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"   Audi isn&amp;#039;t the first car company you think of for green technology. But the German automaker is exploring virtually every alternate fuel option on the planet. Earlier this month, we drove Audi cars powered by ethanol, clean natural gas, a hybrid setup and clean diesel (hydrogen will eventually be a part of the program as well). But if biofuel and hybrid cars are a short-term solution and hydrogen is the future, Audi&amp;#039;s latest innovation is for the here and now.  Eco Trainer is an energy conservation technology that can be fitted on existing cars. Audi has invested heavily in it, but it&amp;#039;s such an obvious move that we&amp;#039;re surprised more automakers haven&amp;#039;t done it before. At the heart of the system is a computer that makes something of an interactive game out of efficiency. A display mounted in the instrument cluster shows your top three fuel-consuming accessories\u2014and the fuel you can save by cutting off each one. Eco Trainer also offer tips based on current conditions, such as advising you to close open windows that create unnecessary drag at high speeds. Every five minutes, the system actually gives you a grade detailing your performance in each area of resource conservation\u2014cool. An animated LCD aura, called power glow, shows how &amp;quot;happy&amp;quot; the car is, in terms of efficiency, with a five-point scale and a power glow function changing color from blue (happy) to red (you&amp;#039;re a gas hog, man). And like systems we&amp;#039;ve seen in the past, the aura will remind you the correct gear for your driving.  Audi says it&amp;#039;s easier than ever to screw up shift points these days\u2014people just aren&amp;#039;t aware of the low rpm torque created by new, direct injected engines. In fact, the company was quick to point out that, with a proper re-education, a different driving style can reduce fuel consumption by up to 30 percent. So Audi&amp;#039;s adding a new option to MMI navigation, allowing a driver to choose a route that&amp;#039;s the most economical\u2014and the shortest, and fastest. Audi claims this will be possible (and incredibly accurate) thanks to the latest generation of digital maps, which will incorporate traffic lights, road signs and even changes in altitude. It takes the class of road into account, how many bends there are in the route and how many times you have to make a turn. When cruise control is on, the driver can see how much fuel would be consumed at different speeds. Sounds like Audi&amp;#039;s focusing on no-brainer quick fixes until sustainable alternative fuels come along. It should be interesting to see how this new technology plays out on American roads\u2014and how the German competition responds. \u2014James Tate "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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