auto

Toyota's rivals have long complained that the popular Prius hybrid has a less-than-green legacy due to its manufacturing process. Now the car maker has flashed its green thumb by creating two new species of flower that help offset the carbon emissions from the Prius plant in Japan.

The new version of the cherry sage plant can absorb harmful greenhouse gases, such as nitrogen oxide, through its leaves. And Toyota's variant of the gardenia acts as a natural humidifier by creating water vapor in the air, to help cool the factory grounds, reducing the energy required for air conditioners.

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Green's been in the air of late, and this year's North American International Auto Show was no exception. While the usual hyped sports cars and solid trucks weren't exactly in short supply, nearly every concept car toed the eco line. Fuel cells, biodiesel and batteries powered most. Ethanol was popular despite continual rumors of a looming corn shortage (probably less of a problem in the "conceptual" realm). Even Hummer promised a FlexFuel system for its HX concept. Of course, none of this means power will be sacrificed.

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Blinding rain. Careening traffic. Distracted drivers. There are lots of reasons why car crashes are America's leading cause of accidental death. And one way that most accidents could be prevented: with cars that predict a coming collision-and take action to stop it.

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It's heresy to 911 worshippers to say so, but the new Cayman S is suddenly the most beautiful car in Porsche's lineup. It's a Boxster coupe, basically a midengine two-seater with a fair amount of new body metal and interior appointments. But in reverse engineering a coupe from a roadster, Porsche managed to avoid both the slightly lumpy engine butt of the 911 and the too-symmetrical stance of the Boxster. The Cayman's high roofline swoops back and down between the gorgeous haunches of the rear fenders, and a walkabout reveals that the whole car is a fugue of aggressive curving lines.

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Small streets and pricey fuel have shaped the European car market to favor smaller cars. In fact, what we call a compact car is a midsize on the continent. But now that Ameri- cans are feeling the burn of expensive gas, automakers have responded by bringing a fleet of smaller-than-subcompact vehicles to our shores. Unlike previous stripped-down econoboxes, these will be equipped to appeal to both the budget-minded and the car-savvy consumer.

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The most unusual aspect of a new headlight system being developed at DaimlerChrysler: Oncoming drivers can't see them. Well, sort of.

The system, recently demonstrated on a Jeep Grand Cherokee, combines conventional headlamps with invisible infrared lights. The result is a dramatically clearer picture of the road ahead.

It works like this: Two laser headlamps on the front of the vehicle illuminate the road with infrared light, then a digital camera records the reflected image. The image is projected in black and white to an LCD screen behind the instrument cluster.

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Nearly devoid of grandstands, Willow Springs International Raceway, a windblown track in the high desert north of Los Angeles, is a long way from the crowds and spectacle of major motorsports. Built for the heyday of sports car racing in the 1950s, Willow has seen public enthusiasm for road racing come and go, then come back again, remaining something of a mecca for amateurs and professionals alike. When we arrived with four new sports cars at the leading edge of today's roadster revival, there was a sense of coming home.

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Super-efficient light-truck engines are coming, but don't expect to notice.

That's the impression we came away with after driving General Motors' latest light truck concepts. The reason: something engineers call transparency, an effort to make new technology do its thing without anyone noticing.

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