Green cars

"Green cars" is probably an oxymoron. But greener cars? We have lots of those coming.

But that doesn't mean that you couldn't find a whole bunch of non-green cars down at our Dallas Auto Show. There is a Dodge truck dualie that tows 16,000 pounds! If I were an oil sheik, I'd get one!

But as I said, we have a whole plethora (new from KIA?) of more energy efficient cars coming this fall. Some from the brands you know and love and a few from unheard of car makers. Here is how the technologies break down.

Neighborhood electrics - Limited to 25 mph, this allows them to slip through regulations for street use without crash testing. They are like a fancy golf cart in most cases. Plug-in recharging.

Electric three wheelers - Exploits a regulation loophole by classifying as a motorcycle to go faster but without crash testing, some are available now.

Plug in electric - Recharges via household current, range is limited, cars are mostly small, a number of options will be available in 2010 - 2011.

E85 cars - Uses 85% ethanol blend in a gas engine - there are no fuel stations in Texas but models are currently available.

Fuel efficient gasoline engines - The Smart for example. There are lots to choose from now.

Diesel - They are generally more efficient and thus give more mileage per gallon. Diesels are big in Europe and are expected to grow in the US. Bio diesel use is possible but buyer beware, many manufacturers don't want you to use too much in the fuel mix. Available now from mostly German manufacturers.

Light Hybrid - Power is regenerated through braking to charge batteries and has an electric motor that restarts the gas engine to move the vehicle. Available now.

Hybrid - Uses electric motor, gas engine and regenerative braking. Both motor and engine drive the car together or it can just use the electric motor, and recharge the batteries. Most of what is available now is this type of hybrid. Many more are coming.

Plug in hybrid - Recharge batteries via household current (120 volts AC) and has a gas engine to either move the vehicle or charge batteries on the go. This extends the range of a mostly electric vehicle.

Simple right? Well there are even more choices coming including diesel hybrids, bio diesel hybrids, natural gas and we are still working on hydrogen fuel cell cars along with who knows what else.

But here is what's important: Oil, sent to us in tankers from unfriendly nations, power our transportation sectors almost exclusively. We don't use much oil for anything else in comparison. Secondly, transportation is a big greenhouse gas problem. Third, cars etc. spew a lot of other pollutants.

Bottom Line #1 - Burning lots of fossil fuel in your car is a problem on multiple levels. So the coming green car of choice will provide you either guilt free driving or reduced guilt driving. It's also very possible these vehicles will save you a lot of money. When (not if) gas returns to $4.00 a gallon, you will cherish your environmentally friendly vehicle.

Today, batteries are the holy grail of our next generation of vehicles. How much of a charge, how much they weigh, how long they last and how will they be disposed of at the end of their useful life are all challenges for engineers the world over. While we sleep at night they are trying to improve batteries on all those fronts. (Root for US engineers to win the day).

We also may want to think of our transportation as a long haul vehicle (hybrid) and city car (plug in electric). Charging your car at home will cost you around a third of the cost of gas. Renting, rather than owning your long haul car may make even more sense.

Bottom Line #2 - Buying a car will require a whole new thought process if you want a greener choice. Hybrids will become mainstream, and plug-in electrics will get a good start this year. You should be able to buy what you like, this Fall, from reputable manufacturers who will be around tomorrow.

Before you get that eco-car, consider this (my head hurts every time I read about it). When deciding if upgrading the efficiency of your vehicle makes sense, you have to look at fuel savings differently.

The problem is we perceive that fuel consumption falls in a linear fashion as mpg increases. In other words, we think that a 50 mpg car compared to a 34 mpg car is better fuel savings than a 28 mpg car compared to a 18 mpg one. The first one saves 16 gallons, the second 10, right?

Well if your car gets 18 mpg currently, upgrading to a 28 mpg one offers more than double the fuel savings over 10,000 miles, than the 34 mpg car compared to a 50 mpg one! You math wizards out there get this probably...I prefer to consider it magic.

Bottom Line #3 - The reason this is important is that trading in your inefficient car for a mildly efficient one is way more important than trading in your efficient ride for a super efficient one.