Cars of the Future

In a recent survey carried out by Martin Hamblin GfK, car drivers in the UK were asked to think of all the different options for powering a car, either in existence or to be developed.

Pollution caused by emissions from car exhausts is a global concern, which has led car manufacturers to seek practical, economical and environmentally-friendly alternatives for powering vehicles. Armed with an understanding of public awareness about alternative fuels, car manufacturers may be able to market them more effectively as they become available.

As an alternative method of powering a car, the highest mention was for electric power, which was cited by 58% of drivers. Powered by lead acid batteries, the biggest benefit of the electric car is clean, emission-free driving. New models are improving in efficiency all the time. However, at the moment electric cars still suffer from a number of drawbacks. The biggest disadvantage is their range - most can only run for around 50 miles when fully charged and using other functions like radios or air conditioners lowers the mileage considerably. Places to recharge electric cars are not readily available at the moment. The quietness of an electric car is a benefit in terms of noise pollution but could be dangerous for pedestrians used to hearing the loud throttle of a petrol-fuelled engine.

Drivers also cited different forms of gas power. Gas, generally, was mentioned by 46% of drivers, more specifically liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), by 16% of drivers and natural gas drive (CNG) by 8% of drivers in the UK. Compared to petrol, vehicles running on LP Gas emit around 30% less pollutants.

Solar power was mentioned by just over 1 in 5 drivers (21%), comprising 26% of men and 15% of women. Other mentions included hydrogen drive with 9% of mentions, biological diesel with 5% of mentions, fuel cell drive (3%) and recycled oil with 2% of mentions. The most entertaining response came from two men, one in the South East of England and one in Scotland, who cited pedalling as a possible way of powering a car.

This survey was carried out in November 2002 by Martin Hamblin GfK using Britbus, a UK consumer omnibus. 1,000 adults were asked if they drive. Of these, 713 respondents who replied positively were asked if they could cite all the ways of powering a car they could think of (whether available or still being developed).

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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