Boulder Company Makes 'Green' Cars Greener

Customers with deep pockets are paying big bucks to a Boulder company for making already "green" cars even greener.

"You can plug it in and have electric fuel," explains Ammon Balaster, Chief Operating Officer of HybridsPlus.

He works for a company that converts Ford Escape Hybrids into Plug-in Hybrids.

The re-worked compact SUV doubles the gas mileage of the factory built model.

A Plug-in will average 64 miles per gallon or better, up from 32 mpg on the original version.

"It all starts with a lithium ion cell," said Balaster.

A total of 160 of these state-of-the-art cells are carefully welded together and connected by wires to form battery packs.

It takes 10 battery packs to make the HybridsPlus system.

Once finished, it boasts 15 times more electricial storage capacity than the nickel metal hydride battery it replaces.

The Ford Escape's electric motor is retained in the vehicle as is.

Once the new battery system is installed and hooked up to a household electrical outlet, it takes approximately 10 hours for a full charge.

"About 90 cents," is typical cost of a charge explains Carl Lawrence, the Chief Executive Officer of HybridsPlus.

This "electric fuel" is not only cheaper than gasoline but it also produces less air pollution.

The HybridsPlus vehicle still needs gas to run it's small engine but not as much as the factory built Hybrid.

During a test drive of a newly converted Ford Escape, the on-board computer actually pegged 132 mpg on a flat road in Boulder as it coasted along at about 40 miles per hour.

But the cost of making an already "green" car even greener is staggering.

Converting a factory built Ford Escape Hybrid into a Plug-in Hybrid is $30,000.

"The prices will be coming down," claims Lawrence as the major car manufacturers come out with their own versions soon.

But even at this price, business is good for HybridsPlus.

A few customers are wealthy private individuals who want to do their part to save the planet according to Lawrence.

More importantly, power companies like Xcel Energy are waiting in line for their own conversions.

Lawrence says the utilities want to understand how Plug-in Hybrids could be used to manage their renewable energy.

The car's battery provides storage the companies don't otherwise have.

"They can store that energy and feed it back into the grid when the utility really needs it," says the CEO.

There's no question what's happening in Boulder is cutting edge technology.

Lawrence estimates his company is one, maybe two years ahead of Detroit.

In 2009, HybridsPlus converted 25 cars.

This year, the company could create 100 new Plug-ins.

As a newly completed battery system is lowered into an Escape's rear storage compartment, a reporter is told the workers here are spending less time on trouble shooting.

"Most of the installations go in and work right the first time," says Arthur Fowler, a Technician with HybridsPlus.

The company employs about 20 people.

It's received $110,000 in grants from the Governor's Energy Office.

2009 Geneva Auto Show: Bentley Biofuel Car Scheduled For Production in 2009

Inside Line has confirmed with Bentley that its biofuel "Extreme Bentley," which makes its debut on March 3 at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show is bound for production later this year and will be priced higher than the 602-horsepower Bentley Continental GT Speed.

"Last year (at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show) we laid out our strategy for biofuel cars by 2012," said David Reuter, Bentley's U.S. spokesman on Wednesday. "We said our first biofuel car will be on the road by 2009. This is that product."

While unable to give exact pricing or the name of the vehicle at this point, Reuter said the biofuel Bentley will be more expensive than the Bentley Continental GT Speed. "If you look at the Continental GT Speed, it is priced around $203,000," he said. "This (biofuel) car will be more powerful and have a premium price over the GT Speed."

Bentley in a statement on Tuesday said its first biofuel offering will be its "fastest, most powerful production car ever." It said the vehicle is "delivering stage one of Bentley's environmental commitment and pioneering the use of this fuel in the luxury sector."

Reuter would not disclose global volume targets for the biofuel Bentley. But he hastened to add that this is not merely a demonstration vehicle. "This is a production model that will be available in worldwide distribution," he said.

The "Extreme Bentley" makes good on what Bentley has been promising for months. Earlier this month, at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, Bentley issued a report called "Bentley and Biofuels" that said it intends to offer "a full range of bioethanol compatible vehicles before 2012." It said it is making "a significant investment to enable our entire fleet to operate on biofuel" and to be equipped with flexfuel powertrains.

