be years before they come to market. The Persian Gulf war piqued interest in alternative fuels, and new clean-air laws make hydrogen seem more sensible than it once did. Burning it mainly creates steam, most of which condenses and trickles out the tail pipe with only a few nitrous oxides left over. Japan's Mazda Motor Corp. hopes to sell a few hydrogen cars in California within 10 years. The main problem, according to Wolfgang Reitzle of BMW, is how to produce and distribute hydrogen. So far, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Mazda prototypes are using gasoline engines that have been modified for hydrogen, although not yet optimized. The key question is how the fuel should be stored. Mercedes has opted for gaseous hydrogen that bonds in the fuel tank with powdered metals, a fuel cell; Mazda plans a tank that stores hydrogen in metal alloy balls; BMW uses cryogenic liquid hydrogen injected directly into the cylinders, (Hoffman, 24), as well as fuel cell technology. Used correctly, the companies insist, hydrogen is as safe as gasoline, (Templeman, 59). Hydrogen is being readily researched and certainly evidences itself as being a feasible alternative fuel.Finally I will briefly touch on turbine cars engines. They are of course not alternative fuels, but can run on them more efficiently than any conventional ICE. Although most of the work on alternative car engine technologies has concentrated on electric vehicles, run by either fuel cells or batteries, another option deserving of a hard look is the gas turbine engine. Compared with the ICE, gas turbine engines weigh less, are longer-lasting, and break down less frequently. The gas turbine engine excels in terms of emissions; it is the only automotive engine technology to have met the most stringent limits tentatively set by the Environmental Protection Agency. The gas turbine vehicle also has some clear benefits over batteries and fuel cells. They can burn a variety of fuels and are compact source...
