Mitsubishi's i MiEV electric car to be tested in California

Mitsubishi's i MiEV electric car has spent some serious time on the streets of Japan, but before long, the fuel-shunning vehicle will be roughin' it here in the US of A. The auto maker is teaming up with Southern California Edison and PG&E in order to see how it fares in LA traffic and how to best integrate it with the power grid. As of now, the whips should be cruising down the carpool lanes in Q4, though a few modifications may be needed in order to comply with US laws. Plans are to test the i MiEV for three solid years, and hopefully the $30,000 ride will be made available for purchase shortly thereafter (or earlier, if we're fortunate). What now, MINI?

[Via Wired]

[Alec @ Aug 8th 2008 3:20AM]

Can they give it a pronounceable name?

[tchapp @ Aug 8th 2008 4:13AM]

i Mi Ev (eye me ev). what's so hard about that, moron.

[rock99rock @ Aug 8th 2008 10:11AM]

Yea i mean cmon. its about as easy to say as tchapp. t-he.. t-sh...ch-t..... shit

[tchapp @ Aug 8th 2008 5:39PM]

t chapp

my first name starts with t, my last name is chapman. put the two together for tchapp. there really are some complete idiots on this site.

[rock99rock @ Aug 9th 2008 1:10AM]

Man, im really sorry T-bag Chapman. I didnt mean to offend you. Have a great day!

[hiko36 @ Aug 8th 2008 3:30AM]

Range? Speed? Charge Time? Anything? Bah I give up... I just drop from Dallas to Chicago and filled up three times in between... I think I'm fine on the gas front... For now

[ds @ Aug 8th 2008 4:35PM]

One article says the price will be $25,000, and the other says $30,000.

One article says the range will be 75 miles, and the other says 100 miles.

One article says the charge time at 220 volts is "as little as 5 hours", and the other says "6 to 8 hours".

Journalism is fun.

Oh yeah and if you want to see how ugly EV can get.. check out the Sunmotor EV -- its clearly the ugliest vehicle ever conceived.

[scott @ Aug 8th 2008 3:41AM]

$30,000?! why can't they make these cheaper?

[OneLove @ Aug 8th 2008 4:05AM]

...cause its the new hotness.

[Michael Chastain @ Aug 8th 2008 11:19AM]

Batteries. The battery pack in the Tesla Roadster costs $30,000 for example, although prices are dropping rapidly. Limited manufacturing keeps prices high too, as well as exotic materials used to keep weight down and improve efficiency.

They will continue to become more affordable, but it will still be 5 to 10 years before the public at large, and closer to 20 for them to match the range and convenience of gas cars.

The best bet for most people in the near future is going to be plug in electric hybrids (and just plain hybrids).

[flexium @ Aug 8th 2008 3:53AM]

Go electric cars....I WANT A TESLA!!!!!

[MadMike @ Aug 8th 2008 4:02AM]

Why do all the reasonably priced electric cars look like mutated insects?

Sure, it would be my daily driver to and from work and not my weekend car, but still.

[Evan @ Aug 8th 2008 8:26AM]

That's a fairly common looking car for Japan. It's just an electric conversion of the gasoline powered Mitsubishi "i", which has an identical body and can be seen all over the streets of Tokyo.

[Michael Chastain @ Aug 8th 2008 11:35AM]

That's the shape you end up with when you maximize passenger room and comfort while trying to maintain good aerodynamics.

[MadMike @ Aug 8th 2008 1:01PM]

I don't care if its common in Japan. I don't live in Japan. I drive two Japanese cars though. Neither look as abhorred as this thing. Both look quite nice, especially my Acura TSX.

Why can't they make it look like that?

[OneLove @ Aug 8th 2008 4:06AM]

no.

[rento @ Aug 8th 2008 4:32AM]

I am still waiting for a rebate on the Lightning GT

[Sasha S. @ Aug 8th 2008 4:32AM]

THREE YEARS OF TESTING????? After they have done exhaustive tests in Japan? The car is relatively ugly (check), pricey (check) but we need this thing NOW - not in 3 years.

Come on Mitsubishi, get off your lazy ass!

[happy_penguin @ Aug 8th 2008 6:26AM]

Thirty grand for that ugly POS?! No thank you!

[Mustaine @ Aug 8th 2008 12:42PM]

up-ranked because it looks like a red jelly-bean.

[MrGutts @ Aug 8th 2008 6:52AM]

Yeah I with Sasha, what testing are we talking about? They had plans of their electric cars for decades locked up so they cash out on the fuel guzzlers first.

Hell my dad had a 2 seater electric waaaay back when, that would go about 100 miles on a single charge.

People don't let the car companies fool you into thinking that this is some great innovation or some mind boggling technology leap. The only innovation is maybe battery capacity and they didn't even do that. I am not even going to start about the average MPG''s on today cars vs cars 15 years ago.

ok I need to get some more caffeine. :-)

[MadMike @ Aug 8th 2008 1:05PM]

I saw that Hippy-Liberal documentary on "Who killed the electric car" and if half the stuff they said was even half true - releasing a 120mile range electric car for $30,000 that doesn't look like an aborted fetus with fetal alcohol syndrome should be no problem.

Of course they were touting NiMH batteries as Gods gift to the earth and saying Fuel Cells were just a hoax to remain dependent on Oil. So, that kind of killed their credibility. Not that they had any to begin with.

