Cutting emissions: more answers than questions

The European auto industry is struggling with alternative fuels and emissions reduction programs, but potential solutions are many and varied-and may become even more so.

Richard Parry-Jones, Ford's Group Vice President, Global Product Development and Chief Technical Officer, has three major technology priorities: CO₂ emissions reduction, safety (particularly active systems), and the introduction of pervasive digital electronic control.

Even with an annual global R&D budget of more than $6 billion, Ford is finding that refining a cost-effective, market-acceptable solution to the whole emissions/fuel consumption/environmental issue, together with the associated technologies of alternative fuels, hybrids, and fuel cells, continues to present highly complex challenges and decisions.