Alternative Fuels

This assessment will focus primarily on the use of alternative fuel vehicles at Lotus Rental Car’s, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of alternative fuels and the impact it will have on the American public. With gas prices increasing daily, renting a vehicle is becoming a fast growing decision for families going on vacation and people who make their living traveling from place to place. Families can no longer afford to rent large RVs and pay outrageous prices for fuel. Salespersons and businessmen cannot either.

Big companies are no longer willing to cover the whole cost of fuel, but rather a percentage which digs in the profit for these businessmen. Alternative Fuel Vehicles AFV,(alternative fuel vehicles), by design are intended to improve air quality by lowering ozone-depleting emissions and makes us less dependent on foreign oil products. The various types of AFVs, include hybrid and flexible fuel designs. Powered by electricity, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquid petroleum gas (LPG), propane, hydrogen, alcohol (in the form of methanol and denatured alcohol), and gasohol (which includes up to 85% alcohol), are the most common.

Currently, only three types are readily available to the public; which are natural gas; flex fuel, and battery electric. Natural gas powers about 112,000 vehicles already in the United States and is a good choice for centrally fueled fleets that operate within a limited area. The domestic availability and widespread distribution infrastructure is a great advantage. Most NG vehicles use diesel for ignition and then natural gas for the rest. Hybrid vehicles use electricity which is drawn from an off board power source and then stored in batteries.

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There is also plug in vehicles that can be plugged directly into an electrical outlet when not in use. Flex fuel uses ethanol which is made from biomass material. It also requires no special fueling equipment and can be used in gasoline burning engines. Reasons to Incorporate AFVs Each vehicle emits more than 600 lbs. of pollutants per year, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide; which contributes to smog. This leads to many health issues.

The inability for blood to carry oxygen to vital organs, bronchitis, asthma and other respiratory tract problems has been reported. These pollutants also affect our eye sight. Bacteria and other chemicals get into our eye tissue; causing damage to our retina and the eye pressure, which can lead to cataracts even blindness. The use of alternate fuels will not see an end to pollutants but will certainly have an impact on the amount of pollutants which is emitted from our vehicles.

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