Hey, your SUV smells like tempura

Today, at least 10 vehicles are parked on her property in Malibu. They include the Lincoln Continental Mark V designed by the late fashion designer Bill Blass. The gold luxury coupe has tinted windows to give it a “gangsta” look, Brooks said.

Her Chevy Tahoe demonstrates that it’s possible to drive a jumbo SUV without fouling the air. And with an increasing number of filling stations in Southern California selling biodiesel, motorists don’t have to go too far out of their way to feed their green machines.

A Los Angeles architect who got his 1980 Mercedes coupe from Biobling boasted that he hasn’t bought gasoline in nearly a year. Though he spends about $3.29 per gallon for biodiesel, Warren Wagner said he didn’t mind paying more for fuel that’s produced domestically.

“I’m not supporting big oil,” Wagner said. “When I’m driving it around, my car is an ambassador for alternative transportation.”

The Southern California Biodiesel Users Group boasts about 2,000 members. This month, some of its members formed a 100-car “bio brigade” that cruised through a section of Los Angeles to publicize their pledge to establish more biodiesel filling stations.

Meanwhile, people from as far as Japan and Portugal are contacting mechanics at LoveCraft to order conversion kits, Friedman said. To meet demands in the northwest, the company has opened an auto shop in Portland, Ore.

Four friends who had Lovecraft mechanics convert a Ford pickup to run on vegetable oil plan to take the truck on a yearlong road trip from Orange County to the tip of South America. Their mission is to advocate the use of recycled cooking oil to fuel diesel engine cars.

“People are going to think we’re totally insane,” said Sean Robbins, 25, of Newport Beach. “But if people can learn about how simple it can be to make a few mechanical changes to let cars run on veggie oil, then it’ll be worth getting laughed at.”

And an auto mechanic living in the bucolic Ojai Valley north of Los Angeles is out to show that biodiesel isn’t for wimps. Joel Woolf’s company Veg Powered Systems calls its conversion service “Veg My Ride,” a riff on the popular MTV series “Pimp My Ride,” which gives old cars flashy makeovers.

Woolf tests his parts by racing his veggie-fueled trucks in the high desert. He and his friends begin the competition with a tailgate party, where they deep-fry food in a vat of hot oil. When the oil cools down a bit, they filter it, feed the tank and rev their engines.

“We’ll blow their doors off,” Woolf said. “When we’re all done, everybody at the racetrack will know about our veggie truck.”

If they don’t eat his dust, they’ll at least be able to taste his exhaust — it smells like tempura.

Don't miss this on MSNBC.com Pass it on: Sons of infertile men may be next The eight biggest Olympic marketing debacles Reality show judges range from wise to wacko Cosmic Log: Is this your jetpack? Forget your inhibitions: World's sexiest islands

MORE FROM AUTOS

Autos Section Front

GM's Whitacre in no rush to give up his job Ford sees Volvo deal with Geely early in 2010 New GM CFO’s pay exceeds government limits   A Decade of Change for the Auto Industry Ford offers retirement, buyouts to 41,000 Ten cars to look forward to in 2010 GM names Microsoft executive as new CFO Hyundai Motor announces China truck venture Spyker extends deadline on offer to buy Saab Hyundai unveils new Sonata Autos Section Front   Add Autos headlines to your news reader: