New York's 2007 International Auto Show Turned Green

Will MPG's Be a Thing of the Past?

There was a heavy "green" theme at the New York International Auto Show this year. The emphasis was not so much on the autos pretty faces but on hard-hitting issues like fuel efficiency and the environment. Most of the major car manufacturers were pushing their cars in the same beautiful color, green. Their innovative ideas may very well change the concept of miles-per-gallon as we know it

Chevrolet has a concept car called the Volt designed with an E-Flex Propulsion System. It is an electric car with a high energy battery and an onboard power source that can run on gas, ethanol, or biodiesel to recharge its battery. It will not actually get MPG's but Chevy claims if it did it would be equivalent to 150 MPG's.

Currently, Toyota has the Prius. They claim it is the #1 selling hybrid in America and that one of every two hybrids sold is a Prius. They also claim a 60 city/51 highway/55 combined MPG. It is good-looking and surprisingly affordable with a sticker price under $23,000.

BMW showed its Hydrogen 7, the world's first luxury car that will run on hydrogen as well as gasoline, planned for 2008. The words "Clean Energy" were painted across the car's side doors. This car also is not rated by MPG's. It is rated as having a 125-mile range on hydrogen and 310 on gasoline.

Some companies exhibited E-85 Ethanol cars and the Standard Taxi showed cabs using GM powertrains with three fuel options: gasoline, compressed natural gas (CNG), and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).