Honda 81100-hm8-b40 Carrier, Fr. Luggage on 2040-parts.com

AW gets a long-term natural-gas Honda Civic

For all those wanting to save the universe, may we introduce the latest member of the AutoWeek green car fleet--a Honda Civic GX. The GX is a regular Civic in every respect but one--its 1.8-liter four-cylinder internal-combustion engine is powered solely by compressed natural gas. The main benefit of this is that it achieves as close to zero emissions as you can get in a mass-produced passenger car.

2012 Hyundai Veloster stickers at $18,060

Hyundai has set the base price of the 2012 Veloster with six-speed manual transmission at $18,060, including destination. The three-door Veloster will also be available with six-speed EcoShift dual-clutch transmission for $19,310. Hyundai says it means for the front-wheel-drive car to appeal to the same group of buyers as the Mini Cooper, the Volkswagen Beetle and the Scion tC.

Bentley SUV to get W12 engine

The Bentley SUV will get a W12 engine option Back in July we had the talkative Bentley boss Wolfgang Dürheimer musing that Bentley will produce the ultimate luxury SUV, with plans to take the underpinnings from sister company Porsche’s Cayenne and make the most opulent SUV on the planet. The plan for a Bentley SUV has been around for a while, but the perception by car makers that big SUVs were unpalatable to the general public in these eco-obsessed times meant plans by many car makers to build an SUV were left to gather dust on the shelves. But those car makers who chose to ignore the brickbats directed at big SUVs have proved that there is big demand for luxury monsters (the Cayenne has turned in to Porsche’s biggest cash cow) and that the anti-SUV lobby was simply a very small bunch of eco-mentalists making headlines.