I had the chance to attend the shooting of the latest 2011 Chevy Camaro television commercial in downtown Los Angeles in August. You may have seen it aired recently this month.

As someone who is interested in harnessing the power of the media to champion for fuel-efficient vehicles, I thought it would be exciting to check out the behind-the-scenes action of a major production. If we are going to start to build serious demand for the cars of the future, then it is time to start marketing them like other cars – fast, sexy, and fun.

The scene the crew was shooting at the time involved the Chevy Camaro dodging barrels of hay that had fallen off the back of a truck. I always wondered what kind of camera was used to get those shots that focus in tight on the front of the vehicle as it swerves on the road. Check out this heavy piece of machinery here:

I also met one of the world’s most well-known stunt woman drivers, Debbie Evans. Debbie has been on the forefront of car and motorcycle stunt driving for over thirty years.

When not driving a Camaro or other performance vehicles for commercial shoots all over the world, Debbie drives a Toyota Prius for her everyday car. She loves the fuel efficiency of the Prius and the fact that filling up her gas tank costs her so little. However, she was not aware of the next-gen electric vehicle technology coming on to the market very soon. I thought  it would be stellar to get her behind the wheel of a Fisker Karma or a Chevy Volt and see what she can do with some serious high-torque electric drive action.

Lastly, I discovered that the Camaro is engineered for fuel efficiency as well as performance. Despite belting out 312 horsepower, this muscle car manages 29 miles per gallon on the highway when equipped with a V6 engine and 6-speed automatic transmission.

The V6 and V8 automatic transmission versions of the Camaro come standard with GM’s Active Fuel Management system, which is designed to offer muscle power with less fuel. The Camaro is also reasonably priced – base models start at $22,680.

Being on location of the shoot made me realize that marketing cars is not rocket science. We want to be excited about being behind the wheel. We want to be riveted by its features and performance. This goes for any type of car, no matter what kind of mileage it gets or what kind of technology is under the hood.

Dr. Shannon Arvizu loves driving clean, green machines. You can find out more at MissElectric.com.

The entry-level Honda has enjoyed great success in the States thanks to a hugely flexible interior and sub-$15k price tag. In reviews on Honk, Fit owners rave about the high fuel economy, EPA rated at 27 miles per gallon in the city and 33 on the highway.

At current exchange rates, the Fit Hybrid would add about $3,000 to the bottom line but would boost fuel economy into the 40 mile-per-gallon range. That’s on par with the Fit’s big brother, the Honda Insight, but still below the 50 mile-per-gallon rating of the best-selling Toyota Prius.

The Fit Hybrid uses the same 1.3-liter hybrid powertrain that’s found in the Insight. On the road, its 98 horsepower and 123 pound-feet of torque should match up closely to the standard Fit’s 117 horsepower and 106 pound-feet.

Honda so far won’t commit to selling the Fit Hybrid in the US, the obvious fear being that a Fit Hybrid would cannibalize sales from the already slow-selling Insight.

But the longer Honda delays, the more hybrid sales they risk losing to Toyota. And with Toyota’s CEO, Akio Toyoda, announcing the company’s intention to be a leader in hybrids and all things green, it doesn’t seem wise for Honda to hesitate.

Let’s hope that Honda chooses to bring this fuel-sipping Fit Hybrid to market before competitors makes them green with envy.

For those who live on the west side of Los Angeles, that magical test drive happened this past weekend at Santa Monica’s annual Alt Car Expo.

Nissan set up a large-scale test drive center for the expo that resembled an amusement park ride (minus the life-size cartoon characters). Those who have already reserved a Nissan Leaf were notified before the event and could register early for their spin around the block.

After registration, drivers were invited to wait in a general lobby area where you could meet and chat with other zero emissions enthusiasts as you waited for your chance to drive Nissan’s new green machine around the test track.

Even though I’ve already reserved a Leaf of my own, I decided to give up my spot and let others take a turn behind the wheel. I was able to test drive Nissan’s EV two months ago at Plug-In 2010 event in San Jose and wanted to let someone else get enjoy the exhilaration of electric power.

What astounded me about this particular display, however, was the sheer number of people there to experience electric drive. Everywhere you looked there were smiling faces and excited people.

There really is only one way to understand the beauty of electric drive…and that is by getting behind the wheel of a green machine. Nissan plans to offer 50,000 test drives across the country this fall and you can check tour dates and schedule a test drive of your own here.

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Shannon Arvizu, Ph.D., loves driving clean, green machines. You can read more at MissElectric.com

The South Korean automaker’s futuristic three-person city car was unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show and it’s one concept car I hope makes the passage from fantasy to reality.

