How green can a car really get? What about one which features a lot of recycled materials as part of the design? That's the idea behind the Th!nk Ox concept car, unveiled earlier this year at the Geneva International Motor Show.

What makes the Th!nk Ox interesting as a concept is that 95% of the interior is made of recyclable materials. Those materials aren't specifically spelled out, but I have to imagine you won't grow a third eye while you are driving this car.

Earlier today, when Ford announced plans to counter its largest ever quarterly loss, we also learned the 2010 Ford Mustang would be revealed to pumping bass and epileptic-unfriendly lights at the 2008 LA Auto Show in November. We know the car arrives in showrooms early next year, and what's a new car without the lasers and dry ice of an auto show unveiling? But why LA and not Detroit?

However, Volvo, the world's second-largest truck maker by sales after Daimler AG, warned that truck demand is weakening in Europe, its biggest market, even though demand in Eastern Europe remains strong.

"In Europe, the trend that we noticed in the first quarter, toward increased caution among our customers and in certain markets, strengthened -- which was reflected in order bookings in the truck operations," Chief Executive Leif Johansson said. "However, demand for long-distance transport remains high, but there is a weakening in construction transport and construction equipment."

There's also the Honda OSM, a low-emissions two-seat roadster concept. A press release on The Auto Channel says "there are no plans for this design study model to enter production, although Honda will gather feedback from customers at the show to guide any future developments."

Another notable introduction is the supercharged Mastretta MXT, the Mexican automaker's first high-end sports car. Edmunds Inside Line says, "At just 1,985 pounds, the Mastretta MXT could be considered a direct rival to the peppy and light Lotus Elise." The car will go on sale for the U.K. market only in May 2009.Stay tuned this week for more British Auto Show coverage.

A couple of weeks ago, I was handed the keys to a V6-powered 3.6 S Line model. Let me tell you right off the bat that the Q7 is comprehensively equipped and very sophisticated as far as premium SUVs go. Pretty much everything is included, though navigation is optional.Massive
The front grille of the Audi Q7 must be quite intimidating for other drivers; they get out of the way as soon as you approach behind them, even if passing is not what you intend to do. Is it really what Audi designers were looking to create? One thing's for sure: the Q7 rises above the crowd with its massive, commanding presence.

“We aim to become a full-range car company in the next few years, and, realistically, it’s a big task. We are finalising plans to introduce several new vehicles from the our stable, aiming a much higher market share in India than the current 3%,” said

Toyota’s newly appointed India head Hiroshi Nakagawa. “The new vehicles will be both imported and locally manufactured at our Bangalore facility,” he added.

The company is looking at products across the segments, including the luxury marquee Lexus and compact car Diahatsu, that could hit the market in the next few years. “We are in the final lap of bringing in new vehicles in the premium segment, the volume generating small-car segment will be rolled out sometime in 2010,” Mr Nakagawa said.

Should BMW achieve its sales target, it would grow over last year's sales by 102 per cent. BMW's optimism comes at a time when the passenger car market in India is worrying about ending up with a single digit growth in the 2008-09 financial year.

It also found most people (84%) do not know if an emission rate of 100gs of carbon dioxide per km is a high or a low value (it’s considered very low). And more than half (58%) think electric vehicles have exhaust pipes whilst a quarter (25%) believe that biofuel is CO2 free.

Common misconceptions when it comes to greener driving terminology include:Electric cars- Over half (58%) do not realise electric vehicles don’t have exhaust pipes- A fifth (17%) think they produce CO2 from their exhausts- One in six (15%) think water comes out of electric car’s engines.

The South offers automakers ample highway and rail systems and proximity to the large market of U.S. consumers. But its main attraction: Existing auto plant workers, even those who are victims of other industries exporting jobs, have rejected overtures by the United Auto Workers."Foreign-owned automakers have been a tough nut for the UAW to crack, and the South is particularly difficult," said Harley Shaiken, a University of California, Berkeley, professor who specializes in labor issues."That is without question an important part of their location decision," he said.

Volkswagen's plant will be part of the company's strategy to increase its presence in the U.S., where the maker of the Jetta, Golf and Beetle holds just 2 percent of the market.VW executives have narrowed their site options to Alabama, Tennessee and Michigan. All three states are offering financial incentive packages. The automaker's representatives and economic development officials won't discuss the site search.A Tuesday meeting of the company's management board in Frankfurt, Germany yielded no decision on where to build. Volkswagen's supervisory board, the equivalent of a U.S. board of directors, is to meet July 15, with an announcement expected soon afterward.

Usually sold only in Asia and Latin America, GM is thought to be developing a version of the Chevrolet Beat for America’s highways, according to a report by Bloomberg. Not much bigger than the Daimler Smart car, the Chevrolet Beat does 40 miles to the gallon - making its fuel efficiency second only to hybrid cars in the US.

The consideration by GM comes after the company’s US sales tumbled 18.5pc last month, while rivals Ford and Toyota also reported dwindling sales, down 28pc and 11.5pc respectively.