European politicians, especially British prime minister Gordon Brown, have been touting electric cars. They have been saying that EVs are the only way to go when it comes to future vehicle transportation. It seems other politicians in Europe, and some in the U.S., agree as well.
But more knowledgeable pundits say that the vehicles of the future will be electric, hybrid, and all sorts of other technologies. Some have likened it to a big cocktail of choices.
General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz called any idea that future cars will be all-electric by 2020 as “frankly ludicrous.” Garel Rhys, professor emeritus in economics at Cardiff Business School, say that tomorrow's vehicles will be powered by a “menu of solutions” with gasoline and diesel still the majority of use. Pundits say that turbocharged gasoline or diesel engines will be big players by 2030 and second generation cellulosic ethanol will make a big splash. They predict that electric vehicles of all kinds will be 10 percent of the global market by 2020, 25 percent of the European market. That seems still to be a niche market.
Pundits say that the only possible alternative that could break this scenario is a breakthrough in hydrogen technology beyond the fuel cell and into hydrogen gas or liquid. However, without a breakthrough, this, it is believed, won’t come until 2030 or maybe not even until 2050.
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