BMW's Hydrogen 7 vehicle with a 12-cylinder combustion engine was proudly displayed at the Los Angeles Auto Show with the automaker calling it "the world's first hydrogen-powered performance sedan."

The 260-horsepower sedan is the product of 25 years of research into liquid hydrogen — a fuel that can be made from renewable sources and has the potential for virtually no harmful emissions, said Andreas Klugescheid, a spokesman for BMW of North America.

"We understand it to be the ultimate fuel for the future," he said.

But eco-conscious car enthusiasts shouldn't expect to see the car in showrooms any time soon — it's not for sale and no production date has been set. And that, environmentalists say, is the problem with the shimmering ride and others like it on display at the auto show.

Activists staged demonstrations outside the show featuring General Motor's Hummer to chide the auto industry for showcasing eco-friendly concept vehicles that remain years away from mass production. They claim that automakers have been slow to curb the country's dependence on foreign oil and the green vehicles on display are little more than a public relations ploy.

"We don't need concept cars that won't be able to be on the road for decades," said Sarah Connolly, campaign director for the Rainforest Action Network, which participated in demonstrations at the auto show. "We need cars that get at leat 50 miles per gallon on the road today."

Wade Newton of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers — which includes BMW, General Motors and Ford among its nine members — countered that major automakers' commitment to the environment is illustrated by an increase in green options for the average driver. The number of alternate-fueled vehicles on the road today has doubled in the last six years to 9 million, and there are more than 60 eco-friendly models out, a nearly sixfold increase over the same time period, he said.

Connolly said the Hydrogen 7 and other green concept cars were a step in the right direction, "but drivers can't drive concept cars."

The hydrogen fuel cell research and development is part of BMW's long-term strategy to apply a "sustainability approach" in terms of the environment, Klugescheid said.

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GREENWASH CAR WASH

Outside the show, it was that much-maligned consumer of traditional fuels at the center of the demonstration. Environmentalists on roller skates used green suds to wash a white Hummer as part of a "Greenwash Car Wash" against automakers.

The auto industry should put less money and time into their public relations campaigns and more into the mass production of eco-friendly vehicles, said Nile Malloy, an eco-activist.

He criticized the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers for arguing last week before the U.S. Supreme Court that the federal government shouldn't regulate carbon emissions as part of the Clean Air Act.

"We know that the Top Six automakers produce 90 percent of all the greenhouse gas emission of the United States," Malloy said. "We want to see some changes."

Over at the auto show's Hummer showcase, General Motors spokesman Dave Barthmuss defended the automaker's environmental track record.

"GM is very committed to using different technologies and innovation on all our products to reduce fuel consumption and therefore the emissions that come out of the tailpipe," Barthmuss said.

GM's CEO Rick Wagoner announced plans for a Saturn Vue Green Line that could plug into a standard electrical outlet. Other GM plans call for hybrid SUVs and the technology eventually will be placed in GM's pickup trucks. GM officials said they couldn't give a date for their plug-in hybrid vehicles, but said it was a top priority.

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asap reporter Paul Chavez is based in Los Angeles.

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