AUTOSHOW-Car industry struggles to ween drivers off oil
By Tom Pfeiffer
PARIS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Camera flashes will illuminate sleek new sheetmetal at the Paris auto show this week, but for most of the vehicles to be unveiled, the novelty will be only skin deep.
Underneath the bold shapes, multiple air bags and satellite navigation aids, the car's basic principle -- based on Karl Benz's internal combustion engine -- is little changed after 117 years.
They still need to burn oil to go anywhere.
The hydrogen-based fuel cell, which emits only water and electricity to drive the vehicle, has long been the best hope for a "clean car" paradigm shift, but experts say such technologies are still a far-off dream for ordinary drivers.
"A lot of companies will be showing off fuel-cell concepts but it's really just a public relations exercise," said Tom Devleeschauwer, an industry analyst at DRI-Wefa in London. "They are just demonstrating their technical capability."
Despite great strides in fuel economy, vehicles running on fossil fuels still emit a tenth of the man-made carbon dioxide which has been blamed for abnormal climate patterns and a profusion of natural disasters.
Judging by the cars and fuel-thirsty sport utility vehicles on offer these days, manufacturers don't appear to think customers care enough about global warming to pay over the odds for untried technologies that could prove worthless.
And though auto firms are spending billions to make viable fuel-cell cars by 2010, a welter of challenges, including how to store and transport hydrogen, make that a tall order.
"The motor industry will really struggle to have fuel cell cars that give the same satisfaction at the same price as present vehicles by 2010," said Professor Garel Rhys of Cardiff University. He said it could be 30 years before the vehicles go into full production.
The problem, Rhys says, is that engines powered by fossil fuels (though the very name suggests redundancy) keep getting more efficient and more powerful, and governments aren't doing enough to make the alternatives more appealing.
That's especially true for countries like the United States, where petrol is about three times cheaper than in Japan.
The difference encourages Americans to drive bigger, dirtier cars and makes them less willing to pay a premium for fuel economy. General Motors Corp has scrapped its cleanest U.S. cars, the Chevrolet Prizm and Chevrolet Metro, due to weak demand.
In Europe, regulations are slowly forcing automakers to increase fuel efficiency though, for the moment, they can meet the tightening standards without abandoning fossil fuels thanks to a new range of efficient direct-injection diesel engines.
Liquified natural or petroleum gas cars, which offer emission cuts of about 15 percent, are touted as another solution. Electric cars have fallen out of favour because of the high cost of batteries, their low range and long charging times.
INTERIM SOLUTION
Most manufacturers see socalled hybrid cars, which couple an electric motor with a traditional engine, as the most ecological and practical way forward until hydrogen power is perfected.
The high cost of petrol in Japan has prompted home-grown firms Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co Ltd to become the pioneers of hybrid autos.
Toyota has sold about 120,000 of its Prius hybrid, and wants to be building 300,000 hybrids annually by 2005 or 2006. But the achilles heel of the technology is their heavy, expensive batteries, which need replacing every two or three years.
"This is a problem that for the moment people disregard," said Devleeschauwer. "Those who have bought a Prius or a Honda Insight are in for a surprise when they replace the batteries."
Engineers have come up with an array of other energy sources for automobiles, including alcohol, rape seed oil and soy oil.
French former Formula 1 racing engineer Guy Negre has even started production of a car that runs on compressed air. His company says the five-seater can reach a top speed of 100 kilometres per hour and has a range of about 200 kilometres.
BENZ STILL KING
The Paris show serve as a reminder that, early in the 21st century, the internal combustion engine still rules, though automakers are edging closer to viable hydrogen powered cars.
General Motors Corp will display its Hy-Wire concept as part of an effort to become the first firm with a million fuel cell automobiles on the market.
Peugeot will unveil a small fuel-cell-powered offshoot of its 206 compact car, customised for use by fire departments, whose hydrogen is produced chemically on board.
Perhaps the greatest challenge, say analysts, lies with governments, who need the political courage to create a fiscal regime that makes drivers want to buy vehicles that spew out less carbon dioxide.
"Governments need to say clearly that they want to create the hydrogen society and to do it over, say, the next 30 years," said Rhys. "'Right,' the companies will say. 'We know the goal. Now lets go for it.'"
(See Factbox [nLL22167041] for more on each carmaker's progress.)
(Additional reporting by auto sector correspondents in Detroit, Frankfurt and Tokyo)