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Home > News > Special Series > 2008 Geneva Motor Show > More green cars at 2008 Geneva Auto Show
Monday, 3 March, 2008

More green cars at 2008 Geneva Auto Show

Environmentally-friendly cars will be popular at this year’s Geneva Auto Show as companies look for new ways to market hybrids and alternatively-fueled cars. WRS will be covering the auto show when it kicks off Thursday. World Radio Switzerland’s Alex Helmick has a preview of the greening of the car show.

GASMOBIL PGO Cévennes Turbo
GASMOBIL PGO Cévennes Turbo is a sportscar powered by natural gas and will be on display at the Geneva auto show. (Courtesy of salon-auto)

In theory, Kermit the frog was wrong: it is easy being green. Being environmentally responsible is all the rage—in theory.

In practice though, Kermit was right. Hybrids are popular but they haven’t forced the combustible engine into extinction just yet. Plus some hybrids can create side problems like pushing corn prices up from Ethanol demand.

But at this year’s Geneva Auto Show,  there will be plenty green cars to check out.

SUZANNE WEGANN:Bioethanol, natural gas, hybrid, electric, fuel cells, all different combinations.

Suzanne Wegann is the director of e’mobile, a firm dedicated to alternatively fueled cars.

WEGANN: Every car manufacturer right now is looking at how he can reduce CO2 emissions, that’s for political reasons basically. But also to reduce fuel consumption because in the future sometime we won’t have that much petro anymore, so we have to find another solutions.

Wegann says electricity is back at the show, including the Norwegian company Think Globally, who will have a test driving area for its tiny electric car.

Morgan is unveiling its LifeCar, a sports car prototype that uses batteries powered by a fuel cell.

And the PGO Cévennes Turbo will be powered by natural gas. In Switzerland, the number of people driving natural gas cars doubled from last year: numbers increased to 6,000 as more specialty stations pop up.

In total, Wegann’s group estimates that there will be about 60 models that showcase alternative fueled vehicles.

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