| Automobiles in the United States emit more than one billion pounds of potentially harmful carbon dioxide gas ever year---more than most other entire countries produce. But new types of alternative fuel vehicles may soon change that.; Hybrid cars, which run on both gasoline and electric power, emit one-tenth the pollutants of internal combustion engines. Japanese manufacturers are already profitably selling hybrid cars in the United States. American manufacturers have been slower to respond, however, and are now racing to introduce hybrid models of their own, as well as continue research into hydrogen fuel cell technology---considered by some to be the next generation of alternative fuel.; But whether either of these technologies succeeds depends on consumer response and whether these "alternative" cars can match traditional vehicles in performance, comfort, and price. |
