A clean-burning diesel sedan, Volkswagen AG's Jetta TDI, won the "Green Car of the Year" award at the Los Angeles auto show on Thursday, the first time a diesel-powered car has taken the industry's top environmental honor.

"This signals that clean diesel has arrived," said Ron Cogan, editor of Green Car Journal, the trade magazine that awards the prize.

luxury diesel cars may become dearer and bulk diesel consumers may no longer get fuel at subsidized rates. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas plans to impose 25 per cent cess on big diesel cars and charge industrial consumers the market price of Rs 57 per litre, Rs 22 more than the current price. The railways and state transport undertakings will be exempted from paying the market price.

Fuel economy: turf war or guerrilla ambush It can get as bad as not having any money left to buy oil. Increased oil demand from rapidly growing cars can make it worse. Yet there is no sign of official agreement on who must take the lead to draft fuel economy regulations for cars to get more miles out of a litre of fuel burnt. When the push for these regulations came about two years ago from

Proposed fiscal reforms for automotive fuels Petrol Increase selling price before state taxes and duties by Rs 2.50 per litre each month to align with full cost price Total increase of Rs 10.90 per litre in selling prices before taxes Temporary reduction in excise duty to Rs 10 per litre to be restored by March 2009 Total increase of Rs 11.28 per litre before

A committee recommends rationalization of diesel and petrol prices The long awaited pricing formula for petroleum products to bail out the oil industry from impending bankruptcy has been tabled. If put into effect this prescription can correct distorted prices of automotive fuels of petrol and diesel and halt misuse of under-taxed and under-priced diesel by the car sector. This is

energy-starved Sri Lanka has levied a tax on incandescent bulbs of over 40 watts and soon plans to ban the import and manufacture of bulbs of 75 watts and above. The target is to completely ban the se bulb by 2010. Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (sea) hopes the move will help promote energy efficient compact fluorescent (cfl) bulbs.

At a time when oil is the most precious commodity in our planet, fuel worth Rs 1,000crore is wasted every year in Delhi by vehicles idling at its 600 traffic signals. If all drivers were to switch off their engines wherever the stoppage time exceeds 14 seconds

the Union Ministry of Finance imposed an additional duty of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 per vehicle on big cars and utility vehicles on June 13. The decision comes as a knee-jerk reaction to the skyrocketing international crude prices. While welcoming the move as a step forward, experts said staving off an energy crisis would require making the tax progressively harsher and linking it with fuel