014 there will be 14 different models that are at least partially powered by
electricity for sale in the US from manufactures such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Cadillac,
Nissan, Chevrolet, Porsche, Volkswagen, Toyota, Tesla, and Kia. If that doesnt make a
statement that electric cars are about to become big, I dont know what is. There are some
manufactures that arent leaning 100% towards battery powered electrics however. Honda and
Toyota have been devoted to developing Fuel Cell Electric Cars where a on board electric
generator called a hydrogen fuel cell makes its own power, where it is stored short term and used
immediately by the cars electric motor. This way, long charging times and heavy expensive
batteries are eliminated. This also means that the car doesnt have a range limited by its battery
size. The current issue with this technology however is implementing hydrogen refueling stations
across the country. They are also currently very expensive to build. Honda was the first to offer
its fuel cell electric for lease in California, called the FCX Clarity in July of 2007. It was more of
a real world consumer test however, as a limited amount were produced and they were quite
expensive to lease. They say however, the next generation model will be available in late 2014
(automobiles.com).
By far, the most common alternative power source used today is the Hybrid vehicle. This
car uses a combination of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor to propel itself.
There are a few variations that currently exist. A standard hybrid does not have a battery pack
big enough to drive solely on electric power, so it only uses its electric motor at low speeds, such
as accelerating from a stop sign or light. Once you reach approximately 20-25mph, the electric
motor disengages and the regular engine starts up and powers the car completely. Another
derivative is called the plug in hybrid. In this type, the battery is large enough to propel the car
on its own, usually for a distance of 20-30 miles. However, it must be fully charged every night

Tunney 5
in order to gain its full potential. After the battery is drained, the internal combustion engine
engages and the vehicle acts as a standard hybrid as mentioned previously. They are considered
adequate for most people, as the majority of the population (90%) commutes under 30 miles per
day (statisticbrain.com). This allows the average person to rarely use gasoline in their daily lives,
especially if they have access to a charging outlet while their vehicle is parked at work. So, why
are these vehicles not selling? The logic makes complete sense: there are a variety of models
available from numerous reliable automakers, they save you money on fuel, they cost less to
maintain and operate, and youre doing your part to help the environment and reliance on foreign
oil. One word: cost. The average hybrid costs significantly more than its non-hybrid equivalent,
and the cost difference takes years of saving at the pump to make up for the increased cost.
People are under the impression also that hybrids are slow, and that the motors and batteries need
to be replaced after 7-10 years. While this was true for earlier hybrids, such as the early Prius
from Toyota, most current hybrids are faster than their gas or diesel powered counterparts, and
the batteries are now covered under warranty and are much more reliable than they once were.
So, hopefully within the next few years the costs will come down to be more competitive to the
current car market, more hybrid and electric cars will be produced, and people will see the huge
advantages of these amazing vehicles.
There are a few other options currently on the market. Honda has released a Civic that
runs purely on natural gas, a clean burning alternative to gasoline. It is comparatively priced, but
due to its decreased power compared to gasoline isnt as powerful. This makes the vehicle feel
sluggish when accelerating. Another drawback is the large natural gas tank that takes up about
half the truck space in what is already considered a compact car. Also, since natural gas doesnt
have the power density gasoline has, it doesnt get the same fuel economy, its about 20% less.

Tunney 6
Combine this with the fact that there are very few natural gas refueling stations in the United
States and you can see why its not that popular of an option. Its mainly marketed to large
companies that have huge fleets of vehicles with refueling station on site. The three advantages
of a natural gas powered car are limited to a cleaner burning fuel so you have lower emissions,
natural gas is significantly cheaper to gasoline or diesel, and most natural gas is not imported
from other countries, it comes from right here in the United States.
After going over a few of the major options available to the current car buyer today, its
pretty clear to see that hybrids and electric cars seem to be the way of the future. You just cant
argue with the economy increases they provide, and there is complete manufacturer support from
a variety of big car companies. Combine that with the fact that more and more research,
engineering, and testing is being done on electric vehicles and I think it provides a clear winner
of the fuel of the future: electricity. Its clean, being produced cleaner and cleaner, cheaper to
fuel up, more reliable, heavily tested, more powerful, safer, and easier. I believe this will be the
way of the future of the automobile, its only a matter of time until it become more economical
and electrics will outsell their fossil fuel burning counterparts.

Tunney 7
Please answer the following questions:
1. What was the most interesting thing you learned in this inquiry process?
The most interesting thing I learned throughout this process is how relevant electric and hybrid
cars are becoming. As much as Im involved in cars, I dont really pay attention to the energy
conscience side of the industry. So it was interesting for me to get to read all about another side
of the automotive world.
2. What did you struggle with during the research and/or writing process? How did you
overcome this obstacle?
Believe it or not, my biggest issue was condensing all of my information to not sound too long
and drowned out. I had to change my inquiry question a bit to solely focus on the fuel of the
future, instead of a broader look at future technology in cars.
3. Did your inquiry question change over time? If so, how did it change, and why do you
think it changed?
Yes, I had to change it to help condense the paper. I think it changed because I underestimated
the length that additional information would add to the paper.
4. Why is it important to look at a historical view of your topic/question?
It is and was especially important in this paper because it really shows you where your idea has
come from and can help you make a prediction of where it is going based on historical trends. It
also helps the reader get a better understanding and background of the subject.
5. Do you think your analytical/evaluation skills have changed as a result of the inquiry
project? If so, how?
I dont think they have changes much as a result of this project. Most likely because it was on a
topic I knew pretty well, so I was able to mostly sift through the bias pretty well in my research.

Tunney 8
6. What are you most proud of in this process?
That I was able to successfully conduct an unbiased, fairly informative paper that would give
people a real understanding of current and future technologies in the vehicles they may soon be
buying. I tried to cover all the facts and include the main advantages and disadvantages of each.
7. What more would you like to know about this subject?
I would like to and have been continuing to research the different ways to power cars in the
future. One of my more popular finding is a company that offers a solar panel kit for your house
that recharges your electric car - a truly sustainable and renewable way to power your vehicle
without interference from outside influences.

Tunney 9
Works Cited
"2014 Electric Cars." - Read Reviews of All the New Cars. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.
Bottorff, William. "What Was The First Car? A Quick History of the Automobile for Young
People." The First Car. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
"Commute Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. National Household Travel Survey, US Department
of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
Coyle, William. "The Future of Biofuels: A Global Perspective." USDA ERS -. 1 Nov. 2007.
Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
Rogers, John. "The Whole Truth about Hybrid Cars." Google Books. 2 May 2014. Web. 8 Nov.
2014.
"The 2008 FCX Clarity." Honda FCX Clarity Overview. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.
"Where the Energy Goes: Hybrids." Where the Energy Goes: Hybrids. Fueleconomy.gov, 1 Jan.
2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.
Whiten, Ian. "HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS: THE ALTERNATIVE FUEL OF THE FUTURE."
Web. 9 Nov. 2014.