Powering the future

It's anyone's guess as to what type of power source will ultimately drive the majority of future vehicles in North America, but one thing is certain: advancements in various powertrain technologies from industry players are ready to make today's and tomorrow's cars more environmentally-and customer-friendly.

Getting a consensus on what technology will be under the hoods of vehicles five, 10, 15 years or more down the road is not likely-even from within the same company. Nick Scheele, Chief Opreating Officer, President-Ford Automotive Operations, believes that despite some challenges with NOx and particular matter, diesel-powered vehicles make sense because they are “power-effective, fuel-effective’ [and] emmissions-effective.” During a panel session March's SAE 2002 World Congress, Scheele stated that the diesel's “advantages vastly outweigh its problems.”

Conversely, Ford's Prabhakar Patil, Chief Engineer of the Ford Escape HEV program, believes that in North America, hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV) will be more successful than diesels because getting diesels to SULEV (super ultra-low emissions vehicle) levels will be too costly. Patil also believes that HEVs “are a necessary precondition for fuel-cell advancements. They (hybrids and fuel cells) are on converging paths.”