Inside Line says: The Extreme Bentley promises to be one of the showstoppers in Geneva, as the luxury brand takes a big risk in rolling out an expensive green vehicle in the middle of a global economic crisis. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent

Thinking Green

Some believe the planetary crisis that we face could have potentially civilization-altering consequences. Most Scientists around the globe warn that the world has a decade at most to reverse the growth in greenhouse gas emissions, or risk catastrophic climate change. Some scientists, though not all believe, feel that the future of human civilization is at stake. Few even think that maybe we’ve already run out of time and we just don’t know it yet.

Personal solutions to global warming like changing a light bulb, driving a hybrid, better insulation and even recycling are not enough to put even a dent into the reduction of green house gasses needed to solve this crisis. There is an estimated rate of about 70 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions released a day. Personal commitment helps, but industrialized nations need to act quickly to steer the world towards a cleaner, cleverer and more competitive energy conscious tomorrow. Global policies have to change.
Investment in solar, wind, nuclear as well as maximizing energy efficiency would slow gas emissions as well as increase economic growth. Implanting carbon capture and storage for existing fossil fuels, retrofitting buildings to be more green, expanding mass transit, freight rail, green construction, a smarter electrical grid, advanced biofuels, electric cars and carbon-free renewables like geothermal are just a few markets that could help revive the U.S. and Global economy and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs while saving the environment. We must require innovation, funding and sacrifice at every level of society to achieve green success.

In the next several years, the potential for “green” collar jobs from firms and organizations to create a new job sector with the sole purpose to improve environmental quality through products and services will be the largest movement of its kind. The new industries that small businesses will embark on will consist of zero waste, energy conservation, solar power, green construction and an assortment of other green expansion programs that will increase rapidly. Experts say that the “green” market for everything from organic cleaning products to green landscaping, hybrid cars and eco-tourism will grow at least by 10% annually. It is projected that the consumer will pay up to 15% for new and innovative green products and services.

Remember, the green recovery begins with you. Support businesses that that provide eco-friendly products and services that better the environment. Contact your elected officials and voice your concern for more eco-friendlier practices. Together everyone must do their part and continue to reduce, reuse, and recycle in our daily lives. This emerging “green” economy will start with everyday citizens who will commit to pioneering in the “green” movement and support policies designed to improve environmental restoration and quality.

Green cars electrify at Detroit auto show

Hybrids, electric cars and emission-free hydrogen fuel cell vehicles captivated visitors Sunday at the 21st North American International Auto Show.

Crowds waited in a long line to be chauffeured around a track one-eighth of a mile long on the lower level of Cobo Center, surrounded by 100 maples, pines and birches, waterfalls, and brilliant red and white tulips.

The Carson family of Leonard were among those waiting their turn at the EcoXperience, sponsored by the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

"We're in the market for a new car, but we just haven't decided which one we want yet," said David Carson, 40, who attended the show with his wife, Kelly, 38, and their three children. "But I wanted to ride in one of these cars because I'm most interested in the technology."

Kelly Carson was equally impressed. "I'm fascinated and just wanted to see a hybrid car up close," she said.

It was the second public day of the auto show. And despite the frigid temperatures, crowds were ready to hit the showroom floor shortly after the doors opened at 9 a.m.

Show producers are hoping for large crowds. Last year, the auto show attracted more than 700,000 attendees and over 6,000 media members from 63 countries, according to the auto show's Web site.

"We had nearly 75,000 people brave the roads and the weather (Saturday), and we expect the attendance to continue to go up," said spokeswoman Shand Spencer of John Bailey and Associates, the public relations firm representing the show. But she acknowledged the numbers may be down.

"It has been a very tough year, and these are tough times for everybody," she said. And the visitors were happy just to take pictures of their dream car or slip behind the wheel.

Keisuke Shibata could not get enough of the vehicles described as the "pinnacle of passion."

He's only 16, and doesn't yet have his driver's license, but he and his dad, Minoru Shibata, took plenty of pictures of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss with red bucket seats.

"I like how it doesn't have a windshield and how the doors open," said Keisuke, who traveled from Indiana with his dad just to take pictures. It is their sixth year visiting the show.

College students and those in grades 9-12 will have an opportunity to explore automotive career paths and learn about trends in the auto industry beginning at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in Cobo Arena while attending the NAIAS Automotive Education Day.

Students will be invited to visit the exhibits on the show floor and to speak with human resource representatives about career information.

The show continues through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults; $6 for those 65 and older; and $6 for children 7-12. Children 6 and under are admitted for free when accompanied by their parents or guardian.

Advanced car battery makers seek juice from stimulus plan

The U.S. is struggling to catch up with China, Japan and Korea in a race to build the advanced batteries needed to power the electric cars of the future.

