Spring is coming and it's time to re-up on your wheels. But being green is important to you as part of your conspicuous consumption. Here are some of your automotive options:
There's the staid all-electric Tesla.
But now, the IPO-hopeful Tesla has some competition looming on the horizon in the luxury class. Yes, the Porsche and Ferrari are hybrids, but fuel economy is not really the issue when you're spending this kind of money. This is just feel-good green. Can Tesla compete against these long-time car manufacturers that have a brand and a history? Mercedes does have a stake in Tesla, and Tesla might need that century of automotive manufacturing knowledge to keep up with the Johannses.
Porsche is now in play with the Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid.
Here's a a video.
If you want red and Italian -- the hybrid version of the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano is the way to go. The '599' in the model name refers to the 620 horsepower 5.99 liter V-12 engine, now augmented by an electric motor, a lithium-ion battery pack and a flywheel-powered Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). The hybrid development was spurred by the cry of cash-strapped Ferrari owners trying to get a few more miles per gallon. And this Ferrari delivers -- offering 11.75 miles per gallon, up from the usual 8.7 miles per gallon. The masters of Maranello strike again.
And for puttering around town and bringing the kids and dogs to soccer practice -- there's the 700hp (522kW) Lightning GT with nano-titanate batteries from Altair Nano.
And rounding out your choices is the $450,000 Monagasque Venturi Fetish.
Wear your seatbelt.