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Although various legislation and regulations have been adopted to promote the use of alternative-fuel vehicles for curbing urban air pollution problems, there is a lack of systematic comparisons of emission control cost-effectiveness among various alternative-fuel vehicle types. In this paper, life-cycle emission reductions and life-cycle costs were estimated for passenger cars fueled with methanol, ethanol, liquified petroleum gas, compressed natural gas, and electricity. Vehicle emission estimates included both exhaust and evaporative emissions for air pollutants of hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide. nitrogen oxides, and air-toxic pollutants of benzene, formaldehyde, 1,3-butadiene, and acetaldehyde. Vehicle life-cycle cost estimates accounted for vehicle purchase prices, vehicle life, fuel costs, and vehicle maintenance costs.

We calculated energy efficiency from primary energy sources (petroleum, coal, natural gas) to finished energy products (gasoline and electricity), and projected fuel economy of ICEVs and electricity consumption of EVs. The resultant pre-mile primary energy consumption of EVs and ICEVs shows that when petroleum is the primary energy source, EVs will consume more energy than ICEVs in 1989, and less in 2000, assuming advanced batteries and technologies for EVs are developed by 2000. If coal is the primary energy source, EVs will consume less energy than ICEVs in 1989, and much less in 2000.