A fierce battle among Japanese automakers is likely to be staged during the Group of Eight summit in Japan this July, with carmakers using the session as a showcase for their fuel-efficient cars, including hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles.

Toyota,  Mitsubishi and other automakers will provide about 100 fuel-efficient cars to transport participants at the summit meeting, The Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, reports in Tuesday's edition.

Toyota will provide about 80 hybrid cars, including luxury Lexus models, minivans and compact cars for participants making short trips around the venue. The company also is planning to provide plug-in hybrid electric cars for participants' use.

Mitsubishi will be holding test rides of its iMIEV battery-powered city car. Mazda reportedly will make a hydrogen-fueled sports car available for use. Honda is considering providing hybrid and fuel-cell cars for participants' use.

Environmental problems will be one of the major topics at this year's summit. The G8 countries consist of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Lithium-ion battery packs being tested at Argonne National Laboratory.

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Toyota, General Motors, Mitsubishi and Mercedes-Benz all say they'll have electric cars with lithium-ion batteries on the road at or near the end of the decade.

Because they can pack more power into a smaller and lighter package than the nickel-metal-hydride batteries that today's hybrids use, lithium-ion batteries are generally considered the only way to go as EV and hybrid technology pushes into the future.

But over at Honda Motor Co., chief Executive Takeo Fukui is suggesting that charging ahead slowly is the best way to go when assessing the battery portion of that technology.

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By Robert E. Calem, Contributor

New York -- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has developed a fully electric version of its i minicar for the domestic Japanese market and is exploring plans to import it to the U.S., the company announced at the New York International Auto Show.

Called the iMIEV, for Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle, it is powered by an 88-module, four-cell lithium-ion battery pack that sits under the passengers and a motor, charger and inverter positioned above the rear axle.

The layout is based on the “rear-midship” platform of the gasoline-powered i that has been sold in Japan since 2006, and it means the EV version can retain that car’s full interior volume – with no loss of space for passengers or cargo.

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Fisker Automotive's exotic plug-in hybrid is one of the show's green offerings.

It's Sunday, kickoff day for the press preview of the North American International Auto Show and we're here in Detroit, struggling to get an overcoat on before heading out to chip the ice off the windshield and cursing  the wife for her cheerful telephone reminder that it's supposed to be 80-degrees at home today.

Used to be that heading for this show supercharged the brain's anticipatory centers, but this year it seems a bit ho-hum.

There' still good stuff, especially on the green car front, but several industry insiders have suggested in recent weeks as we pondered the show schedule together that the newly rejuvenated Los Angeles Auto Show, which now takes place in November instead of just days before Detroit, has stolen some of the thunder.

Or maybe it's the economy – the U.S. auto industry hasn't been all that healthy of late.

Whatever the reason, while there's enough here this year to make it worthwhile attending, there's not enough to get the salivary glands working overtime.

On the green front, much of what we'll be seeing is concept, not stuff that will hit the road this year.

We are expecting some announcements from Toyota about its hybrid and fuel economy strategies, and from the American Le Mans Racing series about further adoption of green technologies and fuels for racing. General Motors is expected to have something to say about its drive to make ethanol a bigger part of the U.S. fuel supply base.

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