RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Greening your driving habit no longer means ditching your gas-powered car for a hybrid or electric model. On Monday, Valvoline announced the introduction of a new brand of motor oil made from 50 percent recycled oil that's been passed through a clay filter and "re-refined." While Valvoline's new oil, called NextGen, isn't the first recycled motor oil on the market, it's the first brand that's being distributed nationally to auto retailers (another brand, Safety Kleen EcoPower, has been around for a few years and is made from 100 percent recycled oil).

According to Valvoline's vice president, Thom Smith, oil itself isn't damaged by traveling hundreds or thousands of miles in a car. It's contaminants, like dirt, and broken-down additives that make it unusable. Once all of those are removed, the oil is as good as new.

In other green car news, Toyota announced that it will start expanding its line of Prius hybrids this fall, offering a newer version, the Prius V, which has more cargo space, to accommodate people who've always wanted a hybrid but didn't think the Prius was big enough.

Read more:

With NextGen Oil, Valvoline Hopes Drivers Heed the Green Call, "Wheels," The New York Times, June 23, 2011

As Rivals Unveil Hybrids, Toyota Boosts Prius, National Public Radio, June 23, 2001