FOLLOWING THE HYPE?

Hybrids, hydrogen, diesel, electric, internal combustion, oil sands and on and on and on.

The hybrids on the market now are generally showcased for their clean(er) emissions, fuel efficiency, and even performance. Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, and GM all supply the market with gasoline/electric vehicles. Hybrids have taken a hit recently for not achieving projected efficiency ratings. Plug-in hybrids, such as the Chevrolet Volt concept, have a lot of people excited. Less dependency on the engine, more emphasis on supplying the battery by plugging the car in, just as you would your cellular phone.

Hydrogen may be a long way off but Honda wants to furnish a small selection customers with their FCX in the near future. Honda even wants to provide these test-bed clients with the infrastructure to fuel the vehicles themselves, directly from their home gas supply. Hydrogen's big problem is the lack of widespread infrastructure for refueling and the inability to bring the technology down in cost. Honda's current FCX likely cost hundreds of thousands to build.

We all know of about diesel tech, or lack thereof from its past foray in North America. Take the fuel economy a diesel has always been able to achieve and link it with quiet, smooth operation and shiploads of torque and boatloads of horsepower.... and you get the modern diesel. They need to be cleaner for future viability.

The typical gasoline engine is making great strides in efficiency itself, especially in terms of emissions. Many new vehicle debuts in recent months have shown higher-powered engines in heavier vehicles with improved fuel economy.

The world's oil reserves then comes into question. Regardless of how efficient the engine is, if it runs on fossil fuels, there must be fossil fuels to refine.

Email goodcarbadcar@gmail.com or leave a comment in the informants section below to tell the Good Car Nation what you think we'll be driving in 2017 or 2022. A lot of hype surrounds all of the aforementioned modes of propulsion, but to which hype do you yield?