Document Information
Policy Insight, Volume 2, Issue 2, April 2008
New Engines and Fuels for Cars and Light Trucks
Rising oil prices and concerns about energy security and climate change are pressuring automakers to produce vehicles with better fuel economy and reduced greenhouse-gas emissions. This Policy Insight discusses four innovations to fuel and engine technology that automakers will be developing over the next decade: gasoline-electric hybrid technology, advanced diesel technology, vehicles powered by a blend of ethanol and gasoline, and improvements to the traditional gasoline engine. Keefe, Griffin, and Graham highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each, drawing on a benefit-cost analysis in which they calculate the value of the three alternative technologies from a societal perspective, taking into account technology costs, fuel savings, performance benefits, pollution estimates, reductions in oil use, the cost of greenhouse-gas emissions, and other factors. They conclude that advanced diesels and gasoline-electric hybrids have a promising future but that policymakers appear to be favoring ethanol-fueled vehicles through a variety of regulations and tax subsidies.
See Also:
Working Paper
PRGS Policy Insight Web Page
Free, downloadable PDF file(s) are available below.
RAND makes an electronic version of this document available for free as a public service.
Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 7.0 or higher for the best experience.
Corporate publications are program or department brochures, newsletters, pamphlets, and miscellaneous information about the RAND Corporation or RAND's business units. Some corporate publications are published in the AR series as Annual Reports or as Administrative Reports. Administrative Reports are often required by the client or sponsor and provide a status report on work resulting from a contract.
Permission is given to duplicate this electronic document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit the RAND Permissions page.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.
* RAND research is conducted across divisions, centers, and projects; these organizational components are represented in the "Related RAND Divisions" section above.
Top
RAND® is a registered trademark. Copyright © 1994-2009 RAND Corporation. Last Modified: April 11, 2008 