Hybrid, Electric, Plug-in, Clean Diesel Cars for the Responsible Consumers.

Each one of these cool cars has something real cool about them. But from a clean car perspective, it boils down to this. Of the ten on this list, only 3 can be considered traditional “dream” or “exotic” cars (Audi R8 V12 TDI concept, BMW M1 Hommage, Ferrari Millechili). The rest do not have the elitist badge and are produced with the aim for the eventual mass market.

A city cycle mileage challenge is a great way to help promote public education, awareness and, ultimately, acceptance of the new, cleaner generation of cars. We should have more of these done around the country to help with public awareness.

I was thinking the other day. What did it take for us to make the switch from VHS tapes to DVDs? and now from DVDs to Blu-ray Discs? Or from cassette tapes to CDs? and from analog to digital TVs? Or to expand the horizon a little bit more, from a multitude of things we use everyday to something else that are much better? What about the hybrids, plug-in hybrids or electric cars?

I ran into a really sad sight on my recent trip to the local Costco Warehouse. It forced me to think a little bit more than usual. It’s not the first time I noticed this. I’ve seen it many times before. But it wasn’t until yesterday that it dawned on me with a huge mega-watt light bulb. I wonder who else noticed it. Maybe everyone is immune to it.

This is a collection of interesting smart fortwo cdi diesel cars on YouTube. I’ll continue to add to this post with new videos as I find them.

While it looks like Mercedes-Benz will leave the 2009 E-Class sedans unchanged, the arrival of the E-320 BlueTEC diesel is exciting. For the 2010 version, only more refinements are expected.

Here’s a creative view on bailing out the U.S. automobile industry. Daniel Sperling and Deborah Gordon wrote in the Opinion section of The New York Times, Nov 16, 2008. Actually, it’s more than bailing out, it’s also about saving the industry with high gas prices, and kick-start a revolution.

MotorTrend.com Youtube video.

Looks like: Another “cool” looking off-road vehicle for urbanites. Driver sits too low to see front corners. No roll protection. Looks too hard to get in and out of, etc. Probably not for serious off-roaders. Jeep gets points for promoting hybrid technology.
From the official Jeep site: Use Less Fuel … Have More Fun Out [...]

Based on information available on the official smartusa.com site, U.S. markets won’t get a diesel version yet for 2009 model year. I’m a little disappointed. It’s one of the reasons I’m holding out from buying a first U.S. smart model. I was so looking forward to a smart powered by Mercedes’ Bluetec technology.
According to the company, [...]