We’ve seen the Mitsubishi i MiEV in action before and have even rolled about New York in it ourselves. However, we’ve never really seen it taken out onto a highway and driven like a regular car. The latest episode of CarPool changes that. In this edition of the super cool web series, Robert Llewellyn (he of Red Dwarf and Scrapheap Challenge fame) is joined by Catherine Perrin of Mitsubishi for a chat about the car whilst the actor pilots it across town for a little photo shoot.

While regular ABG readers may not learn anything substantially new about the Japanese jellybean, the segment wonderfully illustrates the positives about driving electric. Llewellyn isn’t shy about putting his foot into it and, once safely out of the garage and onto the motorway, quickly brings the i MiEV up to the legal limit. And then beyond. Interestingly, though the specs on this car say it has a top speed of 80 mph, the actor soon discovers it can actually slightly surpass that mark. Indeed, his co-pilot informs him its “top whack” is 87 mph. Maybe we’ll have the chance to try that out for ourselves (on a track, of course) when the right hand drive version comes to America. Hit the jump for an entertaining ride in the CarPool.

[Source: Llewtube via Tesla Motors Club]

Continue reading i MiEV joins the CarPool, speeds excessively

i MiEV joins the CarPool, speeds excessively originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This morning at the Michigan Information Technology Center in Ann Arbor, Th!nk finally gave the media the details of it’s planned expansion into the U.S. market. The short version: by 2010, Th!nk North America hopes to be building electric vehicles in the U.S. These City models (seen above) will be able to go around 70 mph, pass all required safety standards and be targeted at fleet customers, initially. Th!nk NA will be submitting a loan application to the Department of Energy on March 31, and its U.S. plans are dependent on getting this money. By that date, Th!nk hopes to narrow its discussions about actually building a production facility down to one or two states (this week, Th!nk is talking with representatives from eight states) and will also know by then exactly how much money they will ask for to build EVs in the U.S. As of today, Th!nk isn’t giving out that number, but thay are saying they could employ up to 900 people and build up to 60,000 electric vehicles a year in the U.S. Price to buy one of these cars? Well, Th!nk officials were hesitant to put a firm number out, but Th!nk CEO Richard Canny said that the price to consumers, after government incentives, would probably be under $20,000, but you’ll need to figure in an $80-90 per month fee to lease the battery.

We’ll have many more details later this afternoon, including the highlights from Th!nk’s slide presentation. For now, you can click through it yourself in the gallery after the jump.

[Source: Th!nk]

Continue reading Th!nk details U.S. manufacturing, sales plans: hopes to sell City EV for under $20,000

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Green Daily, Th!nk (Think), USA

Th!nk details U.S. manufacturing, sales plans: hopes to sell City EV for under $20,000 originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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USCAR, the United States Council for Automotive Research - a consortium of GM, Ford and Chrysler, has just issued a new standard for high voltage wiring and connectors in hybrid and electric cars. The existing standards only covered conventional systems up to 20V. The new standard covers systems operating up to 600V. The advantage of establishing industry standards is that suppliers can tool up common components that can be used by a variety of automakers and applications. This will help drive down the cost of these systems especially as production volumes for hybrids and EVs get ramped up over the next few years.

Until now, every automaker has specified unique connections for its high voltage wiring. This necessitates tooling and significant testing for each one of these designs. Because environmental sealing and safety from electrocution are critical, the ability to test once and have confidence is paramount. The press release is after the jump.

[Source: USCAR]

Continue reading USCAR issues new standards for high voltage wiring for hybrids/EVs

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid

USCAR issues new standards for high voltage wiring for hybrids/EVs originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 01 Apr 2009 08:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The name James Glickenhaus should be familiar to Autoblog readers. He is, of course, the gentlemen who commissioned the marvelous Enzo-derived Ferrari P4/5 several years ago. He’s also the kind of wealthy car collector who most, if not all members, of Autoblog would choose to be in that alternate universe where we are all wealthy car collectors. That is to say, Glickenhaus doesn’t just squirrel away his incredibly rare cars in a climate-controlled warehouse; he takes ‘em out an drives ‘em as God (and the Italians) intended.

