Gas engines: Here to stay

Despite its limitations, the internal combustion engine won’t be pushed aside so easily, but it can be made better.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Despite all the hype for electric cars and hydrogen fuel cells, experts say we’d better get used to pumping gas, but we can look forward to much better fuel economy down the road.

“For the foreseeable future, the gasoline engine will stay the predominant power source,” said Uwe Grebe, General Motors’ executive director for advanced powertrain engineering.


That’s because, despite it’s imperfections, the internal combustion engine has a lot of inherent advantages but plenty of room for improvement. As those improvements are made, future gasoline engines will be more and more fuel efficient, making it tougher for competing technologies to show a big benefit.

Another reason is the fuel itself. Whether we’re talking about diesel fuel or gasoline, it’s hard to beat hydrocarbons for delivering energy in a potent, easy-to-handle package.

Small non-hybrid gasoline engine cars already get more than 35 miles per gallon on the highway. But only about 15 percent of the energy in gasoline actually makes its way to the wheels, said Fedewa.

That leaves plenty of upside potential, he said.

CNN