Green Car Advisor

Toyota Plans Pure Electric Car, Moves Up Testing of Plug-In Prius Hybrids

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:35:26 -0800

Right, Toyota's E-Com electric vehicle.

Five years after putting the kabosh on its rechargeable RAV4 all-electric SUV, Toyota Motor Corp. announced today that it's back in the EV game, developing a plug-in electric-powered commuter car.

Japan's largest automaker also said that it intends to speed up testing of plug-in Prius hybrids, which will contain the latest advances in battery technology.

The all-electric car will be "mass-produced'' in the early 2010s, President Katsuaki Watanabe said today in Tokyo without elaborating. Tests of rechargeable Priuses, previously set for 2010, were moved up to late 2009. Currently available Priuses can operate on electricity and gasoline but cannot be plugged in.

The move to develop an electric vehicle now reflects rising demand for fuel-efficient cars amid high gas prices. It also means Toyota will bring its plug-in EV to market in late 2010, which is just about the time General Motors intends to begin shipping its plug-in Chevrolet Volt to dealers.

Plug-in hybrids can be recharged using a household outlet. Current hybrids capture power from braking when the vehicles are in motion and rely on an onboard gasoline engine to generate electricity for the battery pack and electric motor or to supply power directly to the wheels as needed, but their batteries cannot be recharged from an outlet.

Toyota's rechargeable Prius will use lithium-ion batteries, an advance over the nickel-metal hydride versions in existing hybrids.

Rechargeable Priuses with extra nickel-metal batteries are now being tested in California and Japan, with a range of about 7 miles on battery power alone. Toyota estimates the new plug-ins will be able to travel 10 miles on a charge.

"We'll be studying the range, but think we'll need more than that for a consumer version,'' Toyota spokesman John Hanson told Bloomberg news service today in an interview from Tokyo. "Non-consumer fleets'' such as utilities will use the vehicles, Hanson said.

GM wants the Volt to have at least 40 miles of all-electric range before relying on a gasoline engine to generate electricity for the Volt's electric motor.

Toyota is building on its own experiments with all-electric vehicles, including testing fleets of E-Com electric minicars in Japan. To meet California air-quality regulations, it leased electric versions of its RAV4 small SUV (above, left) about a year ending in early 2003. Many of the vehicles can still be seen on roads in the Golden State.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Daimler Taps Tesla Motors to Provide Batteries for Test Fleet of Electric Smart Cars

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:39:34 -0800

The Financial Times Germany reported today that Daimler has picked U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Motors to provide batteries for a 150-car test fleet of battery-powered Smart cars.

The Smart EVs, which will be made in England and sent to Berlin and other cities for testing, will contain lithium-ion batteries capable of propelling the cars 90 miles between charges.

The article also reports that Daimler has teamed with RWE, a major German utility, to install 500 charging stations throughout the German capital. Daimler will eventually expand the test fleet to 1,000 cars, the newspaper said.

Daimler did not immediately return calls seeking confirmation. Tesla's Darryl Siry declined to comment on the story at this time, but Tesla is no stranger to electric Smart cars.

We reported back in March that the company had a battery-powered Smart at its facility and speculated then that Tesla might have been angling for a conversion deal with the San Fransicsco-area Smart dealer.

Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsche told another German newspaper recently that Mercedes-Benz will release an all-electric version of its Smart car in 2010.

Zetsche declined to discuss vehicle price, in part because Daimler has not decided yet whether or not to manufacture the electric motors itself.

Daimler currently has a first-generation fleet of 100 all-electric Smart cars being tested in London.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Movie Volt Just That, Says GM: 'Not Representative' of Final Version

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:21:33 -0800

Maybe this will put Volt frenzy to bed for a bit.

Spy video of a Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car (or plug-in series hybrid, take your pick) posted on Green Car Advisor and other sites in the past two days shows a car that General Motors says was built especially for the movie "Transformers 2" that is now being filmed.

While the purple-blue car in the video "does share some of the design direction" of the production Volt due in late 2010, "it is not representative of the final production version," said GM spokesman David Darovitz.

GM, he added, didn't have anything to do with release of the video.

We asked because the company has "leaked" its own spy shots of some Volt details in recent weeks, but was always up front about being the originator.

"The 'Transformer' concept looks great," Darovitz wrote in an e-mail this morning, "but wait until you see the real Volt!"

