For many on Hollywood's A-list, green will be the new black when it comes to transportation to the Oscars.

Riding this wave of environmental awareness is Y Fray of EcoLimo.

"We're running it... on nut oil and soy," Fray said. "I mean, I wouldn't have it for lunch, but ... (it tastes) not bad for you. Sort of like salad oil."

When she started the company in 2005, however, even her mother thought it was a bad idea. "She says, 'You're insane. You've got to be kidding!'" Fray said.

After all, the Academy Awards are about nothing if not style and glamour.

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Last year, an EcoLimo vehicle had problems getting accepted.

"There's a limo line that the limos can go to the red carpet to drop off, and the sheriffs wouldn't let me through," Fray said. However, the passenger yelled, "This is a limousine!"

Charlize Theron, who won a 2004 best actress Oscar for her portrayal of female serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the film Monster, was the passenger.

Theron wasn't the only one. Gwyneth Paltrow and Natalie Portman arrived in the hybrid Toyota Highlander, while Steven Spielberg and George Clooney showed up in Priuses, also a hybrid vehicle.

This year, Penelope Cruz -- who is nominated for best actress for her role in the Pedro Almodovar film Volver -- arrived at a pre-Oscar party in a bio-diesel-fueled SUV.

The party was hosted by Global Green, a group dedicated to fighting climate change, in part through greener cars and buildings.

"And I'm just one more person, trying to raise awareness on this subject, that is really scary for me," Cruz said.

Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, a film about climate change that is in competition for a best documentary Oscar, has touched a nerve among many in Hollywood.

"Seeing An Inconvenient Truth changed their life," said Fray.

Gore will also be using EcoLimo's services, as will be actor Orlando Bloom.

"Well, I hope it's drawing attention to the fact that it's cool. It's cool to be green," Bloom said, when asked about the statement he was trying to make.

However, Variety magazine's website reported that there might be other reasons why stars might be opting for more modest transportation.

Twisty, turny vehicle security checkpoints outside the Kodak Theatre mean only regular-sized limos can make it through, thus ruling out stretch Hummers and other behemoths. Once they arrive, the vehicles pull under a giant security tent.

"The TV aud's first glimpse of each arrival doesn't happen until much later on the actual red carpet. For all we knew, apple carts could have been the preferred method of arrival that night," the website reported.

"Perhaps this is why Mercedes gave its hydrogen-powered prototype to Q'Orianka Kilcher for the entire day. Getting photos of her with the car meant driving her everywhere but the actual ceremony."

With a report from CTV's Tom Walters