10大汽车新能源盘点

    尽管现在新的钻探技术和新探明石油贮量使油价和最高产量问题面临的压力有所减轻，但对替代燃料汽车的需求仍然在增长。环境问题和政府管制已经使寻找传统汽油内燃机的替代品成为汽车厂商和消费者的当务之急。联邦政府要求，到2025年平均每加仑英里数应达到54.5英里——这对传统技术来说是一个极其具有挑战性的目标。加州则已经开始要求增加零排放汽车或插电式混合动力车的数量。

    但是应该朝哪个方向努力呢？考虑到诸多因素，如使用习惯、效率和成本等，能替代汽油的东西有十几种，比如电力、天然气、植物油，甚至还有太阳能。而正如汽车网站Edmunds.com的约翰•欧戴尔所指出的那样，就算天然气这样最有希望的替代品，它的推广也受到同一件事的阻碍：加油或充电基础设施的匮乏。

    考虑到这一点，我们来看看一些现有替代品的情况，以及关于它们未来应用的尝试性预测。

    While new drilling technologies and oil reserves are taking the pressure off gasoline prices and peak production issues, demand for alternative fuel vehicles continues to grow. Environmental concerns and government regulations have made finding substitutes for the conventional gasoline-powered internal combustion engine a priority for both manufacturers and consumers. The federal government is demanding an average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 -- a challenging target for traditional technologies. California is requiring increasing numbers of zero-emission or plug-in hybrid cars.

    But what direction to go? Depending on considerations like usage patterns, efficiency, and cost, there are at least a dozen substitutes for gasoline as motor fuel, including electricity, natural gas, vegetable oil, and even sunlight.

    Even the most promising ones like natural gas, as John O'Dell of Edmunds.com points out, are handicapped by the same thing: a lack of infrastructure for refueling or recharging.

    With that in mind, here's a look at the alternatives that are available today, along with some tentative predictions about their prospects for the future.

    1. 油电混动

    本田Insight和丰田普锐斯（Prius）是第一代混动车，它们都是1999年在美国上市的，而今天在售的混动车已经有40种。部分使用电能驱动汽车在燃油经济性和排放上都有很大好处。油电混合动力车用电池在低速行驶时供能，或控制启停。这种电池通过再生制动或内燃机充电，无须插电。虽然丰田广受欢迎的普锐斯一直是最畅销的混动车（它2013年的总销量将超过20万辆），但现在法拉利（Ferrari）和保时捷（Porsche）也开始推出超级混动车了，比如保时捷帕纳梅拉S混动车搭载了一台3.0升的V6引擎，但续航能力仍能达到城市路况每加仑22英里，高速公路每加仑30英里。

    1. Gas-electric hybrids

    The first hybrid models, the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius (above) both reached the U.S. in 1999, and today some 40 gas-electric models are for sale. Using electricity to partially power vehicles has significant fuel economy and emissions benefits. Gas-electric hybrids use a battery to provide power at low speeds, or to handle stop/start. The battery is charged through regenerative braking and by the internal combustion engine, and it need not be plugged in. While Toyota's (TM) popular Prius remains the best-selling hybrid -- more than 200,000 will be sold in 2013 -- their numbers now include supercars made by Ferrari and Porsche. The Porsche Panamera S hybrid has a 3.0 liter V6 engine and still gets 22 mpg city/30 mpg highway.