The latest setback came last week, when General Motors picked a Korean company over an American rival to build lithium ion batteries for GM's Chevy Volt, which is due on the market late next year.

Lithium ion is the current hot technology to replace the familiar lead-acid batteries used in most cars today, and the newer nickel-metal hydride batteries in hybrid electric vehicles, such as Toyota's popular Prius.

The National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture intends to ask the U.S. government for as much as $2 billion in grants and loans during the next five years to jump-start the American lithium ion industry, while creating thousands of jobs in the process.

The alliance, a group of 14 U.S. battery manufacturers that was formed in December, hopes it will be funded as part of the stimulus package proposed by Congress and the incoming Obama administration. Electric cars reduce the demand for oil and contribute less to global warming.

Lithium ion is an extremely light metal atom that's lost or gained an electron and can be used to produce an electric current. Small lithium ion batteries are widely used in cell phones, power tools and laptop computers, but aren't yet ready for mass use in cars.

The battery gap has major implications for the health of the U.S. auto industry and, more broadly, for U.S. competitiveness in the world.

"For 20 years, the United States has sat idly and waited for foreign markets to become the leaders in lithium ion technology," said Alan Eishafei, chief executive of MicroSun Technologies of Lisle, Ill.

Experts say a moderately priced battery with enough power and endurance may be the key to survival as the industry attempts the difficult transition from gasoline engines to an electric future.

"Whoever makes the batteries will one day make the cars," said James Greenberger, an attorney for the battery alliance. "If we don't secure a supply, we'll be at the mercy of foreign suppliers - not just for the battery but for everything else that goes into a car."

Asian firms, backed by heavy government subsidies, currently dominate the growing advanced battery market. The U.S. has no large-scale domestic manufacturer, and must import almost all the lithium ion "cells" that make up the battery, said Greenberger, a lawyer with Reed Smith LLP in Chicago.

"Electric engines will help break our reliance on petroleum," Greenberger said. "They are cleaner and much more efficient than the internal combustion engine."

A123 Systems of Watertown, Mass., the company that lost the Chevy Volt contract, had recently applied for a $1.84 billion loan from the Energy Department to open a large battery assembly plant in the Detroit area.

GM announced on Jan. 12, however, that it would buy lithium ion cells from LG Chem of Seoul, South Korea. The cells will be manufactured in Korea and assembled into battery packs at a new facility that GM will build in Michigan. Robert Lutz, a GM vice chairman, said that his company preferred the Korean design.

"LG Chem has massive support from the Korean government," Lutz said at the Detroit Auto Show. "Korea recognizes that advanced battery technology is a key component of the country's competitiveness."

American lithium ion backers acknowledge that their batteries face a number of problems before they can be widely used in cars and trucks. They include cost, endurance and the need for a nationwide infrastructure of recharging stations.

The Energy Department has set a target price of $1,700 to $3,400 for an all-electric car battery that could go 40 miles on a full charge.

The lithium ion battery in the Chevy Volt is believed to cost significantly more than that, but the price should go down as more vehicles are sold. GM said the first Volts are expected to sell for about $35,000.

Theoretically, lithium ion batteries could be recharged in a home or office garage. Public charging stations can be set up in parking lots and shopping malls. Stations are currently being installed in Portland, Ore.; Boulder, Colo.; and San Jose, Calif.

"This offers new business opportunities - charging stations at Starbucks or Wal-Mart," said Michael Brylawski, a vehicle efficiency expert at the Rocky Mountain Institute, an environmental policy organization in Snowmass, Colo.

Brylawski acknowledged that it's easy to install a few dozen recharging stations, but hundreds of thousands eventually will be required. "That's very different than (what) we have now," he said.

Why the American car market should adopt diesel

The chairman of General Motors, Rick Wagoner, once told me – over a Starbucks cappuccino and bran muffin in his office in Detroit – that his worst managerial mistake was to kill the EV1 electric car. ‘It didn’t affect profitability but it did affect image,’ said the boss now unkindly known as Red Ink Rick. GM handed the environmental initiative to Toyota and its Prius.

Perhaps. But a much bigger GM powertrain faux pas, done well before Wagoner’s watch, was killing diesel development following the debacle of America’s first production car diesel engine – it powered various big barges, including Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles, in the late Seventies and early Eighties. The engine was a dieselised version of an existing Oldsmobile gasoline V8 and was designed to help boost GM’s CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) figures. It was also utterly hopeless. But if GM had persisted with diesel, they – and the rest of the US industry, which would have followed suit – would not be in the straits they’re in now.

