Future Car Technologies

Potential future car technologies include new energy sources and materials, which are being developed in order to make automobiles more sustainable, safer, more energy efficient, or less polluting. Cars are being developed in many different ways.

With rising gas prices, the future of cars is leaning towards fuel efficiency, energy-savers, hybrid vehicles, battery electric vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles (Xiang, Jia, Jianzhong, Zhibiao, Yuanzhang, & Qinglin 2008).


Energy source

One major problem in developing cleaner, energy efficient automobiles is the source of power to drive the engine. A variety of alternative fuel vehicles have been proposed or sold, including electric cars, hydrogen cars, and compressed-air cars.

In one experiment done to improve the future of cars, a new kind of battery was installed which can be easily removed, and recharged in two different ways. First, by a generator integrated with the IC and second by removing the cassettes so that they can be recharged off-board in the home ( Charters, Watkinson, Wykes, & Simpkin, 2008). d

Energy savers

Conventional automobiles operate at about 15% efficiency. The rest of the energy is lost to engine and drive-train inefficiencies and idling. Therefore, the potential to improve fuel efficiency with advanced technologies is enormous.

Various technologies have been developed and utilized to increase the energy efficiency of conventional cars or supplement them, resulting in energy savings.

Regenerative braking Regenerative braking technology saves and stores energy for future use or as back up power. When conventional brakes are used, 30% of the energy is lost in the form of heat (Raunekk, 2009). Regenerative braking uses this energy to recharge the batteries in a hybrid vehicle.
BMW's Turbosteamer BMW’s Turbosteamer concept uses energy from the exhaust gases of the traditional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) to power a steam engine which also contributes power to the automobile (Hanlon, 2005). This can increases energy efficiency up to 15 %.
Compressed air Hybrid is an engine made by researchers at Brunel University in Britain, which forces highly compressed air into the engine, which they claim reduces fuel consumption by 30%.
Utilization of waste heat from D.W. as useful mechanical energy through exhaust powered steam, stirling engines, thermal diodes, etc..
Using computational fluid dynamics in the design stage can produce vehicles which take significantly less energy to push through the air, a major consideration at highway speeds. The Volkswagen 1-litre car and Aptera 2 Series are examples of ultra-low-drag vehicles.
Installing Vortex prevention devices at the back of the roof of a car reduces drag and therefore improve fuel efficiency. 

Source : Wikipedia