A big element of this year's Washington Auto Show is the "Advanced Technology Superhighway" that is set up to feature the innovative technologies of today that will power the automobiles of the future.
Our second day here at the Washington Auto Show and SAE Government Meeting brought with it crowds of local automotive enthusiasts - mixed with the agency officials - to see the latest vehicles and talk automotive policy.
Today was Public Policy Day at the Washington Auto Show where policy makers and government officials seemed to see only one color: Green.
Like many of the auto events we attend, electric vehicles, biofuels and hybrids continue to be the main promotional themes. However, like the auto industry itself, the name of the game is still petroleum and internal combustion engines. The 750,000 square feet of exhibition space here is holding over 700 new models from more than 42 domestic and foreign manufacturers. Most of which run solely on gasoline or diesel fuel.
Anchoring the show's new "Advanced Technology Superhighway," the Scuderi Engine attracted a lot of attention because of its air-hybrid capability and the promise of historic reductions in C02. Officials from the EPA, Transportation and Air Quality, Defense Department as well as Congressional staffers came by the exhibit to see the engine.
"This is very interesting technology," said one transportation official. "We need to stay updated on this."