Diesel is perfect for Yank cars. American cars should be expansive, comfortable, stylish, distinctive and packed with muscle. The classic Yank engine is the V8: low revving, masses of low-end torque, big dollops of the big easy. The spiritual successor to the old Yank V8 is the big-chested tons-of-torque new-generation turbodiesel. There is one key difference. Instead of slurping fuel like a fighter jet, diesels sip like a teetotal miser.

If GM had persisted with diesel, Yanks could still today drive gloriously expansive big cars – which they want – and save a fortune at the pumps (reducing their dependence on the Middle East and their carbon emissions). Another reason for enthusiastically adopting diesel is that the Japanese, their main auto enemy, still aren’t terribly good at it (the Japanese don’t buy diesels). The Yanks in Europe, especially Ford with its PSA alliance, make some great diesel engines. Inexplicably, they don’t market any of them in America.

I read in many UK newspapers that the ‘Big Three’ have failed because they do not offer Americans the ‘small, fuel efficient cars they want’. This, as with so much automotive analysis from Fleet Street, is nonsense. They certainly want more fuel efficient cars. But they don’t want small cars. Yanks think big. With diesel, they could stay big but also enjoy small fuel bills.

Granholm approves incentives to jump-start battery industry $335M in tax credits approved for manufacturers

Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed legislation Wednesday offering tax credits for advanced battery makers to attract one of the fastest-growing sectors in the auto industry to the hard-hit state of Michigan.

"We want Michigan to be positioned as the battery capital of the world," Granholm told reporters at the North American International Auto Show just before signing the bill offering up to $335 million in refundable tax credits.

Advanced batteries are a crucial component in the new hybrid and electric cars that were displayed prominently at the show.

Granholm has been trying for years to attract more high-tech activities to Michigan to offset a drop in auto manufacturing as Detroit's Big Three downsize their operations. Last year alone, Michigan lost 38,000 manufacturing jobs through November.

But Asian companies have established a commanding lead in the battery sector because they supply big manufacturers of battery-operated appliances and handheld devices concentrated in the Far East.

This week, General Motors Corp. said it would assemble batteries made by LG Chem of South Korea to power its Volt extended range electric car.

The Asians' dominance in battery technology has prompted concerns among U.S. politicians and auto executives that the United States risks trading its reliance on imported oil for a dependence on imported batteries if it does not encourage the development of advanced technologies.

Commenting on the recent $9 billion linkup of Sanyo and Panasonic of Japan, the governor's office said it would dominate the field for nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries.

"What we want to have is energy independence in America," Granholm said at a brief news conference before signing the bill.

In addition to the tax credits, Granholm is trying to nurture the development of advanced battery manufacturing by selecting and funding "centers of energy excellence" projects around certain companies, such as A123 Systems.

Granholm also is forming an alliance with Oakridge National Laboratories, the U.S. defense and energy departments, the government of Sweden, and private companies to tackle issues posed by lithium-ion and other new battery technologies.

Energy-storing batteries have been in use for centuries, but scientists continue to look for better formulas packing more power into smaller cells while ensuring safety and reliability.

In addition to battery assembly operations, such as GM's deal with LG Chem, Granholm is trying to attract research activities and production of the battery cells to Michigan.

Cell production "is where the real high-tech, high-value jobs are," said Mike Omotoso, a powertrain analyst at J.D. Power and Associates.

The new law provides $335 million in refundable tax credits for research, development and manufacturing of battery packs, vehicle engineering to support battery integration and related activities.

In a speech in Washington to the Transportation Research Board, Larry Burns, GM vice president for research and development, called for a public-private partnership to nurture key automotive technologies.

Burns said the partnership should include the U.S. government, automakers and suppliers, the energy and infrastructure industries.

The partnership's focus, he said, should be to support technologies for electrically driven vehicles such as advanced batteries, electric motors and power electronics.

"The transformation to electrically driven and connected vehicles is both exciting and necessary," Burns said, and public-private cooperation is needed to "ensure the U.S. continues to be a leader in this vital area of national interest."

Mercedes brings a touch of E-Class to show

German luxury car manufacturer Mercedes Benz has received its fair share of critics among green car enthusiasts having recently been fined heavily for failing to meet CAFE criteria established back in 1990. However, now the company is fighting to boost its tarnished image with a range of more economical vehicles.

