We Obsessively Cover the Green Scene…

Representatives from the Republican Party have asked President Obama to delay pushing through strict new automotive fuel economy regulations. The trio of top GOP legislators consists of auto dealer Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, Jim Jordan (also of PA) and House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa of California (pictured). The three legislators are calling for further review of the 2017-2025 Corporate Average Fuel Economy targets. According to a report by The Detroit News, Issa says "Higher fuel efficiency standards is a goal I share – but not at the expense of consumer safety."

As the report notes, a deal was struck last summer that would actually lower fuel economy increases from 2017-2021 of 3.5 percent annually for light trucks and five percent every year for cars. Part of this pact stipulated a mid-term review to confirm that reaching these goals was even possible.

The National High Traffic Safety Administration, along with the Environmental Protection Agency decided not to meet a self-imposed Wednesday deadline for finalization of the new rules. NHTSA head David Strickland has said that the new regulations will be announced in "days, not weeks," while one House Republican has suggested that the White House may be having misgivings about pushing the legislation through now.

It is said that the new standards will cost the auto industry $157.3 billion, but could eventually result in $1.7 trillion in savings for consumers on fuel expenditures. Unfortunately, the new standards could also mean an additional $2,000 to the price of the average automobile by 2025. According to Representative Kelly, "the new CAFE standards will limit choice, compromise safety, and increase costs to millions of Americans..."

The issue may be out of their control, however, as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood noted in a recent interview that the legislation is "... coming soon. We're working with the White House and the EPA to roll it out."

Acura has paired its 2013 ILX Hybrid with the band Metric on its U.S. tour. To keep people as intrigued outside the concert as they are inside, Acura turned the ILX into an LED art car with a 3D display where there should have been an interior.

Creating the LED light show took 4,600 hours, that was for the installation of 7,500 individually controllable LEDs activated by more than 1,100 lines of programming. You can watch it in action in the video below.

The 2013 Ford Fusion hasn't even gone on sale yet and it's made a bunch of connections: an appointment with NASCAR's Sprint Cup, star of its own music video, and a date with Ryan Seacrest. Now Ford has paired it with the Space Shuttle, but not for nothing: the MAR M246 nickel-cobalt-tungsten superalloy used for the turbochargers of the new Fusion is the same compound used in the high-pressure turbo pumps of the Space Shuttle's main engines.

Sure, the Fusion is still in a different league when it comes to certain comparators, like its 237 horsepower versus the Shuttle's 19.5 million. But does claim a few crowns, such as its 190,000 rpm maximum vs. the Shuttle's 28,120 (we're assuming Ford means the speed its turbocharger spins), and the Fusion gets much better gas mileage.

Both the full infographic and the press release can be seen below below, or you can click on the image above to see it in full size.

Production of the "Earth Dreams" powertrains that will slot into the 2013 Honda Accord has begun at the Japanese automaker's Anna Engine and Honda Transmission Mfg. plants, both of which will supply the Ohio assembly lines where the Accord is built.

As one would expect with car as important to Honda as the ninth-generation Accord, the company has made a huge investment in the North American debut of its new direct-injected, 2.4-liter four-cylinder, a new CVT transmission, and a 3.5-liter V6 and its optional six-speed automatic. Honda has spent $220 million on expansions, casting operations and automated lines for its associates, and the plant is now able to make 1.8 million Earth Dreams engines annually.

The new engines are said to be good for a 10-percent improvement in fuel economy compared to current offerings, and the powerplants will eventually migrate to other models in Honda's lineup. Check out the press release below for more information.

As with one of those blockbuster three-team NBA trades that actually improves the fortunes of every team involved, a report in Autocar indicates that Renault, Infiniti and Lotus are in talks that could benefit both manufacturers and enthusiasts. Renault is considering a production version of the devil-in-blue Alpine A110-50 concept but has said that it "probably needs more than the Renault-Nissan Alliance on its own." Enter Lotus, whose Evora platform could supply the running bits for the mid-engined Alpine revival.

That same Evora platform, in range-extended 414E concept form, is the basis for the Infiniti Emerg-E concept. Even though a decision hasn't been made on the Emerg-E's production, it is still being developed and the company has admitted that it "could be built in Britain." For its part, Lotus has said that it's ahead of schedule on the Evora 414E, with its 408 horsepower, 738 pound-feet of torque and 30-mile electric range. Development funds from both Renault and Infiniti could help make all three cars a closer possibility.

