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Growing concerns about the amount of fossil fuels we burn have heightened our nation’s collective urgency to find alternatives to the gasoline engines that power our cars and trucks. Consumers are already seeing increased availability of gasoline-electric hybrids, cleaner burning diesel and flexibile-fuel vehicles in car dealerships across the country. Here’s a look at additional cleaner-burning technologies that may be available in the future:

Plug-in gasoline/electric hybrid vehicles and their close cousins, battery-powered electric vehicles. General Motors plans to debut its Chevy Volt in 2010. GM calls the Volt an "extended range electric vehicle" though most people would call it a plug-in hybrid, a vehicle that can be recharged by connecting a plug to an electrical power source. The Volt can travel up to 40 miles on electric power alone, after which, a small gasoline engine kicks on to keep the batteries charged until the vehicle can be recharged at a home outlet. Other plug-in hybrids are expected from Hyundai, Toyota and Volkswagen. Meanwhile, officials for Nissan U.S.A. recently announced plans to launch a fleet of “pure-electric” cars in Oregon in 2010.

Sophisticated super-clean gasoline vehicles. So-called PZEVs (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles) are tweaked with more efficient catalytic converters, among other things, to produce exhaust that is cleaner than the air in some cities. Though a dozen automakers offer vehicles with PZEV technology, they typically sell them only in California and several eastern states with stringent emissions regulations. However, Subaru offers several PZEV models in Washington at an extra cost of $211.

Natural gas–fueled cars. Only Honda makes a natural gas–powered car for the general public, the Civic GX. Of vehicles with an internal-combustion engine, the GX is among the greenest on earth. North America has vast natural gas reserves, and the fuel is considerably less expensive than gasoline. Moreover, enticing tax credits also are available.

Hydrogen-fuel cars. Hydrogen fuel can be produced from renewable sources such as solar power. Hydrogen burns cleaner than other fuels and produces no greenhouse-gas emissions. When used in fuel-cell vehicles, it produces no pollutants at all—the only exhaust is water vapor. Honda is leasing a limited number of its latest FCX fuel-cell cars. But most experts say that widespread availability of both hydrogen fuel and affordable fuel cells is about decade away.

See the page 26 of the current print edition of Journey magazine to learn more about the cleaner-burning vehicle technologies available now.