About the size of a Smart ForTwo, the Pop Concept’s design is centered around the user experience. The long, sweeping windshield is meant to provide optimal vision for driver and passengers while the chic purple interior is enhances ambiance and style.

All the controls for the vehicle are accessible via one button in the cabin that powers a touch screen Transparent Organic LED display. This display shows the speedometer, battery’s state-of-charge, and other readouts on a small piece of plexiglass in front of the steering wheel.

As for the technology under the hood, the Pop Concept goes beyond the electric cars coming to market this year with a new battery technology based on lithium polymer gel. This new gel can hold more energy than current lithium-based batteries and Kia promises more energy storage at a lower cost.

The concept is said to have a 100-mile driving range and a top speed of 87 miles per hour. A small seat for a third person is located behind the front passenger.

Says Gregory Guillaume, Kia Europe’s Chief Designer: ”We’re trying to stir things up in the automotive world, to surprise people even more. We wanted this car to act as a loose nucleus, a wild atom,”

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Shannon Arvizu, Ph.D., loves driving clean, green machines. To read more, visit MissElectric.com.

The 2010 Prius is the most popular hybrid on the market today. Its EPA ratings of 51 miles per gallon in the city and 48 on the highway outperform rivals from Honda, Ford, and Volkswagen at the pump and add a green halo to the entire Toyota brand.

But is the 2011 Prius worth another $250?  The new base price of $23,050 increases the gap to its nearest competitor, the $19,800 Honda Insight, and brings the Prius closer to upmarket rivals like the $28,100 Ford Fusion Hybrid.

While an extra $250 may not seem like much when rolled into monthly payments, consider that the amount would buy you over 4,000 miles of driving in your Prius at today’s fuel prices. At the very least, you should insist on those floor mats.

The Chevy Volt will be on tour this fall, with several stops across the country for you to get up close and personal with the car that GM promises will revolutionize the way we drive.

The “Volt Unplugged” tour includes a fleet of six Chevy Volts that will be available for test drives. You will also have a chance to meet with a team of engineers, designers, and others who will be on hand to share details on the Volt’s technology and story.

So which cities are on the tour?

• Oct. 9 and 10 – Seattle
• Oct. 13 and 14 – San Francisco
• Oct. 16 – 18 – Los Angeles
• Oct. 20 – San Diego
• Oct. 22 and 23 – San Antonio
• Oct. 24 and 25 – Houston
• Oct. 28 and 29 – Miami
• Oct. 30 – Orlando
• Oct. 29 and 30 – Washington, D.C.
• Nov. 1 – Raleigh, N.C.
• Nov. 5 – 7 – New York City
• Nov. 18 – 20 – Chicago

Don’t worry if your city or state is not included on this tour or on the first wave of production vehicles this fall. The Volt will first be sold in California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, and Washington DC and General Motors plans to sell the Volt nationwide 12-18 months later.

You can register for your own test drive on ChevroletVoltage. Just be sure to come back and let us and other Honksters know how you liked the car!

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Miss Electric, Ph.D., loves driving clean, green machines. Follow her at MissElectric.com.

But first, why did the first generation Accord Hybrid fare so poorly?  Critics say it’s because Honda engineered the car for performance instead of fuel economy. Rather than convert electrical energy into miles per gallon, Honda used the hybrid’s motor and battery pack to add about 15-horsepower to the already stout 240-horsepower V6 engine.

The result was the world’s first “performance hybrid” that boasted the power of a 6-cylinder engine and the fuel economy of a 4-cylinder engine. Had Honda added its hybrid system to the Accord’s thriftier 4-cylinder engine, it may have given competitors like the Toyota Camry Hybrid a run for their money.

Maybe the Honda Accord Hybrid was simply ahead of its time, though. I had a chance to drive two new muscle-bound hybrids recently: the BMW ActiveHybrid X6 and the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid. While these large sport utility vehicles are very different from a midsize sedan, they do share the old Accord Hybrid’s preference for power.

Both of the models I drove featured burly V8 engines with a two-mode hybrid system that allows for all-electric driving at low speeds. The fuel efficiency gains of these two hybrids are modest, but no one can complain that these brawny ‘utes are slow.

So what will the new Honda Accord Hybrid offer? It’s too early for specifics, but my hope is that Honda will change direction this time and uses those extra electrons to eke out more MPGs instead of horsepower.

If there are any muscle hybrid drivers out there, sound off and share your thoughts.

General Electric has a new video series called “The GE Show” where they showcase some of the innovations they’re working on. The latest episode features electric vehicles and includes information on what GE is doing to make recharging those vehicles easy and convenient.

