IN THIS FEATURE Cleaning up the motor industry Injecting some sense into engines Less-polluting petrols One cylinder at a time Electric avenue Alt.fuels The regional response

Companies such as Ford may have canned their electric vehicle programmes in favour of concentrating on hybrids and hydrogen, but we shouldn't rule out the EV, either. EVs have failed to make much of an impact as they have typically been a bit slow, have been heavy and had limited load space due to the need to carry huge battery packs, and because they have had limited range (the distance possible between re-charging). They have also tended to need a lengthy recharging process, usually overnight. Although some local authorities have been enlightened enough to provide on-street recharging facilities - France, in particular, has taken to EV use - the infrastructure for recharging is still an issue in many areas, causing problems for people without their own driveways and garages for plugging-in - typically city dwellers, the people most likely to want an EV in the first place. But there are new breakthroughs on the horizon in terms of smaller, lighter batteries, affordable home-recharge kits, batteries with much greater range and so on, and if these can be applied to automotive use, the EV could well stage a comeback.

LPG offers small improvements to overall emissions and economy

Also falling out of favour have been alternative fuels such as LPG (liquid petroleum gas). LPG was hailed a few years back as an ideal way to cut your motoring costs - but this was largely due to the tax breaks the British government offered on the fuel, and the government grants to fund LPG conversions, rather than any large improvement in fuel consumption. True, LPG has different combustion properties to petrol in liquid form, burning more cleanly, but the gains aren't that spectacular, which is why the government is moving away from incentivising LPG use. CNG (compressed natural gas, as in your cooker) is cleaner-burning still - and popular in Scandinavian countries - though it is not widely available in the UK. Volvo has offered CNG-compatible models, but these have not sold in any great numbers.