Jetta

Inspired by Willie Nelson’s commitment to biodiesel and the cross-country races of the ’60s and ’70s, Nik Bristow and a partner will bomb non-stop from New York to L.A. in a biodiesel-powered Jetta starting September 22. The trick? They’re going to do the Willie Run, as they call it, on one tank of Bio Willie fuel.

While biodiesel does get good mpgs, it doesn’t get 3,000 miles per tank. That’s why, according to Autobloggreen.com’s interview with Bristow, the Jetta has been outfitted with a huge spare fuel tank, just like the Cannonball Run guys used to do.

The Willie One, as the Jetta has been dubbed, has plenty of room for sponsors’ names. So if you’ve always wanted to see a car with your name on it but don’t have the $300,000 to slap a sticker on Dale Jr.’s car, this is your chance. Sponsorship of the Willie One starts at five bucks.

Tonight, stars I am too old to have heard of will be escorted to the red carpet at the Teen Choice 2008 awards in a fleet of Volkswagen’s brand-new 2009 Jetta TDIs, which run on clean diesel. Like everone else in Hollywood, the Teen Choice awards are going green, so Fox, which is airing the show, partnered with VW to showcase its new entrant into the eco-car market.

The ceremonies began their green initiative last year, and will continue to use recyclable materials in the sets and press credentials printed on recycled paper. The Jetta TDI, for its part, uses high-performance, low-sulfur diesel fuel and meets the strictest fuel emissions in the country — including California’s.

At least 15 stars will be arriving at the awards show in the Vee-Dubs, including James Marsden (Cyclops in the X-Men films), American Idol runner-up Katherine McPhee, and Jerry O’Connell, who was in Stand by Me and is now married to Rebecca Romijn. I would have to Google the rest of the list to find their pop-culture accomplishments, but they include Chase Crawford, Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick, Drake Bell, Brittany Snow, JoJo, Rachel Bilson and Sophia Bush.