The average family car could emit just 40g/km of CO2 by the middle of the century, Richard Parry Jones told an Autocar-sponsored lecture in central London on Wednesday.
Parry-Jones - one of the world’s leading automotive engineers who was Ford’s global Chief Technical Officer - said that if proper long-term planning happens now, massive reductions in CO2 from cars is entirely possible. He believes that the equivalent of 180mpg with today's technology will be a reality by 2050.
But rather than forcing emissions-slashing legislation on the motor industry, Parry-Jones believes that governments should allow carmakers to set a ‘glide path’ toward reducing CO2 and meeting green targets over the next few decades.
In the short term, adjustment to aerodynamics, weight reduction, reduced rolling resistance and recalibration of engine management systems will allow a typical Ford Focus to dip below the 100g/km emissions barrier by 2015.Parry-Jones added that battery technology, typically used in hybrid cars, is too expensive and ‘not evolving fast enough’.Crucially, the former Ford executive said he felt that personal mobility should not be curtailed by central government as a reaction to the Climate Change consensus.
He also called on the government to resist the temptation to pick environmental ‘winners’ at this stage of the technology cycle, instead leaving the industry to find the best ways to reduce CO2.During the Autocar speech to top motor industry figures, Parry-Jones also criticised what he called the ‘demonisation’ of motoring, along with ‘punitive fiscal policies’ and the halt in the expansion of the UK’s road network.
He also thinks that, in the future, families will have numerous cars, with the design of each optimised for ‘city, urban and inter-city’ use.
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Re: 180mpg hatch by 2050
"Stephen Guckel wrote the following post at Jul 28, 2008 3:54 PM: I'm still a fan of the Aircar. www.theaircar.com A car that runs on compressed fresh air has got to be a good thing." Have you driven it? No, and nobody else (independent) has either. FFFFFFFFFFFFRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUDDDDDDDDDDDD BTW, site is down - run out of air?
Re: 180mpg hatch by 2050
I thought this was a fun idea :)
http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/30072008/36/folding-cars-solve-city-congestion-0.html
Re: 180mpg hatch by 2050
Speaking for myself. I beleive that the combustion engine as we know it is finished. In the long term there is no logic in continuing it's development, sooner or later we're going to run out of oil.
The 180mpg engine, in my view, should be seen as a short term measure until a viable permanent measure can be produced.
I don't agree with biofuels as we are already seeing the resulting food shortages/price hikes caused by this and our ever over populated world. So I guess that leaves electric/hydrogen fuel cells from the current batch.
I'm being purposely whooly about my views here, not giving any serious details as to alternatives. That is purely because whilst I understand the pronciples behind some of the new technologies I don't understand all the implications of them. How much to produce (cost and resources). I'm hoping that this blog would help illuminate me further.