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Tokyo Preview: Mitsubishi i-MiEV Cargo concept ready to move your eco-friendly goods

Frank Filipponio — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:40:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Hybrid, Minivan/Van, Tokyo Motor Show, Work, Mitsubishi, Electric

2009 Mitsubishi i-MiEV Cargo concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

Alongside its production i-MiEV people-mover, Mitsubishi will be showing another baker's dozen of new vehicles in its display at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show next month. On display will be several production cars as well as two brand new concepts based on the i-MiEV powertrain, including the i-MiEV Cargo seen here.

Looking something like a larger, more modern Nissan S-Cargo, it's a smaller option for folks who might not need something as big as a Ford Transit Connect. Whether for small business duty or family recreation, the Cargo adds a big box of usefulness to the basic MiEV platform. And yet it's very funky, like a Citröen C15 for Mars. It's cute and functional and we can't see any good reason why Mitsu shouldn't build it. There's a rather short presser after the jump and a gallery of high-res pics for you to peruse below as well.

Gallery: Mitsubishi i-MiEV Cargo Concept

[Source: Mitsubishi]

Continue reading Tokyo Preview: Mitsubishi i-MiEV Cargo concept ready to move your eco-friendly goods

Tokyo Preview: Mitsubishi i-MiEV Cargo concept ready to move your eco-friendly goods originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New York: Mitsubishi confirms i-MiEV will come to U.S.

Sebastian Blanco — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:40:00 EST

Filed under: New York Auto Show, Green

Mitsubishi i MiEV - Click above for high-res image gallery

At a press conference in a few minutes here at the New York Auto Show, Mitsubishi representatives will officially announce that the i-MiEV electric vehicle - already a hit in test drives and displays the world over - will be coming to the U.S. This move has been hinted at for a long while, but now we know for certain that the electric jellybean, based on the "i" minicar, is coming. Official details are scarce, but company representatives told us ahead of schedule that the car would be available here sometime "before 2012." The problem isn't the technology (a left-hand drive model should go on sale in Europe in 2011 after the right-hand model hits Japan this summer and the UK, maybe in 2010), but rather guaranteeing a supply of lithium for the car's batteries. If GS Yuasa can't produce the batteries, then Mitsubishi can't make the cars. Mitsubishi recently upped production plans in order to make 20,000 units a year. But don't get too attached to the i-MiEV name (which stands for "Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle"); when this car comes to the U.S., it'll get a fresh moniker.

Speaking of the iMiEV; it looks like AutoblogGreen readers know a good thing when they see one. The iMiEV dominated our recent poll of which car should win the World Green Car of the Year over the Honda FCX Clarity and the Toyota iQ. The judges of the event, though, disagreed and picked the hydrogen fuel cell Clarity as the 2009 winner this morning.

Gallery: New York 2009: iMiEV

Gallery: i-MiEV in HD

Continue reading New York: Mitsubishi confirms i-MiEV will come to U.S.

New York: Mitsubishi confirms i-MiEV will come to U.S. originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geneva Preview: Mitsubishi i MiEV SPORT AIR concept

Alex Nunez — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:32:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Geneva Motor Show, Green, Mitsubishi

Click above for a hi-res gallery of i MiEV Sport Air renderings

In March at the Geneva Motor Show, Mitsubishi will unveil the i MiEV SPORT AIR concept, which refines the ideas first displayed in the Tokyo 2007 i MIEV Sport show car.

Details are thin at the moment, but the styling has obviously been tweaked, there's a "clear cutaway" roof, and power comes from a stronger electric motor. The focus with the i MiEV SPORT AIR, as with the preceding i MiEV Sport, is on a more dynamic driving experience.The official press release talks of a low center of gravity and "instant torque" almost as much as it does zero emissions motoring. One wonders whether Mitsubishi has a production version in the pipeline, ready to follow the regular i MiEV. After all, why else would they make a second, more refined-looking version of a 2007 concept?

Gallery: Mitsubishi i MIEV Sport Air

[Source: Mitsubishi]

Geneva Preview: Mitsubishi i MiEV SPORT AIR concept originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mitsubishi i MiEV police car has SUPER ARREST POTENTIAL!

Alex Nunez — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Green, Japan, Mitsubishi, Police/Emergency

Click image to enlarge

Somewhere, our pal Mike Bumbeck is smiling, because Mitsubishi has produced yet another vehicle worthy of its classic "Super Potential" slogan. No, there's no new-fangled Starion, unfortunately, but there is now an i MiEV police car. Mitsubishi has supplied one of the teensy EVs to the Kanagawa Prefecture police, who will test it through March of next year. Sure, it's not particularly intimidating, but it is (ahem) arrestingly cute. As mentioned at AutoblogGreen, we'd have had that battery pack power a set of on-board tasers, too. Talk about missed opportunities...

