General Motors announced today they are scheduled to invest $246 million on electric motors and aim to debut next-generation, rear-wheel-drive Two-mode Hybrid technology in 2013. The Detroit based automaker says in a press release:

"Electric motor innovation supported the first wave of automotive growth a century ago with the electric starter, which eliminated the need for a hand crank, and revolutionized automotive travel for the customer," said Tom Stephens, GM vice chairman, Global Product Operations. "We think the electrification of today's automobiles will be just as revolutionary and just as beneficial to our customers. Electric motors will play a huge role in that."

"In the future, electric motors might become as important to GM as engines are now," Stephens said. "By designing and manufacturing electric motors in-house, we can more efficiently use energy from batteries as they evolve, potentially reducing cost and weight - two significant challenges facing batteries today."

Get ready for the Personal Urban and Mobility and Accessibility vehicle which will be known by the masses as P.U.M.A. General Motors and Segway are teaming up for an enclosed 2 seat vehicle that has the fuel efficiency of 200 mpg. The car will be for urban driving and will be able to reach speeds of 35 mph.

"We're excited about doing more with less," said Jim Norrod, chief executive of Segway, the Bedford, N.H.-based maker of electric scooters. "Less emissions, less dependability on foreign oil and less space."

No word on what Segway and GM are looking at as a price point for the vehicle. Here is a video demonstration of the P.U.M.A.

Honda today announced that they have delivered their second Hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle. The lucky recipient of the car is actress Jamie Lee Curtis, took delivery of the vehicle on July 31, 2008. Curtis and her family will be one of 200 customers who will be leasing the vehicles from Honda. Honda and its customers will test the state of the art vehicles for the next three years.

"I really wasn't expecting it to be so luxurious," said Curtis. "It's luxurious, luxurious, luxurious! I love the interior layout, design and access to controls. It is user-friendly and very modern."

The United Postal Service may be going "green" sometime soon. General Motors has provided the the USPS a Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle as the agency explores ways to save money on fuel and helping the environment at the same time.

"We are looking for a vehicle that operates from a fuel source that reduces -- or eliminates -- our dependence on petroleum products, that is good for the environment, good for our customers and good for the Postal Service," said Walter O'Tormey, vice president, Engineering, as he accepted the keys to the Equinox Fuel Cell that will be tested in Irvine, CA.

"We are very encouraged by GM's fuel cell technology," O'Tormey added. "We also want to explore other options, such as hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid and other 'green' vehicles that will help us continue to provide our customers with reliable service while protecting the environment."

The postal service is getting hard by the higher prices of fuel. The cost of filling up postal vehicles is expected th go up a staggering $600 million this year. Hydrogen fueled vehicles are twice as efficient as an internal combustion engine and can be made in many ways using both traditional and renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and biomass energy.

The Cleveland area is the greenest part of the Buckeye state to drive in according to a recent study by Mens Health Magazine. The July/August edition of the popular periodical named Seattle, Washington, as the most friendly city for transportation in the United States. Cleveland ranked 26th in the study receiving a "B" grade. The study took in to account things like cities with the worst gas-guzzling offenders, the magazine tabulated data on gas consumption, measured miles racked up annually, checked air quality (ozone and particle pollutants), logged vehicle efficiency (that is, their size, age, and frequency of tuneups), and incorporated mass-transit quality and usage.

Here is a look at the 100 cities named in the study. The magazine hit stores today:

1. Seattle, WA A+
2. Burlington, VT A+
3. Portland, OR A+
4. Madison, WI A
5. Fargo, ND A
6. Rochester, NY A
7. Minneapolis, MN A-
8. Spokane, WA A-
9. San Francisco, CA A-
10. Norfolk, VA A-
11. Boston, MA A-
12. Oakland, CA A-
13. Buffalo, NY A-
14. Miami, FL B+

Toyota unveiled photos of a new Hybrid truck that will be displayed at the Detroit Auto Show. The new truck will be smaller than a Toyota Rav4 and be similar in style to their rival Honda's Ridgeline.

The Toyota A-BAT will seat four and is 15 in length which is 9 inches shorter than the Toyota Tacoma. No word on what the fuel economy or towing capabilities.

Toyota has not said when they plan to produce the new pickup truck but with its futuresque look it would likely win over buyers who are looking for an environmentally friendly car that has the functionality of a pickup.

Porsche is displaying their 108-Year-Old Porsche Hybrid at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The engine is considered the forerunner to today's gas/electric vehicles. The company produced the vehicle at the turn of the 20th century and does not produce any emissions.

The old hybrid will be placed next to the new Porsche Cayenne which will feature the latest hybrid technology.

The company's first hybrid is making its first voyege to North America. The old car is on permanent display at the Technical Museum in Vienna.

Researchers in the "Smart Cities" group at the MIT Media Lab are set to unveil two low-cost electric vehicles this week at the EICMA Motorcyle show in Milan. They are hoping that these vehicles will help revolutionize mass transit, as well as alleviate pollution. A prototype of the "City Car", the group's foldable electric car, is scheduled to follow in 2008.

The "Smart Cities" group sees the vehicles as key part in a strategy to reduce pollution with electric power, expand limited public space by folding and stacking vehicles like shopping carts, and alleviating congestion by letting people rent and return the vehicles to racks located near transportation hubs, such as train stations, airports, and bus depots.

William Mitchell, director of the "Smart Cities" research group said, ""We're looking at urban personal mobility in a much more sustainable way than the private automobile provides."

A green-tech start-up known as EEStor filed for a US patent which promises technology that could allow a motorist to plug in a car for five minutes and drive 500 miles roundtrip without gas. Whoa! That's far better than any electric cars we've been introduced to thus far, which have failed to take off here in the US.

Currently, the technology that's been made available to us doesn't even come close to what EEStor is promising. Our pure electric cars are limited in the speeds they can reach, and the distance they can go between charges. Hybrids still require us to use traditional fossil fuels (such as gas), in addition to electric power. There are also some future plug-in hybrids in the works that would require an overnight charge and would only provide 50 miles of gas-free commuting.

ZENN Motor of Toronto has licensed EEStor's invention, and says that it could make traditional engines unneccessary. Their secret ingredient is a chemical compound called barium titanate which is sandwiched between thousands of wafer-thin metal sheets.