From little green things...

It's a motor show, but not the way we've ever known them in the past.  This one is limited to just 17 cars.

The reason why there are so few cars involved is that they must all be green cars.  And that's the reason it has such a big future.

As time passes, and carmakers expand their green fleets with all sorts of lean-burn petrol engines, high-tech diesels, hybrids and electric cars, the Green Zone Drive promises to become a significant event for people who want to change their motoring priorities.

The event is the idea of a couple of motor industry veterans led by John Kananghinis, formerly a public relations chief and marketing boss at BMW Australia.  It's not just a stand-and-look show, either.

The idea behind the Green Zone Drive is to have people get behind the wheel and actually drive the cars, around a special circuit laid out in the centre of Melbourne.  It's claimed as a world first and a major innovation in green motoring.

The event has picked up a lot of backing, from the Victorian government and Melbourne city council to EPA Victoria, Future Climate Australia, Shell and even the driver training experts at Murcotts.  Nine carmakers are involved, which is not very many with more than 50 brands on sale in Australia today.

But the number is sure to grow and the current list - Audi, BMW, Citroen, Ford, Hyundai, Mini, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Volvo - shows a good spread across sizes, prices and classes.

The obvious hero car is the first plug-in electric car on sale in Australia, the Mitsubishi iMiEV.  But the spread of cars runs from the locally-made Toyota Camry hybrid to the Volvo C30 DRIVe, the super-economy Ford Fiest ECOnetic and a range of diesels wearing Audi, BMW, Mini and even Hyundai badges.

Of course, the Toyota Prius is also there.  The course for the drive takes green car fans around Melbourne's Docklands region and its no coincidence that it starts and finishes outside the Fox Classic Car Collection, home to one of Australia's best lineups of landmark cars.

The event runs for just eight days but it's a start and has obvious potential to expand in coming years, not just in the car lineup but also its location. It could easily go on an Australia-wide tour and perhaps even head overseas.

If you want to know more, take a look at www.greenzonedrive.com.au