Fiat's tri-powered Multipla Multi-eco

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]

[Ethan @ Sep 19th 2006 2:35PM]

Finally! A car that runs on farts!

[fastm3driver @ Sep 19th 2006 2:46PM]

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.

[e p @ Sep 19th 2006 4:19PM]

fastm3driver, It's not about fuel prices, it's about the environment.

[pfepher @ Sep 19th 2006 4:24PM]

So now you have 3 times as many reasons to go to your favorite mechanic.

What does FIAT stand for?
Fix
It
Again
Tony

[eyei3 @ Sep 19th 2006 4:27PM]

www.theaircar.com

[Turkina @ Sep 19th 2006 4:34PM]

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?

[Nith @ Sep 19th 2006 4:55PM]

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.

[phojo11 @ Sep 19th 2006 5:06PM]

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.

[Icelandman @ Sep 19th 2006 9:38PM]

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

[Joe Mama @ Sep 19th 2006 10:29PM]

Does anyone remember the Entourage episode where Drama brags about his Fiat? :D

[Daniel Pires @ Sep 21st 2006 6:28PM]

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.

[Fezman @ Sep 21st 2006 10:36PM]

What's next, cheap Chinese 15-in-1 knockoffs? (I want to see a car powered off evil thoughts.)