Lean Muscle Cars

Lean Muscle Cars

Can an automobile go from 0-60 in 4 seconds and be beneficial to our environment? In California, a group of automotive enthusiasts have designed the Enigma, a hybrid machine capable of 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds. Powered by a diesel engine and a secondary electric motor, the second generation Enigma will be capable of 217mph with an average fuel economy of 40mpg. 40 miles per gallon! But this technology must be too good to be true, right? It is. Unless you feel like forking over $185,000 for a high performance hybrid, American muscle and other gasoline engines are far more affordable in this day and age.

It is true, hybrid automobiles are taking the industry by storm, but achieving equal power of a gasoline engine with a hybrid model requires a lot more technology and a lot bigger bill. Both Ford Motor Company and General Motors have stepped up investment in the hybrid forum. General Motors has released the Saturn VUE Hybrid along with the GMC Sierra Hybrid, both of which make the same power as the non-hybrid models, but the price is noticeably higher. Ford has unveiled the Ford Escape Hybrid and its twin Mercury Mariner Hybrid. Both of these automobiles make 40mpg highway rating and put out a 50% decrease in emissions, but you will pay for the technology with the pricing.

Now the big question: Will Ford or GM research and produce a hybrid muscle car? The easy answer is probably no. The reason for this is because Ford and GM have big holds in the oil market and they can alter production based on consumer needs for either automobiles or petroleum-based fuels. Also, the technology is not here to make high-powered hybrids affordable. The timing for GM and Ford to dip their toes deeper into hybrid technology is controlled by the oil companies.

The oil companies are making record profits this week. It is the oil companies who invest the greatest amount of money and resources into perfecting alternative fuels, and higher profits means more research capital. However, with new releases of our oil reserves not even reaching peak yet, we are not yet in need of this hybrid technology or alternative fuel. America has more than peak oil amounts in reserves and in the ground, and recent studies have shown a worldwide increase in previously undiscovered oil. Accordingly, the world has about 100 years at our current consumption rate before alternative fuels will be a dire need.

But what does this mean for the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Corvette? Will we see a hybrid model of these popular American Muscle cars anytime soon? Probably not. It is highly unlikely to expect Ford and GM to invest in high power hybrid before the third rank company Toyota or one of its Japanese counterparts. Although every man would love 400 horsepower and 40 miles to the gallon, the market is not ready to foot the bill for such an automobile.

However, the market is ready for ethanol-based fuels. Ethanol is a corn-based alcohol fuel that can be mixed with gasoline to power automobiles more affordably. Ford has introduced the Ford F-150 pickup truck, Ford Crown Victoria sedan, the Lincoln Town Car, and the Mercury Grand Marquis as ethanol-based vehicles for production in the United States. Ethanol fuels are a 15% part gasoline to an 85% part ethanol mixture, and they release 25% less pollutants than regular gasoline engines, and are a more affordable solution to the pending oil crisis. The technology is affordable and at the ready for ethanol-mixed fuels to power automobiles reliably, but will be unlikely that the Mustangs and Corvettes as we know them today will be hybrid powered models anytime soon.