The start/stop feature in the current BMW 3 Series is, by default, activated every time you get in and start the car. If you don't like it, you can deactivate the feature by pressing a button on the dash; however, the next time you turn the car off and start it again (with the key), the start/stop system will kick in.

This is too much hassle for some drivers, who wish start/stop to remain off unless they decide otherwise. To accommodate them, BMW has given dealers permission to activate the system's Last User Mode, which will start the car with stop/start in the same mode as when the car was shut down. Of note, BMW M models come with Last User Mode enabled automatically. There's a service bulletin below with the particulars.

Audi's digital rearview mirror is officially going from the Le Mans clobbering, race-only Audi R18 to the road-going R8 e-tron (click the image above to enlarge). Lacking a rear window put the R8 e-tron in the same rear-view challenged category as its racing brethren, and so has been provided the same solution.

The 7.7-inch AMOLED screen receives the feed from a tiny camera just a few millimeters across. The screen is dimmable, will automatically reduce the glare from the headlights of cars behind, and can be switched off if the driver just isn't with it. For now, it appears the screen will just display the camera image, but Audi says it's working on adding more information to the display in the future. You can find out more about it in the press release below.

Those crusaders of shopping empowerment over at Consumer Reports have put together a list of five cars to avoid, even if their sales numbers suggest otherwise. CR points out that just because a vehicle is making a lot of buzz and ringing cash registers, that doesn't necessarily make it a wise choice for buyers. According to the report, these are vehicles that either tested poorly or have been experiencing poor reliability in their new car surveys.

Perhaps of little surprise is the presence of the Honda Civic on this list. The latest Civic has been getting dinged by auto critics left and right, and CR specifically points to a "Choppy ride, noisy cabin, vague steering, and mediocre interior quality" as reasons for its inclusion on the list. Its a good thing, then, that a short-term update is its way.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Consumer Reports once again voices its disapproval of the Toyota Prius C. We knew they weren't in love with it when they reviewed it back in May, and apparently the passage of time hasn't softened their opinions of Toyota's least-expensive hybrid.

Check out the gallery of all five cars that Consumer Reports is telling buyers to avoid and then weigh in with your thought in Comments.

Silent but deadly fast.

The Audi R8 E-Tron may set the record for a production EV on the Nurbürgring in June, but the video of Marcus Winkelhock won't win any awards for its sound track. During the eight minutes, nine seconds of driving, the car offers hardly any sound.

Gone is the thunder of Audi's V8 or V10 revving through every corner. Instead, it's tire squeals and wind noise. The 375-horsepower electric engines hardly make a sound. But that time is certainly not slow, falling just five seconds short of the R8 with a V8.

Audi promises that this car, which arrives later this year, will be identical to the one that raced on the famed German course. Though, as we pointed out before, it will have its speed limited to 125 mph. It should also have a range of 135 miles.

Scroll down to see the entire lap.

Cutting pounds while making cars safer and stronger is a pursuit of all auto companies. Creative uses of aluminum alloys and exotic materials like carbon fiber help reduce weight and increase fuel economy and/or performance.

But both aluminum and carbon fiber are expensive. Steel has been around for centuries, and technological advancements have made it stronger, cheaper and lighter. But, argues David Paratore, president and CEO of NanoSteel, current steel technology is pushing the limits of what it can do. Harder steel is difficult to form into automotive parts. But easier-to-form steel is, by nature, less rigid.

Paratore's company has developed a new steel they claim is stronger yet easier to form than conventional automotive steel. The new alloy can be made using conventional steel processes and no new welding techniques or machines are needed. On top of all that, NanoSteel claims big weight-saving advantages. "We're not talking about saving grams. We're talking about saving kilograms," Paratore says in the video below. "Maybe hundreds of pounds in a car."

Its enough of a breakthrough that it has gotten the attention and investment of General Motors and its investment subsidiary, GM Ventures. "We are investing in NanoSteel because of the opportunity associated with their new steel alloy technology," says Jon Lauckner, GM's Chief Technology Officer, Vice President of Global R&D and President of GM Ventures LLC. "Over the next several years, light-weighting of vehicles will be a major focus area to improve fuel economy. NanoSteel's nano-structured alloys offer unique material characteristics that are not available today, making them a potential game-changer."

Terms of the investment (including monetary amounts and exclusivity rights) were not disclosed. For a quick synopsis of what NanoSteel's product is and does, watch the video below. The official press release from GM and NanoSteel is also below.

