The automotive industry is making strong strides in producing Earth-friendly vehicles that will shape and change the future of the car industry itself. Along with these changes, the criteria and standards by which consumers purchase new vehicles will surpass present standards. Consumers around the world have demanded a more fuel-efficient, environmentally safe car for years. With the arrival of electric and hybrid vehicles, the industry is responding to consumer needs and, most importantly, to the needs of the environment.

So if there were a way to produce vehicles that are so fuel efficient, pollution-free and aesthetically pleasing, would we, the consumers, sacrifice the status symbols that sit in our driveways for the opportunity to help preserve our environment and quality of life?

Not only have we seen the arrival of electric and hybrid vehicles, we also have witnessed a tremendous partnership that ultimately will change the future of cars for the better. For those skeptics who think that we should be doing more with the resources we have, there is a program called the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles. The PNGV combines public and private resources to develop technologies for a totally new generation of vehicles. The U.S. federal government and three major car manufacturers -- DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors -- have been working together since the program’s inception in 1993.

The goal of the PNGV is to "improve national competitiveness in automotive manufacturing and to apply commercially viable innovation to conventional vehicles." According to the PNGV, it is estimated that by the year 2010 vehicles in the United States alone will reach 270 million. Because of this astronomical number, the success of this program is vital to maintain our quality of life and to protect our environment.

Currently the United States imports about 50 percent of its oil, and that number will jump to 60 percent by 2010. Hopefully the PNGV will play a part in decreasing the United States’ dependency on importing foreign oil in the future, as well. In the long run, the PNGV hopes to produce a "Supercar" that will be "environmentally friendly with up to triple the fuel efficiency of today’s midsize cars without sacrificing affordability, performance or safety."

In a normally competitive market, DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors have set aside those competitive natures under the umbrella of the U.S. Council for Automotive Research, which is partnered with the government, forming the PNGV. Executive director of the USCAR Don Walkowicz predicts, "Technological changes in just the next 20 years will have a dramatic impact on the automobile... on its power source, fuel efficiency, safety; its positive impact on the environment, how it’s built and the materials to build it... even what happens when the vehicle has outlived its usefulness."

Through this cooperative research, only a bountiful of good things can come. Walkowicz even boasts, "The industry today is on the verge of major technical innovations that might be as far-reaching as the switch from horses to horsepower." This is a pretty heavy statement that invokes a certain amount of trust in the PNGV and its ultimate goals. So what warrants such a statement? The simple fact that seven federal agencies, the national laboratories, universities, suppliers and the three USCAR participants are all working together for the common good deserves applause in itself.

Moreover, researchers are investigating new and reformulated fuels in order to produce high-efficiency, low-emissions technologies. New fuels (synthetic fuels) consist of the following options: Fischer-Tropsch (liquefied natural gas), DME (dimethyl ether), DMM (dimethoxymethane) and DOMDME (di-oxymethylene dimethyl ether). Reformulated fuels are basically reformulated diesel and low-sulfur fuels.

"We need advanced fuels to optimize and balance engine efficiency with low emission," said General Motor’s Jim Spearot, who is a member of the PNGV fuels working group. The PNGV has enlisted the help of major fuel companies and the U.S. Department of Energy to do extensive research on the issue. Pushing for a fuel alternative will only help in the long run. It seems that the PNGV realizes this and is committed to the cause. The low-sulfur fuels mentioned earlier are already available in California, much of Europe and Japan.

The biggest challenge the PNGV faces will be to maintain the affordability of this new generation of vehicles. They also will have to produce vehicles that meet consumers’ needs, such as safety, quality, performance and utility. One way the PNGV plans to keep the vehicles affordable is to make further advances in manufacturing techniques to reduce production costs and product development time. With the expertise that embodies the PNGV, these challenges very well may be met in a relatively short period of time.

The automobile industry is making changes that reflect the needs of the people and the environment. The federal government’s resources are stepping in where and when needed. So what about us, the consumers? Will we be able to weigh the pros and cons of owning a hybrid or electric vehicle seriously vs. sticking with what we know?

The next step will be up to the consumer to make or break the advances in the car industry. We must decide whether or not to support and purchase the future and its ideas. But I have a feeling that owning a hybrid or electric vehicle will become just as popular and desirable as the modern-day SUV.