ralper

What do you think would have happened if we had discovered a cheap and plentiful alternative fuel 30 years ago? Or if we perfected a technology that enabled our cars, trucks, planes, etc. to run on a different fuel that was cheaper and plentiful?

If this had happened 30 years ago what do you think our cars would be like today? What do you think our economy would be like today? What do you think our world would be like today?

paS2K

* Maybe we would not have armed forces in a certain Middle East country, and maybe +2000 young people would still be alive as fathers, sisters, brothers.... Don't want to say too much more and get branded with the 'p' word....

* Our hybrid and other non-fossil-fuel cars would be much more advanced, in both design and fuel economy

* There would have been laws and heavy gas-guzzler-type taxes on 'recreational' large SUV-type vehicles; special licenses would have exempted these taxes for those who really needed them (farmers, construction workers, emergency responders, etc) THUS, half of the vehicles would NOT be exempt from CAFE restrictions....as currently applies to Pickups and humongous SUV's

* In a nutshell, the world would be a much happier place

matrix

If I would have invented it when I was 10 yrs old, I would be much weathier...

I think the cars would be relatively the same, just use my fuel.

I think the economy would be relatively the same but see point 1.

Hopefully I would have invented something much greener to care for the environment.

ralper

[QUOTE=paS2K,Dec 8 2005, 11:55 PM]
* There would have been laws and heavy gas-guzzler-type taxes on 'recreational' large SUV-type vehicles; special licenses would have exempted these taxes for those who really needed them (farmers, construction workers, emergency responders, etc)

silvershadow

In California, 15 to 20 years ago, there was quite a stir about methanol as a motor fuel. It could be had as M100 (100% methanol) or M85 (85% methanol/15% unleaded gasoline). Several companies made flex-fuel vehicles that could run on anything from M85 to 100% unleaded. There were several cars that ran on M100.

Despite that fact that these cars put out higher horsepower, the enthusiast community largely chastised the cars. I never could figure out why. I drove several of the different cars including a Taurus FFV and Crown Victoria station wagon FFV. The difference in engine performance between M85 and unleaded gasoline was major. The engines put out 10% higher horsepower on M85 than they did on gasoline. The differences would have been much higher if the engines could have been designed to run on M85 or M100 alone (i.e., without the unleaded gasoline capability)

The downfall of methanol - ADM (a large agribusiness corporation) essentially paid off a lot of politicians (they contributed major campaign contributions to Clinton and G. H. W. Bush) in the same election in 1992. So now we have ethanol. But since the oil companies can't control ethanol, we only have ethanol used as an oxidizer and all the corporations are happy. The oil companies get to continue to exclusively sell a fuel that everyone needs and wants (gasoline), and ADM gets to sell all the ethanol they can brew up (it's a fermentation process).

To some extent, I blame the enthusiast community for not only not getting behind a fuel that would have allowed us higher horsepower engines, but viewing the change negatively.

I was in the BMW CCA back then, and they wrote an article in the Roundel about a methanol fueled car that reviewed the car in a very flippant manner. As much to say that the car was a tinker toy, and only real men drove cars that were powered by gasoline.

I was so incensed that I wrote a letter to the editor of the Roundel. Of course it was never answered or published. Then after a few months - I wrote him a letter essentially calling him a shill for the oil companies and car companies, and taking him to task for his lack of backbone in not even responding or publishing a letter from someone who knew something about the subject and had data to refute several of the allegations he made about methanol-fueled vehicles. Of course that letter was never answered either.

Sorry for the long response.

mikegarrison

Perhaps you recall the great dream of the 50s, nuclear power. By the 80s we were all going to be living in a world of unlimited energy, with our cars, planes, ships, trains, and everything else powered by nuclear reactors.

NNY S2k

Back in the old days people dreamed of a majic pill that could turn water into gasoline. Now today if you go to the store water costs more than gas/gallon, and that's without the price of the majic pill. Go figure.