The car of the future is one of the most fashionable issues in the press, in political sketches and in academia. This first article is dealing with the various available options for automotive power train: gasoline, diesel, bio-fuels, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, hydrogen, hybrid electric, "plug-in" vehicle hybrid electric, extended range hybrid electric, and finally full battery electric vehicle and fuel cell electric vehicle. For each option, the paper analyzes the key characteristics in terms of political, social and cultural acceptability, degree of achievement, current Status and long term perspectives. The content for each characteristic is given by up-to-date literature and interviews with key experts. When available, market data have been collected and are analyzed and discussed. Key indicators as obstacles to or in favor of one given options are also investigated and critically discussed.