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ICE, HEV, BEV, ZEV, or all of them?
You Are What You Drive - A Bottom Line Review
By Tony Leopardo, The Car Guy © AutoWire.Net
The Bottom Line: As Bob Dylan once said, "the times they are a changin ", and now is the time to make a change. In the model year 2020, if your going to buy a new car, crossover, SUV, station wagon or truck, you will have to make a decision on what type of engine you want to power your ride.
You will have to pick from an ICE, HEV or a ZEV - BEV power train. Will it be an HEV, Hybrid Electric Vehicle? think Toyota Prius, or a ZEV, Zero Electric Vehicle / BEV, battery Electric Vehicle? think Nissan Leaf, or an ICE powered vehicle? The last one stands for Internal Combustion Engine, so think of any car, truck, gas or diesel, built over the last 100 plus years.
Now with the worldwide mandates to reduce carbon exhaust emission's, and to get higher miles per gallon in all vehicles, the manufactures have developed these 3 power trains today, for tomorrows vehicles.
Starting in model year 2020, we as consumers, will have over 25 vehicles to pick from that will be a BEV - ZEV. Battery Electric Vehicle - Zero Emission Vehicle. Meaning they will be powered by electricity only. The goal is to have zero emissions from the vehicle.
That said, the electricity has to come from somewhere to power the car, like in a power generating plant in the same state, so we are not too far from the original source of electrical power. But that's a debate for another time. So let's pick a drive train first.
The alternative drive train is the HEV - Hybrid Electric Vehicle. This is a matchup of an ICE internal combustion engine, plus an electric motor, plus a battery pack, with regenerative braking and plug in capability. Think Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid.
This is the best of both worlds for now. You have a gas or diesel engine, one, two or three electric motors, plus a battery pack onboard, charged up by regenerative braking, plus the ability to plug in the car and recharge the battery pack with either 110 / 220 / 440 volts at a charging station, or at home. The three levels of charge allow the battery pack to be re-charged faster depending on what power level charger you have access to.
Then there is the ICE engine, the Internal Combustion Engine. This last drive train is the one that we are still using for over 100 years now, and counting. And this is the same engine that is mated to the hybrid drive train to get a mix of both worlds. By all accounts in the Automotive Engineering world the ICE engine has another 40 to 50 years to go, and maybe even more.
FYI: We do not have enough power plants in the world to go all electric for decades. And BEV vehicles, even with a 200 to 300 mile range, think Tesla, need power from a power generating plant source.
The gas and diesel engine powered cars will continue to use fossil fuels, but they are being re-engineered to produce less carbon emissions, get better MPG - Miles Per Gallon mileage, and to make more power, in a smaller package. And some ICE powered cars, trucks, buses, tractor trailers, trains, ships etc. will use ICE engines probably for another 100 plus years in some form or another, think Hybrid again.
Of course the new cars of tomorrow will always be better than the new cars of today. But we have to start somewhere, and the hybrid and electric cars of yesterday have been in mass production for over 10 years now. With the new 2020 models, all the manufactures have to get in the game, with their newest and best automotive drive train technology. Go out and buy your new ride with the engine you like best. Good luck, and may the power force be with you. And remember: “You Are What You Drive ©”
Maybe, just for those reasons alone, you should “Drive one, Buy one, Today ©”.
This Bottom Line Review is provided by: Tony Leopardo © AutoWire.Net
“Tony the Car Guy” is an automotive writer, editor and publisher in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you have a question, or comment for Tony, send it to tonyleo@pacbell.net or visit AutoWire.Net at www.autowire.net
Column Name: ICE, HEV, BEV, ZEV, or all of them?
Topic: You Are What You Drive - A Bottom Line Review
Word Count: 785
Photo Caption: TESLA MODEL 3
Photo Credits: TESLA Internet Media
Series #: 2019 - 21
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