[George A. Romero @ Aug 8th 2008 6:55AM]

Why do all hybrids/alternative energy vehicles have to be so weird looking. Why can't they look like normal cars???? Is that too much to ask.

[Evan @ Aug 8th 2008 8:33AM]

The looks have nothing to do with being electric. The body is identical to the gasoline powered Mitsubishi "i", of which there are already 50,000 sold in Japan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_i

[bebop @ Aug 8th 2008 9:31AM]

For the second time, it is a normal car. The gas engine version is quite popular, there's one just up the road from where I live.

[MadMike @ Aug 8th 2008 1:13PM]

Evan, Bebop:
I don't give two shits and a fuck if its fairly common. It still doesn't change the fact that it's fucking UGLY!

I know some common cars that aren't ugly. The Acura TSX isn't ugly, The Infiniti EX35 isn't ugly, The Mercedes C350 sport isn't ugly. Why can't they make it look like that?

[Woody @ Aug 8th 2008 5:44PM]

Simple, because the damn Japanese are making it. And Japanese people are all weird and can't do anything normal. Same goes for their gay cars.

[siva @ Aug 8th 2008 7:11AM]

Hey.. this one is CC of Tata Nano ($2,500 car)..hmm who copied whom?

[cool @ Aug 8th 2008 7:49AM]

meh....wait till tata makes them for 3000

[Rob7 @ Aug 8th 2008 8:02AM]

I want you think about a dark and windy morning...... 10 degrees below zero.....3 feet of snow on the ground.....do you really want to go out and hop in your electric car?

[kempcross @ Aug 8th 2008 9:47AM]

yes?

[MadMike @ Aug 8th 2008 1:14PM]

I have a heated garage. :-)

[Zach @ Aug 8th 2008 8:32PM]

I'm sorry, but I don't see the point you're trying to make...

Do you think electric cars don't have heat?


Color me confused

[parkside701 @ Aug 8th 2008 8:02AM]

Am I just stoopid or does the car look like it is leaning to one particular side? As if it has a flat tire or something.

[BB Sting @ Aug 8th 2008 8:18AM]

I think it takes like six hours to charge the battery in an electric vehicle. That is simply unacceptable. One way around that is if the car companies put two batteries into the vehicle. One battery could power the vehicle, while turbines that rotate with the wheels could charge the other. That could potentially eliminate the need to ever plug in and recharge for smaller vehicles. Just a dream though. I wish we had people like Steve Jobs in the auto industry who actually have a passion for technological advancements and not just for money. Here's hoping for an electric Ford Ranger. I love Ford Rangers.

[happy_penguin @ Aug 8th 2008 8:32AM]

I want some of that stuff you're smoking.

[TJ @ Aug 11th 2008 9:11PM]

so you're basically saying friction, air resistance, and heat loss never existed? that would make everything a whole lot easier for people especially with gas @ $4+ a gallon....

[Michael Chastain @ Aug 8th 2008 11:40AM]

Wow, I realize not everybody can understand physics, but did you even stop to think about what you are saying? You're wrong in so many different ways I don't even know where to start (Google "conservation of energy" for a start). If you could get that idea to work you'd have created a perpetual motion machine.

[JR @ Aug 8th 2008 12:15PM]

That doesn't make any sense at all.

[warren @ Aug 8th 2008 9:50AM]

BB Sting-
"One battery could power the vehicle, while turbines that rotate with the wheels could charge the other."

You don't think anyone has ever thought of that?- Oh wait, it defies the laws of physics. I thought we have been through the whole perpetual motion baloney.

Maybe they will come out with a flying hydrogen car that spews out enough water to grow our farms and solve world hunger.

[Jim @ Aug 8th 2008 10:03AM]

Why is it California gets to be the testbed for all the e-cars? What about some love for the east coast!

[Ben @ Aug 8th 2008 10:26AM]

I would seriously buy one. Think of it..never have to pay for gas again! And think of how easy it would be to fix your car(ok don't quote me on that) . I just hope it doesn't end up like GM's EV1.

[happy_penguin @ Aug 8th 2008 11:30AM]

Okay, you spend $30,000 on a car which can only go 100 miles before needing a charge and has no backup. And because these estimates are always optimistic you're liable to get stranded if you aren't careful about how far you drive each day. Then you get to wait five hours before you can drive full distance again. No matter how you cut it this thing is impractical and too expensive. At least the Volt has a backup plan so you can do some real world driving. Volt FTW!

Y'all know where the little red minus is. *rolleyes*

[JR @ Aug 8th 2008 12:43PM]

No need to get defensive penguin. For some people all of the problems you point out are... not that much of a problem.

[happy_penguin @ Aug 8th 2008 1:10PM]

Yes, JR. They're called "wealthy people". Because only a wealthy person could afford a $30,000 golf cart.

[Tohe @ Aug 8th 2008 10:44AM]

mitsu is so darn cute when it aint bitchy. Loves it!

[Mark @ Aug 8th 2008 1:02PM]

I want one. I'll be first in line in my city to get one..

[Woody @ Aug 8th 2008 5:45PM]

Oh, you're not ashamed of admitting you're gay now are you?

[Tohe @ Aug 11th 2008 2:14AM]

@woody: you are lame...

[Woody @ Aug 8th 2008 5:43PM]

$30,000? Wow, that's really lame. You're not nearly going to save that much on gas considering you can save yourself $20,000 up front and go buy a small piece of crap for $10,000. You're a retard if you buy this.