One of Glickenhaus’s more recent acquisitions is the 1967 Ferrari Dino 206 Competizione by Pininfarina. The diminutive gull-wing concept was built by Ferrari and its styling partner Pininfarina in 1967 as a design study and an experiment in aerodynamics. It was never intended for production, but lessons learned from it were eventually applied to other cars. The Dino 206 Competizione lived in the Pininfarina museum for more than three decades until 2007 when, after several years of pestering, the design house finally agreed to sell it to Glickenhaus. It won best in class here at Meadow Brook against some strong competition, including Glickenhaus’s own 1967 Ferrari 330 P3/4 Spyder and a wonderful Austin Healey 3000. And yes, Glickenhaus told us he drives this one-of-a-kind machine regularly.

Photos Copyright (C)2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Max Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Meadow Brook Concours 2009: 1967 Ferrari Dino 206 Competizione by Pininfarina originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 02 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The boys and girls at Suzuki got into the Halloween spirit and dressed up a new Kizashi to celebrate the day. So what kind of costume would you put on a new sedan that aspires to redefine the company and show that this small carmaker can play with the big boys?

Much like a kid who slaps a giant “S” on his chest to transform into a superhero, this Kizashi put on a super-sedan’s duds and thrust its chest out proudly. Looking for all the world like an Audi RS4 knockoff, this particular Kizashi was actually being readied for show duty at SEMA next week, where it’ll join some of its siblings and preview some aero tweaks and chrome highlights that might eventually make it onto a production trim package for the Kizashi.

Although the differences were fairly minor, they worked together pretty well, giving the car a more aggressive and upscale look. Close examination of the photos will show a new lower front fascia with a jutting lip, chrome surrounds and blacked out honeycomb grille inserts. The sides get a similar redo with sill extensions and a chrome highlight strip. Meanwhile the tail gets a simple decklid spoiler with integrated cyclops. The final touch that makes this RS4 emulator work is the switch to Audi-like split-spoke alloy wheels. We’d say this tarted up Kizashi definitely looked more treat than trick.

Photos copyright (C)2009 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.

Suzuki dresses up a Kizashi for Halloween originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There may be a bunch of conspicuously absent automakers missing from this month’s Tokyo Motor Show, but the thing about the Japanese show is that a lot of the really neat stuff comes from the hometown guys, anyway. Take Daihatsu, for instance. Rather than try to wow everyone with fairy-dust tech in concepts that will never see the outside of an exhibition hall, The D is keeping things simple, small, and real. Even the concept cars look like they’re not that far removed from reality. Let’s start there.

The coolest rig at the Daihatsu stand will doubtlessly be the Basket concept, shown above, which lets you get more in touch with nature via a removable hard roof panel and fabric top for the rear seat. We want one. Badly. The Decca Decca concept (shown at right) is described as a “Super Box” by the automaker, with massive swing-out doors on the passenger side that lead to a nifty, multi-configuration interior. The van’s driver’s side has one standard door only. Aft of that is a solid panel broken up by a high window. Again, very cool.

The e:S concept looks production-ready, and we’d guess something just like it will be in showrooms before long. It’s a kei car built on a shortened, existing platform, with a white Mini Cooper-style roof for added flair, plus weight reduction and a stop/start system for increased efficiency. Those three concepts are joined by the Tanto Exe and Exe Custom, which are production-bound, lightweight, restyled variants of the Tanto micro-minivan. Daihatsu’s press release is posted after the jump, along with full image galleries of each car. Check ‘em out.

[Source: Daihatsu]

Continue reading Tokyo 2009: Daihatsu to go little in a big way with Basket, Deca Deca, and others

Tokyo 2009: Daihatsu to go little in a big way with Basket, Deca Deca, and others originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lexus’ hybrid A3/1 Series fighter is set to debut next week at the Frankfurt Motor Show, but before the big day, another batch of pics have leaked out onto the interwebs giving us a complete view of the exterior and the first shots inside.

