OK, so we heard from more than just cute kids, but watch the end of this video and you'll see why it's the kids that are highlighted in the headline. As the AFVI show was winding down and the expo floor was opened to the public, I found people without badges and asked them what they thought about the cars on display. I think these people give a great snapshot of who is out there looking for and buying green cars and trucks right now. As you'll see, they weren't as impressed as they might have been, but they'll work with what's available today.

And did I mention the cute kids?

There wasn't too much new in the Monday-morning AFVI session California Dreamin': Forecast for Alternative Fuels, but a few viewpoints from the discussion are worth mentioning here.

Warren Mitchell, of Clean Energy, said it will be very difficult for petroleum products to meet emissions requirements in the future and that $80+ a barrel oil cost will push alternative fuel growth. Clean Energy hopes that a lot of the growth comes from natural gas produced in the U.S. used to power natural gas vehicles, like the Honda Civic GX (named ACEEE's Green Car for 2007). Mitchell said that switching to natural gas can result in annual fuel savings of between $4,400 for a taxi to $14,300 for a municipal bus. Sure, converting the engine costs money up front, but the cost will generally be paid back quickly (in a year or so) for many operators.

Paul Wuebben, clean fuels officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, echoed the developing mantra of these presentations that there is no one alternative fuel technology that everyone should be pursuing. His "interesting trends to watch" include a possible Toyota PHEV with flex-fuel technology, the "GM E-Volt platform" (sic), A123's lithium batteries and more.

Other panels provided a little more somethin' somethin', and that takes longer to write about (and process audio, etc.), so look for them in a little while.

Ride and Drives with alternative fuel cars can be a strange thing. Take the case of BMW's Hydrogen 7 in Anaheim yesterday. It's a smooth drive, no doubt. But the whole point of having one of these at the AFVI Conference is that it can run on hydrogen, right? What you might not know is that the nearest hydrogen station to the Anaheim Convention Center, according to the BMW rep who rode shotgun while I took one of these for a spin yesterday, is 90 miles away. Thankfully, the Hydrogen 7 is also a Gasoline 7 (thanks to a dual-fuel system), and so the BMW team drove two 7s down to the AFVI show on regular old gas and then let the Ride & Drive participants cruise the streets on H2.

It's easy to change the fuel source at any time by pushing a button. You'll notice in the two photos of the driver display in the Hydrogen 7 gallery below a little window that either reads H2 (when you're running on the liquid hydrogen) or the time and date (when you're burning dinosaurs). You'll also notice that the hydrogen tank was pretty close to empty when I was behind the wheel yesterday. I wonder what'll happen between now and Tuesday, when the second AFVI Ride & Drive is scheduled.

For now, enjoy these photos of three of the cars that were available today. I'll have my comments on riding in the Phoenix SUT later.

We've mentioned all of these green car rental companies before, but this is the perfect time to recap, what with the Anaheim Alternative Fuels and Vehicles National Conference and Expo starting Sunday. If any of our readers will be traveling to the LA-area for the event (or any time), consider this a heads-up that you can drive an alternative-fuel car during your stay.

The AFVI conference support crew sent out an email listing three green rental companies: Bio-Beetle, Fox Rent-A-Car and EV Rental Car. If you're signed up for the conference, you can get a discount at the latter two. I've put the contact info for these companies after the jump.

Also, check out my story on the Maui Bio-Beetle experience.

[Source: AFVI]

The Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute (AFVi) is holding its thirteenth annual National Alternative Fuels & Vehicles Conference + Expo from April 1-4, 2007, in Anaheim, California. Over 1500 people are expected to attend the conference, and the organizers are encouraging people to register as a Christmas present. The conference will include more than 150 speakers and an alternative fuel learning laboratory, with the worlds' largest exhibit of advanced technologies and alt fuel vehicles. There will also be a pavilion where attendees will be able to investigate financing options and dozens of presentations. There will also be special workshops for fleet representatives on making a business case for alternative fuels.

[Source: TheAutoChannel]