THIRTY WASTED YEARS:

On road to clean fuels, automakers cover some ground (Daniel B. Wood, 12/01/06, The Christian Science Monitor)

More than any time since the early '70s, automakers are thinking and designing "green," say many industry analysts. The trend is not moving as fast as environmental activists or most climate scientists would like - as protests here make clear - but it also may not be as slow as some critics claim.

Electric vehicles, gasoline-electric hybrids, diesels, and flex-fuel and hydrogen-powered cars are inching up the consumer on-ramp at a faster pace, judging from world debuts of 21 alternative-fuel vehicles.