The power of social media revealed itself yesterday in the form of fluctuation in fuel prices based on a false tweet.

According to The Wall Street Journal, a Twitter account claiming to be Russian Interior Minister Vladamir Kolokoltsv tweeted that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad had been injured or killed. That tweet which occurred at 9:59 AM EST, was followed by two more tweets alleging the confirmation of al-Assad's death.

In the hour following that tweet, light, sweet crude prices rose from $90.82 to $91.99, and the jump took place in between 10:15 and 10:45. According to the Reuters report, the Russian ministry denies firing off the tweets and denies any connection to the account.

Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn pointed out "a well-placed story can move the market, and that looks like what happened." Though Syria itself is not a major oil producer, it is feared that Iran would react to the news because of their connection to and support of Assad

In the wake of sanctions imposed due to their continued participation in a nuclear weapons program, Iran has threatened to close off the Straight of Hormuz, a major throughway for ships carrying crude oil to the rest of the world.

Because of the hypersensitivity of the international tensions in the Middle East, and those trading in oils who follow the area closely, the rumor of Assad's demised spread like wildfire. The combination of Mideast unrest, and the spread of information through texts and tweets means it's unlikely this is the last time something like this will happen.

What's better than driving with the top down and the wind in your hair? Cruising in the open air while saving a ton of money at the pump.

The EPA has just released its figures for the 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible, and the numbers don't lie. The Beetle Convertible TDI, with its 140 horsepower diesel four-cylinder, gets 21 28 miles per gallon city and 41 mpg highway when paired with the six-speed manual transmission. That highway number makes the Beetle Convertible TDI the most fuel efficient convertible in America.

Want more power and still want to save fuel? The turbocharged 2.0-liter gas engine puts out 200 horsepower while returning 21 mpg city and 30 highway.

By comparision, the Smart ForTwo Cabriolet gets 34/38, with a combined rating of 36 mpg. That's good enough to beat out the Beetle Convertible TDI's 32 combined MPG, but if you do more highway driving, no other droptop will rival the max fuel economy of the Beetle.

The Tesla Roadster, which would have been far and away the most fuel-efficient convertible on the market, is sold out and not in production in the U.S. for 2013.

If the rumors are to be believed, Mercedes-Benz is planning a roadster version for the SLS AMG E-Cell electric supercar. Dutch newspaper De Telegraph is reporting that Mercedes-Benz is seriously looking at an SLS E-Cell Roadster.

Through the rough translation, we're able to determine the reporting says that following the roll-out of the SLS E-Cell, Mercedes-Benz will see how the fully-electric gullwing sells and then make a decision. "We will see how great the demand becomes," said an undisclosed Mercedes-Benz representative, "We currently have no idea how many people are actually interested."

To refresh your memory, the SLS E-Cell uses four electric motors to generate a combined 526 horsepower and 649 pound feet of torque. With so much torque available from zero rpms, it should achieve a 0-60 time of four seconds.

The SLS E-Cell obviously lacks the standard car's big 6.3-liter V8 up front, and its new powertrain requires a completely different front axle and reworked front aerodynamics. The all-electric powerplant also gets some range-extending assistance from the Mercedes F1 team and its kinetic energy recovery system. We're not sure if the production SLS E-Cell Roadster will come in the same AMG Luminetric Mango as the auto show darling seen above, but we are sure someone will ask for it.

Gooding & Company's Pebble Beach auction set for next month just got a little more interesting, with George Clooney's very own Tesla Roadster added to the docket. Finished in Obsidian Black Metallic paint, Clooney's Tesla is number eight of the original "Signature 100" built in 2008 and comes with the premium two-tone leather interior.

Clooney isn't selling the electric roadster to get some extra cash, though. The Academy Award-winning actor is well known for his philanthropic exploits, and the full proceeds from the auction will be given to one of his charities, the Satellite Sentinel Project. Co-founded by Clooney and human rights activist John Prendergast, the non-profit organization aims to prevent a return to civil war between Northern and Southern Sudan.

"We admire and respect Mr. Clooney's talent and dedication to making a difference in our international community, and hope his fantastic car will attract great support for the Satellite Sentinel Project and recognition of the lives his work saves every day," said company president David Gooding.

The auction house estimates the value of the Tesla Roadster at $100,000 to $125,000. Scroll down to read the official announcement from Gooding & Company.