[Source: Mitsubishi via AutoblogGreen]

Mitsubishi i MiEV police car has SUPER ARREST POTENTIAL! originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New York 2008: The Mitsubishi i is A-OKei

Alex Nunez — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 13:10:00 EST

Filed under: New York Auto Show, Budget, Hybrid, Green, Japan, Hatchback, Mitsubishi, First Drive

Click image for a high-res gallery of the turbocharged Mitsubishi i

I'm the resident kei car obsessive here at Autoblog. That means I'm the guy who actually thinks, "That is awesome," when he reads the (Google translated) announcement of yet another Suzuki Wagon R variant. Hell, I did two posts on the one-off Hello Kitty Mitsubishi i. Keis are cool. So, you can imagine how happy I was to see that Mitsubishi brought along a small fleet of its i minicars to the New York Auto Show this year.

Mitsubishi's focus at the show was squarely on the the all-electric i MiEV, which goes on sale in Japan next year and will be tested in North America this fall. The gasoline-powered version was on hand, too, though. I drove the i MiEV for AutoblogGreen, and was a passenger in a black i Turbo. Head over to AutoblogGreen for driving impressions of the i MiEV, and note that many of the observations there apply to both the electric and gasoline-powered cars.

The i Turbo you see here is powered by a 660cc 3-cylinder that delivers around 64 horsepower. It's got around half the torque of the electric i MiEV and it's buzzier-sounding (obviously), but it felt just as well-suited to city driving in New York as its battery-powered counterpart. It can comfortably transport four adults and a bit of cargo, too. Try doing that in a smart.

Mitsubishi is monitoring public reaction to the cars this week, so if you go to the show and like what you see, make sure to let them know. Me? I'll happily take one in black -- with a DAMD kit for optimum not-exactly-badassedness.

Head to AutoblogGreen for a full i MiEV review and video.

Gallery: Mitsubishi i Turbo - Live in NY

Gallery: Mitsubishi i MiEV - Live in NY

New York 2008: The Mitsubishi i is A-OKei originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 22 Mar 2008 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tokyo Motor Show: Mitsubishi's i MIEV Sport plug-in

Siddharth Raja — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:03:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Hybrid, Japan, Tokyo Motor Show, Mitsubishi

Click the above image for more of the i MIEV Sport

Mitsubishi's has given its cute and funky 'i' minicar a sporty makeover with a coupe-like shape and vents on the side to create the i MIEV Sport. Despite being the sports version, it uses the same electric plug-in technology found in the i MIEV, which means two in-wheel motors driving the front wheels, and one motor for the rear. The cab-forward design does make it look like a bubble car, but having navigated Tokyo's streets for the last few days we can totally see it fitting right in.

Gallery: Mitsubishi i MIEV Sport

Tokyo Motor Show: Mitsubishi's i MIEV Sport plug-in originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: i spied in Canada

Justin Gardiner — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:02:00 EST

Filed under: Budget, Green, Japan, Hatchback, Mitsubishi

What you're looking at is a right-hand-drive Mitsubishi i spotted in Toronto, as in Toronto, Canada... as in on the North American continent. Mitsubishi's initial line was that the i would be for the Japan Domestic Market only. Then they exported it to Hong Kong, Singapore and Brunei. Then New Zealand. Then Britain. And Australian cities are next in the crosshairs. Wherever it has shown up, it's been a sales sensation, which is handy for Mitsubishi as sales in Japan have slumped to 1,200 cars per month from almost 8,000 per month in March 2006.

So will North America be getting its first 660cc kei car? Not a chance say sources within Mitsubishi's Tokyo HQ. Then the i spied in Toronto is almost certainly a plug-in electric i MiEV undergoing testing. Everyone will have to wait until 2009 or even 2010 to get their hands on one of those, but when they hit markets worldwide they'll have sticker prices under 2million Yen - that's about $17,500 today.

Well spotted Allan!

Spy Shots: i spied in Canada originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mitsubishi looks ahead with an electric i

Alex Nunez — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 17:24:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Green, Japan, Technology, Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi is going to take good look at the viability of all-electric motoring, this after announcing its plan to sell an all-electric vehicle in the Japan and U.S. in the near future. It has just introduced a new research platform, the i MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle), a four-passenger EV based on the company's podlike i kei car.

The i MieV will make its public debut later this month at a Japanese alternative vehicle conference. After that, two Japanese power companies will be provided with i MiEVs for internal research on how to integrate EVs into their business plans, including the development and deployment of a rapid-charge infrastructure. In January, Mitsubishi will bring in two additional power companies and commence fleet testing with all four to gauge whether or not an EV is a commercially viable proposition for all parties.

The i MiEV electric motor is mounted in the standard engine's rear-midship location and generates 47kW (63 hp) peak power. The car has an operating range of approximately 80 to 100 miles with a top speed of 80 mph and is actually much torquier than its conventionally-powered counterpart, generating 130 lb-ft to the standard i's 69.

(Press release, diagram, specs after the jump)

[Sources: Mitsubishi, LA Times]

Continue reading Mitsubishi looks ahead with an electric i

Mitsubishi looks ahead with an electric i originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Oct 2006 17:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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