Cars That Use Alternative Fuel

According to Ward AutoWorld, “there were 80 million alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles sold or converted worldwide as of October 2013.” These vehicles are consistently increasing in sales as the prices of fuel continue to grow, and as people begin searching for more earth friendly vehicles. Of course, what many people do not realize is that there are several types of alternative fuel vehicles available, while they each offer different methods of powering your vehicle.

The following includes some popular types of alternative fuel, along with the type of vehicle:

Dedicated Electric

With over 160,000 plug-in electric vehicles used world-wide, there must be some sort of appeal to these vehicles. Dedicated electric cars use electricity that has been stored in their batteries as their source of fuel. They create zero tail pipe emissions, which causes significantly less air pollution. Two types of dedicated electric cars include:

• Nissan Leaf: This car costs around $32,000 and averages 0.32 KWh/m city, and 0.37 KWh/m highway.
• Tesla Roadster 2.5: This car costs around $128,000 and gets 0.3 KWh/m city, and 0.3KWh/m highway.

Hybrid Electric

With over 3.3 million hybrid electric cars used around the world, and 1.9 million used in the United States, the hybrid electric car remains an outstanding option for an alternative fuel car. A few popular hybrid electric cars include:

• BMW – Active hybrid 7: This car costs $90,000 and gets 17 city, and 24 highway.
• Ford – Fusion Hybrid: This car costs $28,000 and gets 41 city, and 36 highway.
• Honda – Civic Hybrid: This car costs $24,000 and gets 40 city, and 45 highway.
• Lincoln – MKZ Hybrid: This car costs $35,000 and gets 41 city, and 36 highway.

Biodiesel

A biodiesel vehicle will produce 42 percent less CO2 emissions than regular diesel fuel powered vehicles, which is why many people and companies are turning to these vehicles for alternative fuel. Some popular biodiesel vehicles include:

• BMW – 335d: This car costs $45,000 and gets 23 city, and 36 highway.
• Mercedes – Benz E320 BlueTEC: This car costs $52,000 and gets 23 city, and 32 highway.
• Volkswagen Jetta TDI: This car costs $23 and gets 29 city, and 40 highway.

Propane

There are more than 11.2 million vehicles that run on natural gas throughout the world, while Pakistan tops the charts for these vehicles with 2.4 million. Some popular propane powered vehicles include:

• Honda Civic CNG: This vehicle costs $15,000 and gets 24 city, and 31 highway.
• CNG School Bus: This vehicle gets 6 city, and 10 highway.

Flex Fuel

With 22.6 million flex fuel vehicles used around the world, and 9.3 million in the United States, these vehicles seem to be the most popular alternative fuel vehicles around. Some of these vehicles include:

• Buick – Lucerne CX: This vehicle costs $29,000 and gets 13 city, and 20 highway.
• Chevrolet – Malibu LS: This vehicle costs $27,000 and gets 15 city, and 23 highway.
• Mercedes-Benz – C300: This vehicle costs $34,000 and gets 15 city, and 23 highway.

Depending on the vehicle of your choice, you may get up to 41 miles city, and 45 miles highway, while drastically reducing the amount you would normally pay for regular gasoline, and reducing the amount of harmful emissions released into the environment.