German premium carmaker BMW intends to start selling diesel-powered cars in the United States within two years, using a urea-based additive to meet emissions standards, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Not only is the Lotus Exige 265E the most powerful road version of the Exige ever, it runs on Bio Fuel. The 265E sports a supercharged, 1.8L inline-4 (2ZZ VVTL-i) that produces 264hp @ 8000rpm and 184 lb-ft torque @ 5500rpm — rocketing it from 0-60 in just 3.88-seconds. Fifth Gear’s Tiff Needell takes this car out for a road test.

The next-generation Toyota Prius will use a turbocharged engine and lithium-ion batteries to achieve its rumored 94 mpg rating, according to a published report. The latest issue of the U.K.\222s AutoExpress magazine indicates a lean-burn 1.8-litre turbo engine will be coupled the THS-II hybrid system with efficient lithium ion batteries to great improve efficiency.

The Tesla Roadster is powered by 6,831 rechargeable lithium-ion batteries -- the same cells that run a laptop computer. Range: 250 miles. Fuel efficiency: 1 to 2 cents per mile. Top speed: more than 130 mph. The first cars will be built at a factory in England and are slated to hit the market next summer. And Tesla Motors, Eberhard's company, is already gearing up for a four-door battery-powered sedan.

Yes, it's real. The San Francisco Chronicle writes a story and a video of the VW New Beetle, owned by Stanford engineer Ron Patrick, who used a helicopter jet engine that drinks 15 gallons of fuel per minute.

Only a week after announcing plans to offer a new turbodiesel engine in the 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chrysler said it will discontinue the diesel edition of the Jeep Liberty after model year 2006.

For several months now rumors have been rampant about an electric vehicle that General Motors would unveil at the Detroit Auto Show. That vehicle is now real, in the form of the Chevrolet Volt. The Volt is the first vehicle application of the GM's new E-Flex platform. Volt is a C-Class sized four door sedan roughly the size of a Cobalt.

GM announced today that their Sequel all-wheel drive fuel-cell vehicle will be a Chevrolet. The next-generation hydrogen car was unveiled at the Detroit auto show in 2005 and at that time was called the “GM Sequel;” the redesigned version of the crossover was unveiled today by Larry Burns, GM’s vice president in charge of R&D and product planning. WINDING ROAD will be in the first media group in the world to drive the functional running prototype tomorrow in California.

Although the speed records were broken more than a year ago we have just received a video of BMW H2R concept car setting nine world speed records for cars powered by a hydrogen-fuelled internal combustion engine.

Hydrogen fuel cell cars could be on the road much earlier than the decade or more so far predicted. Honda has confirmed it plans a production model \223in three to four years." The car will be based on the FCX Concept, unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show last year.

Ever stare at that spot on your dash that has a piece of plastic where a button should be? Ever wonder what that button would do if it were installed? More and more Prius owners are finding out that that empty spot on their dashes is occupied on Euro-spec Prius models by a button that switches the hybrid into electric-only mode while driving locally at low speeds.

Fareed Zakaria from Newsweek speculates on how the US could one day see 500 miles per gallon of gasoline by converting hybrids to plug-ins and mixing with 15%:85% ethanol.

Doug Korthof, an electric car advocate, talks about how the automakers, in a conspiracy with oil companies, have worked against the development of electric cars. How? By controlling the patents on high-capacity rechargable batteries.

Some people have gotten so desperate to put fuel in their cars they've begun making ethanol at home. There are dozens of Web sites explaining how to make ethanol from homemade stills - which would run your cars for about 70 cents a gallon.

Technology beat the clatter and smoke of diesel car engines. It's time for a U.S. comeback.

With increasing gas prices and the pressure to look at alternative fuels, ethanol is getting an increasing amount of attention. However, it isn't truly sustainable, may take more energy to produce, and could produce more smog while delivering a lower fuel economy.

Some owners are modifying their electric-gas hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius, to run on batteries only by outfitting their cars to be chargable via a plug. With gas prices moving past $3/gallon across much of the country, this may be an economic way to avoid gas prices.

OK, after reading the headline, you're probably now looking for "the catch". There isn't one. I drive a 2002 Toyota RAV4 EV. It costs about $1.80 to go 100 miles, and I commute daily at about 75 miles per hour without any problems. And if you think I baby it, I don't. Ask the bureaucracy over at the emission place when they made me bring it in, despite my explanations over the phone. They have an electric-vehicle burnout to show for it. (They loved it)

Formula Zero is the racing concept that involves alternate fuels, which would be attractive for people who are environmentally concerned.

Myers Motors is offering this one-man all-electric vehicle that has a range of 30 miles and up to 70 mph on a single charge. Not exactly the trendiest ride, but the NmG (No More Gas) is available right now for $25k.

Toyota this week is expected to announce it has sold 60,000 hybrids this year. Undoubtedly good news for Toyota in terms of revenue, but there\222s just one problem. The U.S. government has been been offering $3,150 tax credits for each hybrid vehicle sold by a manufacturer, up to 60,000 units. The eligibility period began January 1, 2006 and would run until the end of 2010.

According to William Reed, System Controls Inc., Birmingham American has no need of looking for alternate fuels\342\200\224reason, American has oil in abundance to replace imports from Persian Gulf for nearly 60 years.

This certainly isn't the first cooking-oil diesel conversion to take place, but it's definitely catching up with the mainstream. If you have a free source of cooking oil, why not use it? And apparently it smells great. As clever as the title is, it's not a hybrid.

Two MIT researchers have developed a way to prevent engine knocking: by injecting precise amounts of ethanol into the combustion chamber. The ethanol not only cools the mix, but also increases the effective octane rating, allowing the engine to operate at about 130 octane. The car only uses 1 gallon of ethanol per 20 gallons of fuel, and will only add about $500-$1000 to the cost of a vehicle, enabling cars to have smaller, stronger, turbocharged engines with greater efficiency.

BMW announced that it will start production of a hydrogen-powered 7-Series in under two years. The maker has experimented with such concepts before, and has actually made working prototypes that were tested in real conditions. This could be a major move forward for hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Some West Philadelphia High School students have put together a sports car that can do 60 mph in 4 seconds and still get 50 mpg, all powered by soybeans.

Carried out by a biodiesel refiner, Farmers\342\200\231 Fuels from Australia the refiners share that maximum mileage or mpc (miles per carcass), as they call it, is got from cow. To fill a tank of gas you will require around 6 dead sheep.

he American Automobile Association hosted its first Green show displaying cars that run on alternative fuels. Hybrids, natural gas powered car, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles were present at the show. From these three, the last one is most promising for Americans.

Major automakers and the Department of Energy are pouring money into research on plug-in hybrid vehicles. Although critics have warned that the vehicles could put too much pressure on an already strained electrical grid, experts are now arguing that rather than being a strain on the grid, plug-in hybrids may actually help prevent brownouts, cut the cost of electricity, and increase the use of renewable energy.

From the top, policymakers have to show vision and take tough decisions, and from the bottom, individuals have to put pressure on politicians and rearrange their own lives around a less car-intensive paradigm. What we want to know is: what are the steps that you have taken, or that you plan to take, to do your part?