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Remember when I posted about the brand-new Dodge Durango Hybrid? Of course you remember — it was only a month ago. I went to a local product launch event hosted by Chrysler and learned that the Durango Hybrid  was eligible for a $2,200 tax credit.

If people want to take advantage of this huge hybrid and its substantial tax credit, it turns out they need to act fast. Chrysler announced that it’s closing the plant that builds the Durango Hybrid and its sibling the Chrysler Aspen. A mere 400 of hybrids had been built; according to the New York Times‘ calculations, that means a total of 800 may be built before the plant closes December 31.

When exactly did Chrysler make this annoucment? October 23 — three days after I posted about the Durango Hybrid and its tax break. This could go down in history as the shortest-lived model to ever hit production.

Let this serve as your reminder to set the TiVo: The first-ever Green Challenge will take place at the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta October 4. The American Le Mans Series has taken the lead for alternative fuels in professional racing, and it will showcase the strides that have been made in go-fast green cars at its race within a race.

I’ve blogged about the race before, so this is just a recap. Race teams running alternative fuels for the 2008 season include:

• GT1 Class — Corvette Racing, E85
• G2 Class — Aston Martin V8 Vantage, E85
• LMP1 Class — Intersport Racing’s Lola, E85
• P1 Class — Audi R10, clean diesel

Photo by Dave Hamster.

It’s a sign of the times when an institution like the Kelly Blue Book turns its eye to alternative-fuel vehicles. When people talk about “blue book value” or even just “book value,” they mean Kelly Blue Book, so it’s significant that the company has launched the slightly confusingly named Kelly Blue Book Green.

The site offers articles on the latest alternative fuel vehicles, including electric-, hydrogen-, and ethanol-powered cars. It also has a widget to help you decide if its time to trade in your car for a hybrid (or similar brand-new gas-saver) based on your driving habits. Are you willing to pay the premium? Are you willing to give up one dinner out with drinks per month to make the switch?

Pricing and comparison shopping is where KBBG shines, since the company has decades of practice. With premiums being tacked on at dealerships and used hybrids holding their value like a dog holds onto his bone, KBBG is a useful tool for navigating these new alterna-fuel markets.

The government released its latest fuel economy numbers, and one company was clearly at the head of the class. Telsa Motors, builders of the all-electric Roadster, rated a corporation-wide fuel economy of 244 mpg. The federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard is currently 27.5, so Tesla left that figure in the dust.

2008 models across the board, though, only rated 26.8. In 2007, the overall rating was 26.6, so that’s not a big improvement.

Analysts say the feds need to figure out a more fair way of comparing alternative-fuel vehicles to their conventional, gasoline-powered counterparts. The numbers are pretty revealing as they are, though. Handicapping EVs and other vehicles running on more efficient fuels to make the combustion engine look better seems misleading.

Tesla isn’t worried, obviously. They plan on selling their surplus CAFE credits as soon as they’re allowed to trade them with lower-scoring auto manufactuers.

In other Tesla news, the production line is cranking out Roadsters, after a fashion. There are 27 being assembled as of July 12, with a goal of 100 a month being produced by December of this year. The company has also opened its second store, this one in the San Francisco Bay area, with another four to come in the near future.

Image courtesy of Tesla (and the car is a different color! Not red!).