We're waiting, Dave. We're waiting.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Bridgestone America Commits to National Lead-Free Wheel Weight Initiative

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:04:51 -0800

Major tire maker Bridgestone America announced today that it will no longer use lead wheel weights.

The company, which operates 2,000 tire service stores across the U.S., made the announcement at a joint press conference in Detroit at which the federal Environmental Protection Agency called on businesses to voluntarily switch to steel weights when balancing wheels and tires.

The press conference served as the formal launch of the EPA's National Lead-Free Wheel Weight Initiative. The weights are attached to wheels when tires are installed to counteract the combined effect of tire and wheel weight imbalances that can cause the wheel to wobble.

The trouble with lead weights is that they tend to fall off, get ground to lead dust by passing vehicles and eventually end up in groundwater supplies. In humans, lead particles can cause brain damage, birth defects and death.

The EPA's initiative follows a recent court decision that resulted in Chrysler and the three largest wheel weight makers in America agreeing to stop using lead weights in California by the end of 2009.

In its suit, the Oakland-based Center for Environmental Health maintained that errant tire weights are responsible for 500,000 pounds of lead being released into California's environment alone each year.

According to Jeff Gearhart, director of the Clean Car Campaign at the Michigan-based Ecology Center, lead wheel weights are the nation's largest unregulated source of new lead leaching into the environment.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

The New Competitors: India's Three-Pronged Approach To The Electric Car Market

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:45:03 -0800

By Nick Kurczewski, Contributor

Unwilling to leave the potentially lucrative electric vehicle market to Japanese, European and - maybe - American carmakers, Indian auto companies are rushing to develop EVs of their own.

The impetus is twofold: To combat gridlock and air pollution at home, and to cash in on global demand for cleaner, eco-friendly vehicles.

The Indian firms will be joining a rapidly growing field of manufacturers looking to market environmentally-focused vehicles.

Industry heavy-weights like General Motors, Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, Renault-Nissan and Daimler all have promised to bring plug-in hybrids or battery-electric vehicles to market within the next three-to-five years.

Some of their upstart Indian competitors, however, say they will hit the market with their electric vehicles as early as the end of this year.

To find out what's on tap, Green Car Advisor took a look at three of the main players in the burgeoning Indian electric vehicle market.

Reva

Reva Electric Car Co. is the minnow of the bunch. And no, we're not referring to the 102 inch length of the company's cartoonish-looking two-door hatchback (right) -- four inches shorter than a Smart Fortwo.

Based in Bangalore, Reva is a small family-owned company that happens to be one of the most established electric car manufacturers in the world, with a vehicle that initially went on sale seven years ago.

A Reva offers room for two adults plus two children in the rear, and a top speed of 50 miles per hour.

Since retail sales began in July 2001, some 2,600 Revas have found homes. Chetan Maini, Reva's deputy chairman and chief technical officer, says the majority have been sold in Bangalore and London, where it's called the "G-Wiz."

Maini explains that Reva's intention was to begin with "one Indian city and one European city," and build the business from there.

In India, the Reva now sells for the equivalent of $7,500, not cheap in country where almost half the population lives below thepoverty level.

But a recent boost has come courtesy of the Indian government, with news that electric car owners in New Delhi will receive subsidies and tax breaks. This will lower the Reva's price by as much as 25 percent.

Public charging points will be installed throughout the Indian capital - a useful consideration as the present Reva has a range of only 50 miles.

Maini says technical improvements are on the way."We will have lithium-ion batteries available next year," and existing owners will be able to retrofit their old model with the new batteries.

Reva will begin adding "one new model and new variant every year," starting in 2009, he says.
Expansion plans will focus on India and Europe, Maini says, with U.S. sales "a long term goal."

One reason is that regulations for the "quadricycle class" cars Reva makes (i.e. city-cars with regulated weight and top speed) are less stringent in Europe and India.

Maini says, though, that Reva's upcoming models will be classified as regular cars, not quadricycles.

Tata

Tata Motors grabbed everyone's attention at this year's New Delhi Auto Expo, when it unveiled the $2,500 Nano hatchback (left).

The car is as bare-bones as a car can get.

A base model does without power-steering, air conditioning, a radio and even the customary dual windshield wipers - Tata's engineers deemed that one did the job just as well, at half the cost.

As an ironic follow up to building the world's cheapest car, Tata Motors then purchased two revered British luxury makes, Jaguar and Land Rover, from Ford Motor Company.

