The Future of the Automobile Industry
As the welfare of the global economy continues to waiver, we are left to only hope that something better is to come. The constant rise in oil and energy costs has nearly everyone scrambling to find ways to save and reduce their auto expenses. Many automobile companies are starting to offer hybrid and “flex fuel” vehicles that give a shimmer of hope to this on-going worry. There is constant research and development in the future of the automobile industry in areas such as; the possibility of release from our oil dependence, cars that run efficiently from electric and or battery motors, and the eruption of competition that will emerge.
One of the most talked about problem areas in the future of the automobile industry is our dependence on foreign oil. The trip to the gas station has now become a global fear for drivers everywhere. It is changing the way we drive, the places we go, and the overall way in which we operate as a society. Our constant battles with countries like Iraq and Venezuela have the United States government worried that at any moment they could decide to stop supplying us with oil. Hugo Chavez, an important leader in Venezuela, said after a court case involving the U.S. trying to seize valued Venezuelan assets, "If you damage us, then we will hurt you. Do you know how? We are not going to send oil to the United States, Mr. Bush." This obviously poses a serious threat to America and shows that we need to find other alternatives in the event that our sources should halt the supply. The bleak reality is that we can never really eliminate our reliance on foreign oil unless we completely remove the internal combustion engine ...