Apparently everyone got the memo that this was the week to announce the latest deals and other news...

• General Motors announced an undisclosed amount of investment in cellulosic ethanol startup Coskata.  The company may take in additional strategic investor capital as well.  It's part of the company's Series B round, which is "nearly complete."  The big public bogey now is $1 per gallon ethanol...  Plenty of news and commentary on this one out there, given the high profile -- GTM had a nice summary.  This and the Morgan Stanley news below are just more signs of cleantech being elevated to the boardroom at the biggest companies around.  That's good news for the market in general, and good news for potential exits for venture investors.

• The hardest working man in show business is still at it, with Khosla Ventures' latest announced investment in diesel engine developer EcoMotors.  The amount of the investment was undisclosed.

• News came out this week that Tesla Motors has cut some staff -- Jonathan Shieber at VWire revealed that the company is also "putting the finishing touches on a $40 million round of funding."

• Also in transportation-related fundings, serial hybrid designer Fisker Automotive received an undisclosed amount of second round financing from Kleiner Perkins.  The company had previously raised a $5.5mm Series A.

• A large syndicate of investors signed on for NanoGram's newest financing round (we're guessing it's a Series D), which totaled $32mm.  The round will be used to develop the company's solar applications.  New investors include Global Cleantech Capital, Masdar Clean Tech Fund, Mitsui Ventures, Nagase & Co., Nanostart AG, TEL Venture Capital and Yasuda Enterprise Development.  Existing investors also participating in the round include ATA Ventures, Bay Partners, Harris & Harris, Institutional Venture Partners, Nth Power, RockPort Capital, SBV Venture Partners, and Technology Partners.

•  Knight & Carver Wind Group, which inspects and repairs wind turbine blades, has taken in a $12mm investment from Global Environment Fund.

• VentureWire also reported that Germany-based Fludicon has taken in a EUR3mm round of financing led by Munich Venture Partners, with Schneider Electric Ventures, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, KfW Mittelstandsbank and TechnoStart also participating.  The company's components, based on electroreological fluids, can apparently provide energy efficiency and other performance benefits to a variety of devices.

Lots of cleantech investor news as well:

• Clean Technology Investor is reporting that VantagePoint is raising a $400mm cleantech-focused fund.

• Morgan Stanley has bought a minority ownership stake in NGEN Partners.  Interesting to see them buy into the GP itself, rather than taking an LP role.

• Sacramento-region venture group Velocity Venture Capital has raised a $15mm second fund, and is aiming for a $60mm third fund.  The company invests in multiple sectors, including cleantech.

• PE Week Wire revealed yesterday that Robert McIntyre has left CMEA Ventures.

• Here's an interesting column by Drew Clark of IBM's Venture Capital Group.

Other news and notes:  SVB has formed a dedicated cleantech group...  Mr. Cleantech on the uptick in cleantech VC activity in the pacific northwest...  European venture investing is down -- but not in cleantech...  And finally, here in the U.S. venture capital fundraising was very high, and Spark Capital's Todd Dagres believes cleantech, social networking and Internet video are "frothy".