Dual-powered cars aren't quite as unique as they used to be, but a vehicle that's able to run on three different power sources should be enough to perk up anyone's energy-saving, cost-cutting ears, even if just a little bit. At least that's what Fiat hopes will be your reaction to its latest concept car / tongue-twister, the Multipla Multi-eco. In addition to running on plain-old gasoline, it'll get you where you want to go on either methane or E85 bioethanol. The methane gets a fuel tank of its own, but the car's ECU is able to sort out the gas and bioethanol itself, letting you use any combination of them. This being a concept vehicle, however, you won't exactly be able to get behind the wheel of one anytime soon. However, Fiat
is making a slight variation commercially available in the form of the Panda Panda, which lacks the E85 bioethanol option but still lets you run on your choice of methane or gasoline.
[Via
Autoblog]
posted Sep 19th 2006 1:58PM
What's next, cheap Chinese 15-in-1 knockoffs? (I want to see a car powered off evil thoughts.)
Here in brazil we already have multi-power cars, methane,Gasoline and Natural Gas. You can feel in any combination. The are finishing the quad-fuel too. They are very pop.
Finally! A car that runs on farts!
e85 is a myth. It cost too much in energy to produce and it would be impossible to switch all the cars over to it.
It is basically a subsidy for farmers and make politicians feel like they are doing something. The US auto makers are promoting it because that is "all they got" gas mileage wise. They are trying to look good because their vehicles have poor fuel economy.
fastm3driver, It's not about fuel prices, it's about the environment.
www.theaircar.com
So now you have 3 times as many reasons to go to your favorite mechanic.
What does FIAT stand for?
Fix
It
Again
Tony
Oh dear, oh dear. Fix it again tony? Clearly you are not up to date with your motoring news. Fiat has long been one of the few manufacturers who offer a cheap vehicle that is cheap to run. Ultimatley, motorists have a choice - spend £25k on a vehicle (OTR price) or spend £25k on a vehicle (OTR price AND servicing and maintenance). The overall costs will remain the same. It's worth also mentioning that Fiat (and Alfa Romeo) have always built their vehicles in line with driving pleasure, something they have always done well at.
e p, fastm WAS talking about the environment. Do you think the production of e85 (including the growing and harvesting of all the necessary agricultural products) is "free," pollutionwise?
e85 is renweable. i.e. we use it and then we can make some more. Oil is non-renewable, once it is gone it is gone. so e85 is great a medium to get us weened of oil. But yeah it is not the solution, just a methadone to gasoline.
Yeah corn is renewable... but the gas used to grow that corn still isn't. It requires more energy to create the fuel at this point then you get out of it. So let's say a farm ran totally on the energy using the corn it was producing, it wouldn't break even and would still require running atleast partially on another energy source. There are more effective ways of turning crops into energy, but right now the system is still just an effect of politicians wanting to please big farm lobbies at the same time as those wanting to cleaner/domestic/cheaper fuel sources. Brazil for instance has gotten almost totally off of foreign dependence on oil by using fuel created from sugar cane, which is created much more effeciently.
They ought to seek out a product that will fuel cars, that doesnt happen to compete with the rural farms food demands, also e85 is vulnerable to bad and good growing seasons... It is only a temporary solution, and cars should built on technology that is a permanent solution.
~PEACE
Does anyone remember the Entourage episode where Drama brags about his Fiat? :D