Carmakers' Brave New World

Regarding the article "Carmakers Race for New Engines," Aug. 15: One is almost daily reminded of how Mustapha Mond, a World Controller of Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World," slated a brilliant scientific treatise for censorship and chose a humdrum derivative one for publication. The automotive industry leaders insist that more stringent fuel-consumption requirements are "impossible" to fulfill, largely to appease oil producers.There are now engines, like one developed by Ken Galitello of Torrington, Conn., whose beauty is that they couple electrically instead of mechanically to wheel hub motors in automobiles and trucks. Energy transmission is therefore more efficient and largely wear-free, providing perfectly apportioned all-wheel drive and nonmechanical ABS braking. Vehicles with this engine could conceivably run for a while on batteries where you don't want to burn fossil fuels. Yet Galitello is having trouble selling his product and getting development money - here in a New England state aching for industries. John F. Withey, Washington, Conn.

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