With so many automakers out there doing their best to separate themselves from the pack, we suppose it's only natural that innovation would stem from the unlikeliest of sources. And now that our parent automaker is turning to the human lung to power their future vehicles, we here at Century Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram are awfully intrigued.
When it comes to the subject of alternative fuel sources in this industry of ours, most tend to jump to things like EVs and hybrids. Well in an effort to do the industry one better, the engineers at Chrysler have been hard at work ushering in the next generation of compressed natural gas (CNG).
For those unfamiliar with the benefits of CNG, one of its biggest selling points is its per-gallon-equivalent cost-advantage of roughly $1 over gasoline. The only catch is that they require larger tanks to deliver the same kind of driving range as gasoline-powered vehicles. So when it came to developing a more compact-sized tank without compromising on range, what better place to turn to than in.
"Within the human lung are countless individual sacks called alveoli," says Enrico Pisino, senior manager of Innovation at Chrysler. "These sacks combine to expand the lung's total air capacity. We are using this same approach to improve the packaging of CNG tanks."1
And with one CNG-powered vehicle already on the market - the Ram 2500 Compressed Natural Gas Truck - we're hoping it won't be long before that number starts to grow.
Until then, feel free to do some comparison shopping with a test drive in our 2014 Ram 2500 models at our dealership here in Wentzville, MO. Gotta love innovation.
Source: 1http://media.chrysler.com/newsrelease.do?&id=15083&mid=1