New concept cars to be unveiled at L.A. auto show

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Automakers will roll into the Los Angeles Auto Show with a new lineup of concept cars powered by alternative fuels. But activists complain the companies are still moving too slowly to curb the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and BMW AG will unveil vehicles that run on hydrogen, while other companies, including DaimlerChrysler AG and Volkswagen AG, will show vehicles powered by E85 ethanol, electric-gas hybrid engines, biodiesel, natural gas and low-sulfur diesel fuel.
Environmentally friendly cars will be a highlight of the auto show, which gained prominence this year after it was moved from January to November to occur before the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Organizers said 21 new models will make their world debuts at the Los Angeles show, which opens to the public on Friday and runs through Dec. 10.
May take years
Many of the alternative-fuel concept cars on display may not become available to the public for years, in part because some fuels such as hydrogen are not readily available.
"Consumers are angry that they don't have greener choices in the showroom, so at least on the concept car front, automakers can say, 'Hey, we're working on it,'" said Jason Mark, vehicles director at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Automakers are also sending a message to the oil industry and government policymakers that more progress must be made on building the infrastructure needed to deliver alternative fuels.
Mark and others also argue that carmakers should make more fuel-efficient cars now by using available technology instead of waiting decades for new systems to prove themselves.
Demonstration planned
A consumer group called "Jumpstart Ford" planned to demonstrate outside the auto show today to say the vehicles on display provide too little, too late.
"While the public is being shown eco-demonstration vehicles at this week's auto show, the automakers' efforts sadly fall far short of the response needed in order to effectively break America's oil addiction," the group said in a prepared statement.
The unveilings in Los Angeles are further steps toward bringing hydrogen vehicles to market, said JoAnn Milliken, acting hydrogen program manager for the U.S. Department of Energy.