From The CBS Evening News 12/29/98
cbs.com
Technology Fuels Car Design
-Car Show Offers A Look Into Future
-Technology Challenges Conventional Car Design
-Automakers Banking On New Fuel Sources
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"Within the next couple of decades, I think, we're going to see a radical shift in automobile technology."
Jason Mark
Union of Concerned Scientists
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LOS ANGELES
Tuesday, December 29,1998 - 09:05 PM ET
(CBS) Fuel-efficient design in auto manufacturing is taking center stage at this year's Los Angeles auto show. CBS News Correspondent Bill Whitaker reports.
This DaimlerChrysler concept vehicle, to be unveiled at the L.A. Auto Show Tuesday, was supposed to feature the engine of the future, a super-duper, fuel-efficient, low emission gasoline powered electric engine. It turned out to be the little engine that couldn't at least not yet.
"Last year it was demonstrated on the bench that you could convert gasoline into electricity using a fuel cell. What's been difficult is integrating it into a vehicle and making the vehicle run," says Chris Borroni-Bird, DaimlerChrysler.
Still, DaimlerChrysler and all major automakers are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into fuel-cell technology, an electric engine that runs on available fuels, like gasoline or methanol, and spews little but water vapor out the tailpipe. The goal is to replace the internal-combustion engine.
"It's about 100 years old and it's probably time for it to go. Within the next couple of decades, I think, we're going to see a radical shift in automobile technology," says Jason Mark of the Union of Concerned Scientists.
We're seeing some already. In Japan, Toyota is selling a hybrid car that uses both an electric and a conventional engine. General Motors is testing a half electric-half diesel bus which runs cleaner and much farther per gallon.
Still, there's no guarantee customers will buy. GM's all electric car, the EV1 is fizzling because batteries need frequent, time consuming recharging. And with the price of gas so low, will drivers willingly give up their old, faithfuls? Carmakers are banking on it.
"General motors feels that a company that only produces internal combustion engines is not going to survive period in the future," says Frank Pereira, General Motors.
But don't race to the showroom. Even if current technology pans out, fuel cells aren't likely to be common features for about a decade. |
