NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The percentage of car shoppers considering hybrid vehicles has declined in the past year, according to a survey released Tuesday by J.D. Power and Associates.

Fifty percent of new vehicle shoppers surveyed said they are considering a gasoline/hybrid electric vehicle. That’s down from 57 percent last year.

“In the 2006 study, we found consumers often overestimated the fuel efficiency of hybrid-electric vehicles, and the decrease in consideration of hybrids in 2007 may be a result of their more realistic understanding of the actual fuel economy capabilities,” said Mike Marshall, director of automotive emerging technologies at J.D. Power.

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Volvo C70 convertible buyers will have the choice of a 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine from this autumn.

The 136bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine is already available in the Volvo S40, V50 estate and the C30.

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From Forbes

MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Pirelli & C SpA said it is investing an initial 25 mln eur in a plant in Romania to produce anti-particulate filters for new diesel vehicle exhaust systems.

This third Romanian activity was announced at a presentation of an overall 235 mln eur investment in Romania, including investment in tyres and steel cord, where plants are already up and running, it said.

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