Forget Detroit, America's car future is in California (Feature)

By Andy Goldberg Nov 21, 2008, 4:49 GMT

Los Angeles - These days the big news in the US auto industry seems to be coming from Washington where Detroit's 'Big Three' automakers are begging politicians for a few million greenbacks to save their ailing companies.

But the real green in the auto industry was on display at the Los Angeles auto show, where the focus was on exactly the kind of environmentally friendly cars that American automakers so studiously ignored for so many years, to their ultimate detriment.

US car makers aren't the only ones looking at the transportation industry with blinkered eyes. Volkswagens's new Jetta TDI was named green car of the year by a panel of experts, ahead of BMW's 335d - also a diesel, the Ford Fusion gasoline-electric hybrid, the Saturn Vue hybrid and the ultra-compact Smart ForTwo.

Critics said the sporty diesel was far from the most economical car on the road and was unworthy of the prize. But panelists insisted that the vehicle was recognised for combining performance with relative fuel frugality and showing that eco-consciousness does not have to come at the cost of performance.

Still, the choice was better than the winner of last year's green car prize - the massive eight passenger V-8 Chevy Tahoe hybrid.

For those who like to sip gasoline a little more parsimoniously, there are plenty of better options. Nissan-Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn announced plans to sell a competitively priced electric car in the US in 2010.

Passengers will buy the car but lease the batteries, ensuring that the company can regularly improve battery technology and discard used units responsibly. The vehicle will have a range of 160 kilometres between charges, room for four to five passengers and luggage, and will cost about the same as a similarly sized and equipped gasoline- powered car.

That should give it a powerful advantage over the Chevy Volt, General Motors' plug-in hybrid, which will hit showrooms in 2010 but will cost an estimated 40,000 dollars.

But there's no need to wait two years to get your hands on an electric car. BMW was showing off its 250-kilometre-range Mini-E, the electric version of its popular Mini Cooper - an iconic vehicle that has seen its US sales rise 30 per cent even when overall auto sales are plummeting.

The German automaker plans to lease 500 of the cars for one year to drivers in Los Angeles and New York. The price is hefty, at 850 dollars a month, but there should be plenty of takers for the no- petrol vehicle. BMW hopes the one-year period will give it enough market knowledge to begin selling the electric Mini more widely in 2010.

Up-and-coming Korean automaker Hyundai was also jumping on the eco-bandwagon. It unveiled its first hybrid drivetrain powered by lithium polymer batteries that are lighter, more powerful and safer than the lithium ion batteries that are used in other hybrid drivetrains.

Nissan's idea of leased batteries received a powerful boost Thursday when a venture-backed company called Better Place unveiled plans to build a billion-dollar network of charging stations across California by 2012.

The stations will allow electric vehicle owners to quick-charge their batteries or simply swap discharged batteries for new ones. The plan was backed by local politicians, including California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

'I'm a guy driving a hybrid, and I don't feel particularly good about it,' San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom told a news conference, adding that all-electric cars would be a 'game-changer' for cutting carbon emissions, which contribute to global warming.

He said, 'We're here to reaffirm our desire to be the electric vehicle capital in America.'