In March, during the Geneva auto show and the European debut of the Nano, rumors circulated that Tata might try to import the Nano into Europe as an electric vehicle.

The company also has plans to being a low-speed electric truck to the U.S.

The company had made no secret about its aspiration to sell the Nano outside of India - but had problems to overcome.

The 623-c.c., two-cylinder motor in the Indian-market Nano would never pass European emissions standards; lack of airbags would see it flunk safety tests too.

Then Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group and Tata Motors, said these safety features could be added. And by marketing the Nano as a quadricycle, Tata could skirt the stricter regulations that apply if the Nano wee imported as a regular car.

Now -- no surprise -- the German newspaper Auto Bild has reported that Tata announced that it plans to build an electric version of the Nano. Dubbed the E-Nano, it will be built in cooperation with Norwegian electric car firm, Miljoebil Grenland, and could go on sale later this year.

In a strange twist, sales will initially be limited to Norway. No technical specifications or sales dates for other markets have been released for the E-Nano.

Mahindra & Mahindra

If you've ever heard of Mahindra - and don't feel bad if you haven't - it's for one of two things: the company's tractors, and sport-utility vehicles.

Mahindra vehicles (left) will begin arriving in the U.S. next year, though choices will be limited to a diesel-powered pick-up and a mid-size SUV.

That's hardly the ideal starting point for an electric vehicle, and possibly one reason why Mahindra's electric car plans remain mysterious.

According to a report in The Economic Times, a Mahindra official told the newspaper that the company is preparing an electric car "bigger than the Reva." The car will have seating for four and should be on sale by 2010, first in India, then in other markets, the report said.

Mahindra representatives politely told us that they had "no comment" about the company's electric car plans, at least for the moment.

However, The Economic Times report says that the car will be powered by lead acid batteries, then move to a more efficient nickel metal hydride battery pack.

We're willing to speculate that Mahindra will forge an electric car alliance with part-time partner, the Renault-Nissan Alliance, considering that Mahindra already builds the bargain-basement Logan sedan in India for Renault-Nissan's Romanian affiliate, Dacia.

The Japanese-French auto making alliance has plans to introduce a range of electric vehicles over the next three years and it makes sense for Mahindra to piggy-back onto this technology.

That's not to say that Mahindra is falling short in terms of its own R&D.

During the New Delhi Auto Expo, we got a first-hand look at Mahindra's numerous alternative energy projects - not to mention a test drive in a hydrogen-powered rickshaw.

Diesel hybrids, hydrogen, and electric power all featured heavily on Mahindra's stand. But for the moment, these projects remain in the developmental stage.

Kurczewski occasionally files European news for Green Car Advisor and is also our man in India.

Stop the Presses! Chevy Volt Makes Appearance in SoCal Movie Shoot

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:42:16 -0800

No sooner were the words out (see previous post) than we were proven wrong: you won't have to piece spy pix together to get a look at the 2010 Chevy Volt - it appears to have a role in the upcoming action flick "Transformers 2," as evidenced by a spy video posted on the Modern Mythology comics fan blog Thursday and later picked up by the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog.

The purple-blue car, clearly bearing the Chevrolet Bow Tie emblem, has "VOLT" emblazoned across its rear fascia, as the screen capture above makes clear.

The action, apparently in or near Long Beach, Calif., where the movie is being filmed, was shot from an elevated position, so the car is somewhat foreshortened in the video, but its resemblance to the Volt concept and the production design details that have been leaked previously by General Motors is unmistakable.

Unclear from the video is whether the car is running with the Volt's extended-range electric powerplant and advanced lithium-ion battery pack or with a conventional gasoline engine jammed in to make it ready for the movie.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Volt Interior Design Taking Cues From Apple?

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:05:01 -0800

If the leaks keep on coming, people with the patience to piece a pile of spy photos together will know what the Chevrolet Volt looks like long before General Motors pulls the tarp off the production model.

So far, GM has allowed us to see bits and pieces of the front left corner, side-view mirror, grille and tail end of the Volt--- just enough to understand that the exterior won't look quite like the knife-edged cncept that was unveiled at last year's Detroit Auto Show, but probably won't come to life looking like the next-gen Malibu, either.

Now we're going inside the plug-in hybrid that GM believes will change the automotive landscape.

