Today, the British Technology Awards 2008 hosted its inaugural national celebration of innovative technology with the announcement of award recipients for 2008. Joining the gadgets like the Apple iPhone (Best Mobile Technology) and the Nintendo Wii (Best Gaming Technology), the British voting public bequeathed the distinction of Greenest Technology of the Year to the Toyota Prius.

Market manipulation at its finest: the Apple iPhone won 5 of the 13 categories and fine print found at the bottom of the site reads “*For a list of companies included in Incisive Media please see our website - www.incisivemedia.com/privacypolicy”.

Volvo announced today that they plan to introduce a diesel hybrid vehicle in both the U.S. and European markets by 2012, if not sooner. Initial hybrid models will be diesel variants of Volvo’s larger line-up, like the XC-90 SUV and S80 full-size sedan. Capable of relying solely on battery power, the Volvo hybrid system will utilize a 5-cylinder turbo diesel to deliver power to the front wheels and a separate electric motor to power the rear. Despite the undesirable tendency for both diesel engines and electric motors to lack significant horsepower at high rpms, Volvo executive Less Kerseemakers says that Volvo’s current best-selling V8 engine just doing translate well into long-term success. “I don’t think there is a bright future for the V-8, especially for Volvo,” he said. “It’s the best engine we have. But if the environment is changing, you can be stubborn, or you can look for alternatives.”

Last week at the Paris Auto Show 2008, BMW threw their hat in the hybrid luxury car ring with the introduction of the new BMW ActiveHybrid7, the 750i’s adaptation of a mild hybrid. Ultimately [and wisely] refusing to sacrifice famed-BMW performance for fuel efficiency, the 7-Series hybrid comes with a 400-hp, 4.4L twin-turbo engine, mated with an 8-speed automatic transmission and a 50kW electric motor. Designed to compete with similar green luxuries like the Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid and Lexus LS600hL, the BMW 7-Series Active Hybrid isn’t exactly geared towards the average hybrid buyer.

Full gallery after the jump

Last month, the House passed the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act, which is essentially just another big tax. One of the interesting parts of the bill though is buried in the Miscellaneous Provisions section. It says, essentially, that every gas station owned by a major gas company has to add at least one alternative fuel pump by 2018. If they don’t comply, they’ll be fined $100k per station.

This piece done by 60 Minutes is a fairly good profile of the so-called race to build a commercially viable electric car between Detroit and Silicon Valley. It comes off a little out of touch, but the target audience is primarily my grandmother, so it works.

They make a good point that I think they might not realize they’re making: Detroit is a gigantic bureaucracy, they’re huge and it’s tough to turn a beast like that in different direction once it gets going. The smaller Silicon Valley start-up companies, on the other hand, can adapt and fit a niche market much more quickly. If you follow that reasoning out, you start to think… maybe the government shouldn’t be bailing out the Detroit Three, maybe we should just let the market decide without giving some companies an unfair advantage. Maybe by letting things run their course, a new, better company can come to power.

Check out the rest of the videos:

Rachel Bilson exiting her hybrid Lexus RX 400h

Former star of FOX’s short-lived series, The O.C., Rachel Bilson was snapped by photographers recently riding in the lap of eco-friendly luxury in a carbon-colored Lexus RX 400h hybrid SUV. Retailing for about $43,000, the Lexus RX 400h features a fuel consumption average of either 26 mpg city/24 mpg hwy [AWD] or 27 mpg city/ 24 mpg hwy [FWD], depending on the drivetrain. Although my track record doesn’t exactly indicate a favorable response to either hybrid vehicles or celebrities, I have a healthy respect for Bilson as she seems to have accomplished two impossible feats in Hollywood:

1. Remained relevant in the entertainment industry sans any crotch flashing and

2. Managed to stave off the proverbial George Clooney/Smug attitude adopted by many hybrid celebrity drivers

More shots of Bilson and her hybrid Lexus after the jump

Thanks to Jalopnik, we here at RideLust were able to get our hands on still shots of the new 2010 Honda Insight hybrid, revealed just moments ago at the 2008 Paris Auto Show. While it’s still foreign and still a hybrid, we’re still excited about the Insight’s North American arrival as it incorporates easily into our overall attitude towards the hybrid car craze, which is: Anything But A Prius.

Full gallery after the jump

The rather un-BMW program intended to design and develop a new vehicle for city dwellers, Project i, is starting to take shape.  Project i is a decidely long-term committment by the German automaker to offer a wide range of options, including electric vehicles, over the next decade.  This follows on BMW’s announcement of deep cutbacks on V8 engine production in the coming months and years.

VW Twin Drive Golf

Powered by a rather significantly impressive turbodiesel, all signs are good that VW will be producing this plug-in hybrid in the future.  At least in Germany any way.  But considering how many changes this vehicle has already gone through and the almost daily developments in auto industry technology, it is not too far-fetched to think there may be hope for a North American version at some point.

Volvo’s new hybrid version of the 7700 bus was unveiled in Germany at the IAA Bus and Truck Show. While it’s not as exciting as, say, the new Volvo S40, it’s something. It’s eco-exciting… eco-citing. Lame?

Well, whatever, I think it’s interesting. This new version of Volvo’s 7700 bus will be 30% more fuel-efficient than non-hybrid models. It has a smaller 5.0L diesel engine compared to a regular 9.0L diesel Volvo 7700, but it’s built on the same platform. It’ll save on fuel costs, be able to fit more passengers, and have less emissions and vehicle noise compared to normal diesel buses.
Check out the unveiling: