The automobile industry practically invented innovation. Visionaries like Harley Earl transformed a self-propelled platform on wheels into an extension of our society, personalities and our lifestyles. His vision reflected the imagination of the aerospace industry. Design opportunities and limitations were different then.

Things change. I see automobile design at a philosophical intersection. The choice is between sexy, fast, powerful performance machines and sustainable alternatives that preserve the atmosphere and remaining fossil reserves. OK, it’s not really that simple. But at what point do you decide which is more important? Gas isn’t getting any cheaper. We aren’t moving any slower. As a whole, our society will probably continue to value speed and style. So, why can’t we have it all: performance, style and efficiency?

GM and Ford are struggling (unsuccessfully) to reconcile these qualities. The future of self-powered vehicles is going to be very different than the present. The heart of the problem is the internal combustion engine. Replace petroleum-based fuels with ethanol or bio-diesel and you improve, but do not eliminate the problem of emissions.

I question the delusional logic that motivates designers like Sweden’s Christian von Koenigsegg, creator of the Koenigsegg CCR. Sure, it’s beautiful. Sure, it’s powerful – 806 hp. Sure it’s fast – 245 mph. And, at 11 mpg, it’s 1 mpg more efficient than a Hummer. Maybe von Koenigseeg didn’t get the memo about the price of gas or the green house effect. Or, a buyer who can justify $700,000 to go really fast only cares about fueling his ego?

The real issue is designer responsibility. My career began in design. I like sleek, sweeping lines. I love speed. I also value qualities like balance, the missing element in automotive design today. We know we are taxing global resources. Explosive development of China and India threatens existing resources even more. Green house gases and the threat of global warming are real. So, why are the von Koenigseggs of the auto industry still focused on massive horsepower and internal combustion?

After a little research, I am happy to report that the auto industry is still capable of responsible innovation. Some of the higher efficiency alternatives are still in development. Internal combustion is still the foundation for much of what I found. Bio fuels, ethanol, etc. are only marginal improvements in my opinion. Here is a range of examples.

The Saturn Vue Green Line, a "mild hybrid" goes through the motions (starting with a green name), but stops short of real efficiency at 32 mpg. It’s a step in the right direction if you absolutely have to drive an SUV to work or take everything you own on your weekend trips.

In China, the Wuling Sunshine mini mini van is delivering around 43 miles per gallon in the city on a small, efficient combustion engine. Stripped of luxuries, it attracts avid fans. It’s ironic that GM can build and market this in China, but not in the U.S.

Moving up the efficiency ladder, hybrids like the 3-cylinder Honda Insight are getting 60/66 mpg. The 4-cylinder Toyota Prius score 60/51. These are right off the showroom floor without modification. See the trend?

Ron Gremban, electrical engineer from California, built a better Prius. He stacked 18 brick-sized batteries in the trunk of his Toyota Prius to boost the car's mileage to 80 mpg. It does require a plug in. Independent owner/innovators represent a growing “plug in” movement which has achieved up to 250 mpg. Customer-based innovation is alive and well.

In February, the German startup Loremo AG revealed a remarkable 150 mpg car. The name "Loremo" is a mashup of "low resistance mobile." It reflects the company's philosophy of efficient transportation that consumes minimal resources for both production and operation. It’s powered by either a 2- or 3-cylinger turbo diesel and weighs less than 1000 lbs. Look for it in 2009…in Germany. Style is not its strong suit.

One very ambitious hybrid pushes the mark to 330 mpg. The Aptera, created by Accelerated Composites, another California startup, will be built almost entirely of lightweight composites. Aptera will be one of the lightest, and (they claim) safest cars on the road, based on the driver-protection "crash box" design of Formula One race cars. The 850 lbs diesel/electric hybrid will have power storage in a bank of supercapacitors. Construction for the first prototype is underway. This combines all three: efficiency, performance and style.

My last item comes from Wrightspeed, a Silicon Valley venture that has created an advanced electric drive train technology – lithium-ion batteries turning a 3-phase electric motor. It has already beaten some of the world’s fastest production cars. And, it boasts 10 times the efficiency of the cars it outperformed. Without liquid fuel, the mpg calculation is meaningless. It’s not stylish, at least not yet. But, the lithium-ion battery (same technology as that powers your laptop), could be the blue ocean power source that makes internal combustion obsolete.   
Some details from HybridCars.com on the future of lithium-ion batteries:

Honda, Toyota and the entire auto industry are pumping millions of dollars into research regarding lithium ion batteries for tomorrow's cars. Their primary motivation is to reduce the cost and increase the potency of hybrid batteries. Fortunately, supplanting lead and nickel batteries with rechargeable lithium batteries is also promising from an environmental perspective. Instead of clogging landfills with more toxic chemicals, hybrids—especially future hybrids powered by lithium ion batteries—may represent greener pastures for car batteries.