WE NEED SOME NEW BLOOD

SOME NEW INTEREST, LIKE HYBRID AUTOS
HYDROGEN IDEAS. ELECTRIC CARS.

WAYS TO GET AWAY FROM GAS POWERED CARS.
WHAT DO PEOPLE THINK OF THAT IDEA?  

I think that idea sucks d**k!

To put my response more eloquently:

Hybrids and electric cars are not the answer, and at best are very temporary and short sighted solutions to the current problem we have.

For electric cars, you still have to generate elecricity to power the car, which means power plants burning fossil fuels to supply that energy, thus creating more pollution than a regular car. Unless you intend to allow the construction of more nuclear power plants?

Hybrid cars are an ecological nightmare that no one realizes, or wants to acknowledge. Look at the carbon footprint of building one hybrid, it's a helluva lot worse than a regular car, and they have a much more finite lifespan than a gas powered car, due in part to the short lifepsan of the batteries. Long term, hybrids will prove to be far worse environmental problems than regular cars.

E85 is not the answer because it's an inefficient fuel (generates far less BTUs than the same amount of gasoline)and it drives corn prices up, which has far reaching effects on our economy and lives.

The true way to go, until hydrogen fuel cell technology can be implemented, is to find the most efficient ways possible to use the current fuel we have, gasoline. This will involve better engine designs, lighter vehicles, and hotter ignition systems. Bottom line, we should shoot for making the same HP using   half the amount of gasoline needed in the air/fuel mixture.  

To add to my reply in the other "New Blood" Thread:

1. E85 is an awesome high performance fuel.  With technologies such as "on demand" ethanol injection, the "power density" (horsepower per pound of engine mass)can skyrocket from increased knock resistance.

2. The increase in diesel prices has a greater effect on food costs than E85.  There's a good discussion about why fuel prices are so high here.

3. Emerging biomass ethanol technologies will dramatically lower the cost and increase the supply of ethanol

4. As Speedzzter, an occasional contributor to the landmark "We're not rich but we're not stupid" thread on the Car Craft Forum has written at Autoblog Green:  

"V8s may become smaller and more exclusive, but they aren't going away. Europe has had $5-7/gallon gasoline for decades, yet several engines in excess of six cylinders are still offered."

"Notwithstanding CAFE, V8s will disappear when the market for them is gone. But ordinary "Joe-six-packs" can probably kiss their chance at a cheap V8 goodby. However, exclusivity will only increase the mystique of V8 power."
http://speedzzter.blogspot.com/2008/03/is-v8-dead-under-35-m.html

"OEMs could obtain reasonable mileage with a twin-turbo (or "twincharged") GDI four-valve V8 (with electric accessory drives, a "6 x 2" overdrive transmission, a mild hybrid "engine stop" system, cylinder deactivation, "on-boost" auxillary alcohol fueling (perhaps combined with water injection), variable valve lift and timing, variable geometry "ram tuned" intake manifold," two-stage intercooling (i.e. the Coletti "SuperCooler" system), and a multi-program ECU with a big "power volume" knob)."

"Given the psychological appeal and strong tradition of the V8, and the hypercompetitive world automobile market, the rumors of its death are greatly exaggerated."

Speedzzter's comments make sense considering that full-throttle power is only needed for about 3-5% of street driving.

5. Hydrogen fuel cells, unless combined in a hybrid form, with an "on-demand" IC engine (think Pro Mod, F1 or Alcohol Funny Car engine), would not encourage any traditional hot rod, racing or high performance uses.  They would be as bad for "Car Crafting" as purely electric cars (except that the range limitation and need for battery recycling would be solved).  

6. Hydrogen, if it ever becomes a common motor fuel, is years, if not decades in the future, given that: (1) hydrogen fuel cells still cost hundreds of thousands of dollars each to build; (2) we haven't even started on building the capacity to make enough cheap hydrogen to power a significant part of our transportation system; (3) On-board hydrogen storage (required if the hydrogen isn't derived from on-demand generation from hydrocarbon fuels)requires expensive, extremely high pressure tanks; (4) we haven't even started the construction of a national hydrogen distribution infrastructure.

In summary, ethanol and electric hybrid technology can save some semblance of traditional V8 power in a 35-60 m.p.g. regulatory world.