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While Hawaii has long welcomed eco-tourists to its shores, the state's motto "Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono," can now assume new meaning. The phrase translated means, "The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness." Since so many environmental leaders view their role in this world as righteous, they should be applauding the state's recent move to allow a private company to begin installing an infrastructure to support EV-motoring. The state expects to have multiple battery charging and battery exchange stations in operation by 2012.

I *heart* this thing! Yeah, it's huge and heavy, but it sounds great, looks great, and goes like stink. The steering is inexcusably numb and slow. The clutch will break your left knee, and it transmits driveline vibes to the pedal - audibly - through the throw-out-bearing. I've never heard a clutch pedal sing before. The shifter is way too high-effort but is bolt-action precise and fits the personality of the car. Engine management and ESP are tuned so well around the car's numbness that you don't even know when you're sliding. I love the pillowy ride but surprisingly not-awful body control. I hate the nav interface and the turn signal indicators in the corners of the cluster. The brakes feel okay, but started smelling a little before I expected them to. The ratios are so close together that you find yourself shifting constantly; the soundtrack is unreal. If only all transmissions were geared like this. What a fun, fun, hot car. It drives as fun as it looks, and that's pretty damn impressive.

Right car, wrong timing? At a glance, it would seem that way. The new Audi S4 arrives in the midst of a global economic slump. It was unveiled in October at the Paris show, where hybrids and electric vehicles stole the limelight, and it unashamedly advertises the motto Vorsprung durch Technik (Advancement through Technology) when everybody is talking low emissions and high mileage. Look closer, though, and the new S4 emerges as a surprisingly sensible proposition. It is expected to cost about the same as the car it replaces and it bristles with torque, yet it should deliver about 24 mpg overall (EPA figures haven't yet been released). At the same time, it's a tour de force that employs trick steering, chassis, and driveline setups to beam you from point A to point B quicker than some of its rivals.