A company offering rental cars powered entirely by bio-diesel set up shop in Los Angeles on Tuesday, hoping to bring the aroma of popcorn and doughnuts to the city's smoggy freeways.
Just one snag - there is only one place in town to fill up.
Bio-Beetle Eco Rental Cars, which started out on the Hawaiian island of Maui three years ago, opened for business near Los Angeles International Airport with four cars fuelled by filtered vegetable oil.
"I've always wanted to come to Los Angeles," said founder Shaun Stenshol.
"California is known as an environmentally friendly state and LA is the car capital of the world. What better place to do bio-diesel than Los Angeles?"
"As far as bio-diesel rental cars, I don't know of anyone else doing it in the world," said Stenshol, a former Greenpeace worker and environmental activist.
Bio-diesel costs $US3.45 a gallon - about $1 more than regular gas - but the cars get between 650 and 1,300 km per tank. There is only one place where customers can fill up but Stenshol said he hoped to help set up other refuelling stations in the Los Angeles metro area.
"There are people who say it smells like popcorn, or french fries or doughnuts. But to me it is just a pleasant tang," said Stenshol.
