Some see the success of the Toyota Prius, compared to such competitors as the Civic Hybrid, as proof that green cars need to look different from their normal siblings. While it may be a bit early on in the game to make this assessment, Ford's North American director of car design, Pat Schiavone, suggests that there could be a trend towards "green" styling cues. For instance, cars like the Honda Insight and GM EV1 are easily recognizable for their teardrop shape and covered wheels, both of which help with the vehicles' high efficiency. While nobody that I can think of considers covered wheels "sexy," Schiavone indicates that could change, saying, "This sort of science-project look could end up sexy, or perceived sexy." We've seen some rolling science projects on these pages... although often supremely practical, not one of them has been all that sexy. Also mentioned as earmarked for the future are the wings and spoilers used by Indy racers in the 1970s. Now that could be pretty cool!

[Source: AutoWeek]

Daryl Hannah prefers guys with green cars

We've been covering Challenge X since we first started our blogging careers, but we somehow missed the results of an extremely interesting survey which was conducted by the group of college students. The survey focused on green automobiles and society's view of their drivers. It turns out that in this day and age, you have a better shot at attracting attention from the opposite sex if you drive an eco-friendly car as opposed to a sports car. In fact, almost nine out of ten women would prefer to get to know a guy with a green car. Your social life would improve too, as eighty percent of respondents would rather talk to someone with a fuel efficient car that someone with the latest model sports car.

Other interesting tidbits gleaned from the survey include the notion that $4 for a gallon for gas could be a tipping point to get consumers to actively pursue a green car purchase. There's plenty more interesting information contained in the press release pasted after the break.

Related:

• It's the first date. Do you want him to show up in a Prius or a Hummer?

A win is a win, right? We're content to consider the fact that two-thirds of new car buyers in the U.K. are considering going green for their next car purchase a good thing, despite the fact that most of them are doing so to save money, not the environment. What Car? group editor Steve Fowler says that "with the cost of living increasing and with wages failing to keep up, car buyers are saying financial pressures are of more concern than helping the environment." If this is the case, it seems that new graduated road taxes in the U.K. may have the desired effect of forcing consumers to purchase low-emitters. Follow past the break for the entire press release.

It's always interesting when non-automotive people decide to create a list of top cars in some category. In this case, the business and financial writers over at Forbes decided to pick ten technologically advanced green cars. Some of the selections - the Honda FCX Clarity and the Chevy Volt - seem obvious. The inclusion of four diesel vehicles among the ten is also an interesting choice. However, there are some some strange choices. Why is the Chrysler Aspen hybrid included instead of the Chevy Tahoe, considering that the latter is already in production. Although the new Lincoln MKS and the Hyundai Elantra Touring may be fine cars, there is nothing particularly exceptional about either one. Even the EcoBoost GTDI V-6 coming to the Lincoln in 2009 is not new technology, although Ford is trying to make it mainstream. The Elantra has nothing that any number of other cars already on the market also have. What cars would you include on the list and which would you drop?

[Source: Forbes]

Calling them the year's "most stand-out vehicles with regard to energy efficiency, emissions and overall environmental compatibility," the editors of Green Car Journal have named the top 5 2007 models. Judges considered alternative fuel vehicles, hybrids and zero-emission models. The top 5 in alphabetical order include Honda Civic GX, Lexus GS450h, Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec, Saturn Vue Green Line and Toyota Camry Hybrid. The Camry Hybrid was named Green Car of the Year by the magazine last year at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Related:

• Toyota Camry is Green Car of the Year
• Shameless but well-deserved plug for a friend: Green Car Journal

[Source: Green Car Journal]

If you are in the Boston, MA area this weekend you might want to swing by the Boston City Hall Plaza on Saturday or the Larz Anderson Auto Museum on Sunday. Ford, General Motors, Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen as well as Azure Dynamics, and other manufacturers and suppliers are all bringing their latest high mileage and alternative fuel models to show off to prospective buyers. The state of Massachusetts has been one of the leaders of the group of North-Eastern states that have adopted California style emissions regulations so they are heavily promoting these types of vehicles along with mass transit. There will be over 100 exhibits of vehicles, technology and transportation alternatives. The Festival actually started last weekend with a symposium held at the Boston Museum of Science. Among the displays this weekend will be

• compressed natural gas (CNG) Honda Civic GX
• an Austin Mini, which Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems LLC, based in Florence, MA, converted from diesel to run on vegetable oil
• an all-electric Toyota RAV4
• a gasoline/electric Toyota Prius hybrid
• an electric/hydrogen-fuel-cell hybrid, Vectrix maxi-scooter (in the Museum lobby)
• Live presentations by Museum educators on emerging alternative-energy technologies will be featured in the Current Science & Technology Center on an ongoing basis.

Also on display will be the Electric 1964 VW bus created by the VW Electronics Research Lab and Hybrid Technologies which will be making its North American public debut and the return of the 2008 Jetta TDI. Ford also has a hydrogen fuel cell powered Focus. Admission to the festival is free on Saturday at the Boston City Hall Plaza. When it moves to the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline on Sunday admission will be $7 per person. This definitely sounds like a show to check out if you're interested in these kinds of vehicles, which you probably are if you're reading this site. The full press release from the festival organizers is after the jump.

[Source: AltWheels.Org]

It's still the weekend, so we'll go with the light news here. While interest in "green" cars is constantly increasing, British car shoppers are turning away from cars that are green in color. At this year's British International Motor Show, only 15 of the 538 cars on display are green colored. Silver, blue and black are the most popular.
Admittedly, this is not really news. What's interesting about this story is that it's a story at all. Someone at the Society of Motor Manufacturers realizes how "green" car news is hot these days. We fell for it agree, and look forward to the time when environmentally sensible products dominate corporate news releases.

[Source: SMMT motorparc]