At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Mercedes introduced its E-Class vehicles comprising of four-, six- and eight-cylinder units with outputs ranging from 100kW/136hp to 386kW/525hp. The four-cylinder engines are particularly noteworthy as they utilise a newly developed direct-injection unit that develops a higher output than the comparable V6 engines. However, all the new E-Class models boast fuel consumption reductions compared to their predecessors - in some cases by as much as 23 per cent.

For Mercedes customers with a truly environmental eye however, it is the BlueEFFICIENCY package which steals the show. According to Mercedes, engineers from every department have worked together to save fuel with features such as reduced weight, improved functioning, efficient energy management and a new form.

Thanks to work in the wind tunnel the drag coefficient has been reduced to 0.25 - making it the world’s most aerodynamically efficient saloon. The vehicles also boast newly developed tyres with up to 17 per cent lower rolling resistance.

It’s not just on the E-Class models that Mercedes has taken a green approach however. It also took the opportunity to present a production-ready version of the BlueZERO concept with battery-electric drive and a range of up to 124 miles, along with a fuel cell version with a range of more than 249 miles. There is also an electric cell plus version of the vehicle with an overall range of 373 miles that is capable of travelling up to 62 miles on electric drive alone.

2009 DETROIT AUTO SHOW

The Audi Sportback and Cadillac Converj won the EyesOn Design awards Tuesday for the most significant concept vehicle designs to debut at the 2009 Detroit auto show. EyesOn Design winners are selected by some of the best designers and academics in the business. They choose the winners from the floor of the 2009 North American International Auto Show.

The winners in the production vehicle category were the Audi R8 V10 and BMW Z4.

The Cadillac design team, led by Simon Cox, director of General Motors advanced design, has been working on the electric-drive Converj nearly every day since June. The vehicle debuted Sunday at the show.

"It's been a tough couple of months leading into the show," said Cox, referring to the struggle GM endured to receive a loan from the federal government. "Design can be a very important catalyst leading into the future. We have shown we can be very dramatic, but also very relevant."

Jeff Perkins, a GM designer, said he was proud to be in the same league as Audi and BMW with the EyesOn Design Award.

"It validates us as a design studio," he said. "This is our prom night. This is the moment we live for."

One of the features the GM designers were most proud of on the Converj was the center stack, where the radio and other controls normally reside between the driver and passenger seats.

"We want it to be as cool as an iPhone," Perkins said. The center stack combines LED and touch-screen technology. The luxury electric car also uses recycled materials.

This year's three chief judges were Chris Bangle, design chief at BMW; Willie G. Davidson, executive vice president and chief styling officer at Harley-Davidson, and Larry Erickson, chair of transportation design for the College for Creative Studies.

Bangle said that as judges walked the floor Tuesday morning, they were looking for inspiration and vehicles that made a statement.

"They give us the DNA for our future," he said.

Christian Bokich, manager of Midwest communications for Audi of America Inc., picked up two awards Tuesday -- one for concept and production vehicle design.

He said the Audi R8 V10, a two-seater with slick aluminum construction, has provided the brand's biggest halo. The V8 version sells for $115,000. Pricing hasn't been set for the V10.

"Design has been a huge factor in making the cars the best advertising on the road," Bokich said. "You can put snow tires on it. So you not only have a car that looks hot, but you can drive it in all four seasons."

Overall, 23 judges took part in selecting this year's winners in the fifth annual design awards.

Other production vehicles that made it into the finals were the Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon, Fisker Karma, Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, Ford Taurus and Mazda3 5-door.

Other concept finalists were the Chrysler 200C, Lincoln C, Volkswagen BlueSport Diesel and the Volvo S60.

The awards are presented by the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. Sponsors are the Society of Automotive Engineers, Whirlpool Corp., KPMG and Dassault Systemes.

Chrysler wants piece of electric pie

Following the focus on electric power and hybrid vehicles Chrysler has dropped three new concepts to expand its electric vehicle portfolio. Starting with the all-new Dodge circuit, a race car inspired fully electric sports car boasting not only zero fuel consumption and tailpipe emissions, but still an impressive 0-60 time of 5 seconds.

Second to come out from under the sheet was the all new Jeep Wrangler Unlimited EV. This small Jeep utilizes a combination of electric and small gas engines to power the two-wheel drive vehicle.

A new sedan rounds out the introductions for this year, the all new Chrysler 200C EV concept. Special emphasis has been placed on the new “connectivity” system which would allow the occupants of the vehicle complete control over all controls using nothing but a series of touch screens and computer consoles; and with wireless internet acting as a hub of the new multimedia system (Uconnect from Mopar), everyone will be fighting over who gets to be a passenger.

