At this week's North American International Auto Show in Detroit, we saw the typical fare. But there was something different -- a variety of upstart cleantech companies.

Two such companies made their debuts at the conference: Coskata, which develops cellulosic ethanol from waste, and EcoMotors, a maker of fuel-efficient diesel engines.

To get some perspective on things, I talked to Andre Peschong, an investment banker focused on cleantech who operates Deal Flow Diaries. According to him:

"Cleantech and Detroit muscle, never thought those would be in the same sentence together or housed under the same show. The Detroit Auto Show was almost overshadowed by all of the cleantech announcements. The catalyst for this tour de force was oil hitting $100 per barrel. Even though oil has retreated somewhat, it really has been a rally cry for VC funds to get serious about deploying capital in to cleantech, specifically automotive.

"The biggest announcement was Coskata, who has developed a cost-effective way to produce celluosic ethanol that can use wood and organic material through their proprietary gasification process. General Motors (NYSE: GM) was so interested they formed a strategic partnership with Coskata. Other notable companies were EcoMotors, who have developed an extremely efficient diesel engine that apparently gets 100 miles to the gallon. Both of these companies have been backed by Khosla Ventures, who seems to be making a statement in the automotive cleantech industry.

"Another interesting company that has truly blended Cleantech and the Detroit muscle car is Ronaele Mustang. Ronaele takes existing production Ford (NYSE: F) Mustangs and replaces the engine with a proven electric motor coupled with the new efficient battery technology. This Mustang looks every bit of a muscle car but has zero emissions, zero to 60 in four seconds and a range of 125 miles.

"Whether it is a new fuel source, a more efficient engine or making exciting hybrid vehicles, it seems as if the venture capital community will be investing heavily into this sector for the foreseeable future."

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.