Almost every manufacturer at this year's Detroit Auto Show is now marketing more fuel-efficient models.

You can watch a video about some of the new "green" cars at voaspecialenglish.com.

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FAITH LAPIDUS: Streetcars have been carrying people through New Orleans for more than one hundred fifty years. Anthony Falls has been driving streetcars for ten of those years and still enjoys the job.

ANTHONY FALLS: "First of all, this is one of the oldest rail lines in the world. And second of all, it's about being part of history. Because at one time, they didn't have people of color driving street cars, so I think of that as a big part of my job."

Streetcars carry passengers along New Orleans' famous St. Charles Avenue and other streets. People ride cars built in the nineteen twenties.

FEMALE PASSENGER: "I've been riding streetcars ever since I started high school. Sometimes we would go out to lunch, jump on a streetcar. It's convenient and it's cheap."

MALE PASSENGER: "The reason why I like it? I don't know, it's a piece of history. They have these old cars, and they respect them, and they keep them running. You can ride down here and be part of the living history of New Orleans."

The city in Louisiana is one of about twenty American cities that are expanding or developing streetcar systems. Streetcars are usually powered by overhead lines that carry electricity. Dominic Moncada from the Regional Transit Authority in New Orleans explains why more cities are turning to streetcars.