Less glitz, more green will be on display as auto show preview opens Sunday

The 2009 North American International Auto Show will be a mix of glum and green as automakers tout vehicles powered by batteries and electricity during an event shadowed by slumping sales, financial woes and questions about the long-term viability of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC.

But the industry's troubles don't diminish the importance of the nation's premier auto show, especially as automakers jockey for the best position once credit markets thaw and buyers release pent-up demand for new vehicles.

"You've got to be able to showcase your product in such a competitive market," said independent auto analyst Erich Merkle, who has worked for several auto consulting firms. "New products and product development is the lifeblood of any automaker. You have to ask yourself who is positioning themselves the best for when we come out of this recession?"

Last year's show also spotlighted fuel-efficient models, but they debuted alongside two stars of the show, the fuel-hungry Dodge Ram and Ford F-150 pickups. This year, the green theme is clear.

The show will feature vehicles that rely on electric and hybrid powertrains, along with more fuel-sipping passenger cars and crossovers. The focus shifts away from trucks for the first time in years, a reaction to last year's record-high gas prices and a resulting shift in consumer tastes, as well as government pressure to invest in green technologies.

The show, which opens Sunday with press previews before public days Jan. 17-25, will give automakers a chance to focus on new products and technologies instead of the months-long drumbeat of bad news about balance sheets, job cuts and government bailouts.

"The timing of the show couldn't be better," said senior co-chair Joe Serra, president of Serra Automotive Inc. in Grand Blanc. "The auto industry has been in the news a lot lately. News that hasn't been positive. This show allows manufacturers to tell the world their story and game plan and what the future looks like."

Judging by the lineup of products to be unveiled at Cobo Center, the future is looking away from petroleum.

Electric vehicles will have a dominant presence.

Chrysler is expected to show electric concept vehicles while Tesla Motors, a California company, will spotlight its $109,000 electric roadster. BYD Auto Co., a top Chinese auto company, will show an electric crossover vehicle and a plug-in hybrid sedan.

There also will be a host of hybrids. Toyota Motor Corp. will unveil its next-generation Prius hybrid on Monday along with a battery-powered concept vehicle, while Japanese rival Honda Motor Co. will display its re-conceived Honda Insight hybrid.

Toyota's upscale Lexus unit will show its HS 250h, the brand's first dedicated hybrid, while Fisker Automotive, an Irvine, Calif.-based start-up automaker and a joint venture between Quantum Technologies and Fisker Coachbuild, will unveil a new luxury hybrid concept, the Fisker Karma S.

Hybrids will be in the spotlight even as demand is slowing for the vehicles, which typically cost more than non-hybrid models. The top-selling hybrid vehicle last year was the Toyota Prius, with 158,884 unit sales, but sales dropped 44.7 percent in December from year-earlier levels, outpacing the 35.5 percent decline for the industry overall. Toyota has postponed the start of production of Prius hybrid cars at a new plant in Mississippi.

"When you have lower fuel prices and a sagging economy, green (vehicles) don't hold up too well," Merkle said. "People don't want to spend the extra money on a green car."

But automakers need to emphasize their green initiatives, he said, especially in light of criticism lobbed at Detroit's Big Three CEOs during congressional hearings last year on federal aid for the troubled companies.

"You have to have green technology," and show the world "that you're making progress and saving the planet," Merkle said.

Germany's BMW and Audi will show vehicles using clean diesel engines.

There will be a strong lineup of passenger cars and crossover unveilings, too.

Ford Motor Co. will show its redesigned Taurus sedan, while GM unveils its Buick LaCrosse sedan, originally set to debut at last year's Los Angeles auto show. GM also will show two new crossovers, the Cadillac SRX and Chevrolet Equinox.

And Mercedes-Benz will display its next generation E-Class sedan.

The focus will be on the products, not the celebrities and stars of years past who were shipped into Detroit to add glitz and glam, said Stephanie Brinley of the research and marketing firm AutoPacific Inc. GM, for example, has canceled its Style event, an invitation-only celebrity-studded soiree that used to be the Saturday before the show.

"It's a back-to-basics show," she said. "This is not the year for pie-in-the-sky concepts or pushing the envelope. As a result of the market being down and the economy, this is not as much playtime."

Expect a few surprises, though even those will be muted, she said.

"I don't think they'll be wild and crazy ones," Brinley said. "They will be real-world ideas."