Because of the angle of previous Lexus LF-Ch teasers, it was slightly difficult to wrap your head around the proportions. However, these newest batch of shots show the LF-Ch in a slightly better light, with a cab-backwards profile, massive C-pillar and a well proportioned beltline and greenhouse.

The exterior’s swooping lines are carried over inside to the center console, seats and IP, and while most of the elements are typical concept car fare, many of the design elements - including the panoramic glass roof - have the potential to migrate to the production version. Expect all the details and some in-person impressions coming your way from Germany next week.

[Source: Carscoop]

Full Frontal: More pics of the Lexus LF-Ch leak out originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tesla Motors still hasn’t announced where it will build the Model S, but the plant has been rumored to be located in either Long Beach or Downey, CA. If the Raging Grannies get their way, the Downey location will be removed from the list of possible candidates because of questions about toxic pollutants - including trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene, and arsenic “amongst 250 other chemicals” according to workers who got sick working there in the past- at the site. The odd sickness some people who worked there came down with was nicknamed the “Downey flu.” The former NASA site was also used to shoot movies.

Of course, considering that Tesla might not be going to Downey anyway (despite what the mayor there says), there’s a case to be made that the Raging Grannies are attacking Tesla unfairly. Tesla spokesperson Ricardo Reyes told AutoblogGreen that:

Deciding where to build our state-of-the art, energy-efficient manufacturing home should be deliberative process, and we intend to get it right. We will test and re-test any location before moving forward.

You can watch a video of the Raging Grannies protesting at Tesla after the jump and learn more about the site here. Thanks to Steve Z. for the tip!

[Source: YouTube, Tesla Motors]

Continue reading Raging Grannies target Tesla for potential Downey plant site on toxic dump site

Raging Grannies target Tesla for potential Downey plant site on toxic dump site originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The unleashing of the new DS3 is the first major step towards the marque’s light reinvention of itself. This small, stylish hatchback is the first of three slightly more upmarket models designed to give Citroen a dash of prestige and move it away from the heavy discount habit it has pursued for years.

Selling cars on price is not viable in the long-term, admitted Citroen insiders at the recent DS3 launch (we could have told them that years ago), which is why the company has been attempting to offer, with varying success, models offering some advantages over the competition.

While the older C4 missed the target, the new C4 and C3 Picasso MPVs are selling well, the bigger C5 is making modest inroads into the fleet market and the company has strong hopes for the new C3 with its unusual Visiodrive big windscreen.

Continue reading Citroen’s DS strategy

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During a flight that only lasted about eight minutes, the SkySpark managed to set a world record for the fastest speed attained by an electric airplane. The craft, piloted by astronaut (STS-75) Maurizo Cheli, achieved an airspeed of 155 mph (250 km/h) last week at the World Air Games in Turin, Italy. Specifically modified for the project, the battery-powered Pioneer Alpi 300 is thought to be capable of 186 mph (300 km/h).

In partnership with engineering firm Digisky and the Turin Polytechnic University, the plane has been in development since September of 2007 when successful flights of a fuel cell powered craft were completed. It is equipped with a liquid-cooled 65 kW Valentino synchronous motor by Sicme Motori that weighs in at 55 lbs (25 kg) and powered by lithium polymer batteries. The success of the flight is said by the SkySpark team’s website to be only an intermediate goal. They will next re-visit their past and concentrate their efforts on a “hydrogen fuel cells powered engine.” Hit the jump for video of some friendly Italian sky flying action. Although the sound is missing for the first minute and a half, when it does come on, you’ll notice the inside of the plane is eerily quiet. Bonus video from an earlier unveiling (in Italian) has some shots of the craft with the hood up. Thanks to “mister nomer” for the tip!

[Source: EAA]

Continue reading New electric airplane sets world record for speed [w/VIDEO]

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Transportation Alternatives, Europe/EU

New electric airplane sets world record for speed [w/VIDEO] originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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