Although the cars are still concepts, real diesel hybrids should be on sale within three years. Auto-design consultant Robert Q. Riley predicts that a perfected hybrid vehicle could be three times more efficient than today's cars, and far more environmentally benign. The first fuel-cell systems will probably extract hydrogen from any hydrocarbon fuel, including natural gas, methanol, or gasoline. When oxygen passes over one electrode and hydrogen over the other, the two combine to generate electricity, water, and heat. Because the fuel cell does not rely on combustion, emissions are minuscule.
Fuel cells are heavy and expensive, but they're improving.
At the Detroit show, Honda stole some thunder from the Insight by unveiling the fcx, a sleek sedan powered by a fuel cell. Hiroyuki Yoshino, Honda's president and ceo, said the company should have a commercial version ready by 2003. Several other automakers have announced similar goals. Ultimately, Lovins predicts, fuel-cell cars will run on pure hydrogen, reducing auto pollution to water vapor steaming out the tailpipe. That would require building a nationwide hydrogen-fueling infrastructure and finding ways to make the gas cheaply and store it safely.