What I like the most about this video production is that it helps drivers decide whether an electric car is right for them based on their real-world driving patterns. Since we’ll have several plug-in vehicles on the market within the next two years, it is important to understand how electric drive can fit into our everyday lifestyles.

The first part of the episode starts off asking viewers for their zip code and average daily miles driven. The viewer is then taken to a virtual map of their neighborhood and you can specify the location of places you frequent most. In other parts of the episode, you can watch real-world people ask real-world questions about how to charge an electric vehicle. Other features include an interactive driving game, as well as a brief history of how our transportation system has evolved and continues to change today.

And yes, there’s a link to that WattStation commercial with the catchy jingle:

Would a plug-in car fit your lifestyle? Let me know your thoughts!

In fact, there is currently an around-the-world race taking place right now made only of these ultimate commuter cars. The Zero Race, as it is called, is made up of teams from four continents that compete to traverse the planet in 80 days using no gas at all. The only rules of the race are that the vehicles:

• Be propelled by an electric motor
• Drive at least 250 kilometers (about 155 miles) distance at an average speed of at least 80 kilometers per hour (about 50 miles per hour)
• Be able to reach a maximum distance of 500 kilometers per day (about 310 miles), with a recharge stop of 4 hours during the competitor’s lunch break
• Carry at least two people on board

The race started on August 16 in Switzerland and you can follow along on their journey here.

I had the opportunity to drive around in one of the original versions of these commuter cars two years ago. The Sparrow was originally conceived of and produced by Lee Iaccoca and I had a chance to take one out for an exhilarating spin around the block. Some say the concept was ahead of its time. While that may be true, I definitely had fun putting the pedal to the metal in this baby. And the looks that I got from passerby’s were priceless.

I happened across another electric commuter car at this year’s Plug-In 2010 conference called the Arcimoto Pulse. The Pulse is less designed for speed as it is for comfort and efficiency. It features room for two and a has an MP3 stereo system to accompany your ride around town. It has a 40-mile range, a top-speed of 65 mph, and charges in 4 hours.

Electric commuter cars revolutionize the way we think about mobility. Does it really make sense, for example, to drive our SUVs that seat eight if we are going solo to our jobs? These cars are yet another example of the wide variety of technologies that are shifting our transportation sector towards clean electric drive.

Dr. Shannon Arvizu loves driving clean, green machines. You can find out more at MissElectric.com.

I happened across the Smart ForTwo ED a few weeks ago at the Plug-In 2010 conference in San Jose, CA. This annual conference was the place to be to catch a glimpse of some of the most innovative cars of the future. The convertible Smart definitely caught my eye on the exhibition floor and I contacted Rick Bourgoise, Director of Communications for Smart USA, to find out more.

Rick told me that the Smart ForTwo ED has been in development in the U.K. since 2007. An electric version was part of the initial vision for the Smart ForTwo, given its mission to be one of the cleanest automotive product lines in the world. In fact, the original design was built to accommodate an electric vehicle powertrain without compromising the structure of the vehicle itself. The Smart ForTwo ED is nearly identical to the conventional ForTwo – the battery pack and electric drive system take up the same space once occupied by the engine and fuel tank.

The Smart ForTwo ED is optimized for urban driving. The car is powered by a 30 kW drive motor from electricity stored in a 16.5 kWh lithium-ion battery. Smart says that initial acceleration is brisk and that top speed will be a highway-capable 60 miles per hour.

Using a 220-volt outlet, like the kind your clothing dryer plugs into, this Smart can fully charge in less than eight hours and offers a range of 82 clean miles on a single charge.

For those cutting-edge early adopters looking for a clean ride for their urban commute, Smart USA is now accepting “hand-raisers” who are interested in being part of their field test trial program. They will offer a limited number of Smart forTwo EDs in five target markets: Portland, San Francisco, Indianapolis, Orlando/Tampa, and cities along the I-95 corridor from Boston to D.C. The vehicles will be available starting in October 2010 for a four-year lease for $599/month. Production-ready vehicles for sale are expected to be available in 2012.

Rick mentioned that each field test driver will have their own web page that details real-time usage of their Smart forTwo ED. This information is intended to provide drivers and Daimler (manufacturer of the Smart ForTwo ED) data that will be used to inform the ultimate design of the production-ready version.

While being an early adopter is not for everyone, having the chance to test out future car technology (while getting a lot of head-turning attention on the road) is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

There are a wide variety of options for clean mobility in the near future, and the Smart ForTwo ED is a welcome addition to the bunch.

Dr. Shannon Arvizu loves driving clean, green machines. You can find out more at MissElectric.com.