New York -- Subaru said it will partner with the New York Power Authority to test two of its R1e electric vehicles beginning this summer. The partnership, announced at the New York Auto Show, is part of a six-month-long effort by Subaru to determine potential consumer demand for the car in the U.S.

The test of the small "city" car EVs will take place in New York City.

The two-seat R1e is based on the R1 minicar Subaru sells in Japan. The electric version uses a high-density lithium-ion battery that provides a range of up to 50 miles at speeds up to 65 miles per hour, Subaru says. The company estimates the lifetime of the battery at 10 years and 130,000 miles.

With a quick charger designed for the vehicle, the battery can be charged to 80 percent of its capacity in only 15 minutes. Or, plugged into a standard electrical outlet, the battery will be fully charged in eight hours.

The New York Power Authority – the largest state-owned electric utility in the U.S. – in turn will give the EVs to the New York City government for use in one of its fleets, said Helen Eisenfeld, director of electric transportation at the NYPA in White Plains, NY. The utility has not yet determined which fleet will get the cars, she said.

Subaru is already planning to begin selling the R1e in Japan at the end of 2009, said Tim Mahoney, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Subaru of America.

Robert E. Calem, Contributor

Here's are a pair of must-reads for those who criticize the auto industry for its environmental record, and for those seeking ammunition to defend car makers from all the criticism.

Colleague John DiPietro has penned (or pixeled) an incisive look at how Subaru of America became the first automaker in the country to develop a comprehensive, plant-wide recycling system and has made its plant in Indiana a zero-landfill operation.

That's right. Despite the tons and tons waste generated in the assembly of automobiles -- everything from the wood and plastic from shipping pallets to the thousands of soft drink cans and bottles emptied during lunch breaks, not an ounce of stuff from the factory ends up in a landfill!

You can read John's piece over at Edmunds Green Car Guide.

And while were promoting interesting articles, Inside Line has a piece today about Audi and its test of gas-to-liquid (or GTL) fuel – diesel made from natural gas.

The benefit of the fuel is that it's made from a fairly plentiful resource (although not a renewable one), and has more energy and less carbon content that diesel from crude.