The Revolve Eco Rally

Yesterday saw the 2009 Revolve Eco Rally (http://www.eco-rally.org) 'convoy of cool' alternative energy vehicles drive from Brighton right into the heart of London, culminating in a display of all the vehicles outside London's City Hall.  We could not resist the chance to check out the present and future of sustainable motoring and we were not disappointed.

Sadly we missed many of the 'stars in cars' who had actually driven in the rally itself but the fact that so many celebrities were willing to get involved tells you how seriously this event was taken.

We did manage to meet up with the delightful Tracey Smith, Mr Firewinder & Nick Aster/Jen Boynton from TriplePundit.com not to mention James Cleverly, Conservative London Assembly Member for Bexley & Bromley & the Mayor of London's Ambassador for Youth

Whilst the gorgeous Eco Elise from Lotus is not likely to end up on that many drive-ways one gets the feeling that innovations like its hemp shelll could easily end up in other more affordable mainstream vehicles. It is a work of art to behold really.

The Tesla again is just an incredible machine although quite unaffordable for most of course but one has to again applaud the inventiveness and sheer style. Without these pioneers change would surely be slower to come. Rumour has it that a more family-oriented vehicle is on the way although the cost may still be quite high for most. All positive steps in the right direction though.

The electric car may have been killed off once before but you can't keep a good idea down clearly and the future of personal travel certainly looks unavoidably to be a mix of hybrid and electric.

What was really interesting to see was just how cool and normal sustainable cars have become. Mostly thanks to the stylish Toyota Prius which broke first mainstream ground and has got us all much more open-minded to the idea of course. When you realise that the Prius now has admirable competition from other manufacturers like Honda & VW you can see just how seriously the car industry is taking alternative fuels.

People were milling around oohing and aahing at the sporty numbers of course but they were genuinely curious, surprised and impressed at the more mainstream affordable vehicles from well-known brands including Toyota, Honda, Citroen, VW, Mitsubishi and so on, not to mention the smaller innovative manufacturers who were there pushing boundaries even further.

Before we all pat ourselves on the back too much though we have a long road ahead, pardon the pun. The car industry has taken a battering thanks to the economic climate and there is clearly greater risk for them in anything other than mainstream vehicles now more than ever. On the other hand this is also a time when one suspects the future of the car industry is being forged by those with the passion and guts to go for it. We can't wait.