Mitsubishi Plans Small Electric Car

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119562584893800409.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. President Osamu Masuko said his Tokyo-based auto maker will try to mass-market a small electric vehicle, intended as a "city commuter," by 2010 and is also considering developing a "plug-in" gasoline-electric hybrid car that can be recharged by plugging it into a wall electric outlet.

Mr. Masuko said battery technology has advanced to the point in recent years that electric vehicles are no longer as far-fetched as they once were. They are becoming affordable and powerful and long-range enough to be viable in congested cities, especially when the technology is used in small cars, he said in a recent interview in Tokyo.

"One of the biggest issues facing an auto maker today is the problem of the environment," Mr. Masuko said. "Being able to come up with solutions to an array of environmental issues or not will decide if an auto maker can survive long into the future."

Mr. Masuko said Mitsubishi's aim is to come out with a small electric vehicle by 2010, "if not earlier."

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that this technology will be perfected somewhere other than here. Keeping the demand, and price,for oil up is now an umderpinning of the Stock Market..........what happens to oil stocks if oil drops to $50 a barrel? all the inventory ( reserves) just devalued by half. BTW, it's not just demand that increases the price. Going to war, or just threatening to go, makes prices jump over night.

If you ever wondered what our country would be if it were run by BIG OIL, this is it.

They're certainly in the running, they've produced cars (the Tesla) and they're here in California.

Phoenix Motorcars is located in Ontario, Ca. They are planning to release a limited number of vehicles to "selected consumers" in California in mid-2008.


The above "SUT" (sport utility truck) is powered by batteries from AltairNano, out of Reno, Nev. They are using nanotechnology to produce batteries that can be charged much more rapidly than existing lithium or nickel metal hydride units.

AC Propulsion, located in San Dimas, California, provided the electric power control module for the EV1, and later for the Tesla. They are also innovators in the Vehicle-to-Grid area, where hybrids and battery-electric vehicles can provide power back to the grid during high demand, as well as providing grid monitoring and control functions.

I feel that the E-Flex is much better technology than Toyota's "plug-in" Prius.

http://www.gm-volt.com/2007/11/21/toyota-denies-it-denigrated-the-volt/