Alternative fuel is essentially fuel that is not gasoline or diesel. Cars have recently been using electrical energy, solar energy and hybrid, which is a mix of gas and electric. There is also an option to use water to create energy to help economize fuel. There have been many reasons why governments and car makers have taken the initiative to produce vehicles that use fuel other than fossil fuels. Fuel taxes and stricter environmental laws in Europe pushed auto makers to make alternative fuel vehicles. There are even more stringent rules coming out on greenhouse gas emissions.
Our atmosphere is worsening because of the greenhouse gases being given off by fossil fueled cars. Because of this, we are experiencing global warming at an epic scale. You might not even know that there are cars that run on hydrogen, fuel cells, solar power, LPG, and ethyl alcohol. Cars that use LPG, or liquified petroleum gas, are being fueled by a mixture of butane and propane. When compressed, its hydrocarbon gases transform into liquid. Not only will cars running on this reduce carbon monoxide gas emission, but cut fuel expense in half compared to diesel and gas.
Automobiles that use energy from the sun can either produce electricity to run the motor or use it to produce hydrogen. The solar batteries are ordinarily on the roof of the auto. Other vehicles make use of plant-based fuels such as ethanol. Plants that are high in carbohydrates or sugar are fermented to produce alcohol. In Brazil, they have been able to replace more than 200,000 barrels of fossil oil every day with ethanol fuel based on sugar cane. Toxic emissions in this country have gone down more than 30% because of ethanol powered autos. Vehicles that run on fuel cells use energy from oxygen and hydrogen that are created from these fuel cells. These type of cars are the cleanest to drive, because they only produce water vapor and heat.
In the case of hybrid vehicles, like the Toyota Prius, they use a number of sources of energy. They are able to use advanced technology to combine a small gasoline engine with an electric-powered motor. Each part is utilized differently according to driving situation. The battery is being charged while fuel and electricity are being utilized on the freeway. The exploration of alternative sources of energy is vital to solving our environmental and economic problems.