A view of a small slice of the interior -- the center stack -- seems to have leaked out from behind closed doors at some sort of a design review.

While not an official GM photo this time (previous "spy" shots were issued by the automaker to keep the buzz going), the pictures shows a center stack the looks a lot like the one in a very fuzzy photo (right) of the stack in a Volt designer's sketchbook that showed up on the web back in April.

The new photo, which first appeared Thursday in a readers forum on the website of Motive Magazine, shows a stack, clad in shiny white plastic a la an iMac computer. It houses all the climate, entertainment and various other controls plus the screen for a driver communication center (and, possibly, navigation system).

The comkmunication screes shows a schematic of the Volt's front-mounted, internal combustion engine/generator and the lithium-ion battery pack it feeds.

The white center stack is surrounded by a matte black dash pierced by louvered air vents, and the image on the left edge of the photo shows a bit of what appears to be a hooded instrument cluster.

There are few visible buttons or switches on the stack, controls seem mainly to be soft-touch switchgear hidden beneath the unbroken plastic surface.

We can't be sure the photo represents the final version of the Volt's center stack, but it seems pretty certain that it is, indeed, a picture of what it looks like right now. A GM spokesman all but acknowledged the authenticity of the shot in a late Thursday e-mail exchange with Green Car Advisor:

"Can't really dispute the beauty that is inherent in the photo highlighting the technological prowess that is the Chevrolet Volt," wrote GM's Dave Darovitz, adding that he believed the photo "is representative of the Volt in general..."

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Lutz Says GM Will Have Production-Version Volts in Large Test Fleets Next Year

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:07:47 -0800

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said Thursday that GM will have production versions of the Chevrolet Volt working in a large test fleet by late 2009.

Until now the General -- the automaker, not "Maximum Bob" -- has stated that the Volt would not enter production until 2010.

It's possible GM announced its accelerated Volt production schedule in response to Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe's statement earlier Thursday that Toyota will advance delivery of its plug-in hybrid to fourth quarter 2009 from 2010. The Volt is due in showrooms in late 2010.

But Lutz, speaking at an event in Illinois, told reporters he expects Toyota's plug-in will debut in controlled fleets only and in small numbers. He said GM will have production versions of the Volt working in a large test fleet before the end of next year.

Lutz said the Volt's lithium-ion batteries can take it 40 to 50 miles on a single charge. If a driver stays within that range, the car would never use gasoline. To go farther, the gas engine would come on to recharge the batteries.

Toyota has not released an electric-only range for its plug-in hybrid, which operates similar to its current Prius model by using both gasoline and electricity to propel the vehicle.

Lutz said such hybrids generally have a short electric-only range.

"After eight or 11 miles it reverts to being a completely normal gasoline-electric hybrid, which means you get about a 25-30 percent fuel savings, but the point is they do burn fuel," he said.

Lutz played down the fact that the Volt will also be dependent on gasoline once its batteries have been discharged. Although Chevy and Toyota's plug-ins have distinctly different architectures, it will be possible to compare the amount of gasoline displaced by electricity in each vehicle once Toyota provides mileage data for its plug-in.

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Daimler Opening Global Hybrid Research Center in Japan

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:41:14 -0800

Looking to boost the fuel efficiency of its commercial trucks (left), auto giant Daimler's truck division has opened a hybrid research center in Japan, where it owns a big chunk of truck maker Mitsubishi Fuso.

The new Daimler Global Hybrid Center will be located on Mitsubishi Fuso's campus in Kawasaki, the company said.

Mitsubishi has developed diesel-electric hybrid systems for city buses and light commercial trucks and Daimler wants to harness that expertise to its own Teutonic engineering prowess, according to industry analysts at economic consultant Global Insight

The aim is to come up with systems that can be applied to the range of commercial vehicles it manufacturers in its Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star and Mitsubishi Fuso subsidiaries.

And if some of that technology happens to trickle down into the company's Mercedes-Benz and Smart passenger car divisions, well, so much the better.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Hydrogen Highway Gets An Extension

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:01:06 -0800

We complain, a lot, that there aren't enough hydrogen stations around to make use of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, even in test programs, very practical.

So we owe it to the alternative fuel's biggest backer, the National Hydrogen Assn., to note that two new stations were opened this month during the just-completed Hydrogen Road Tour '08 program, and that a third new one is scheduled to open next week.

They will bring to 70 the total stock of operating hydrogen fuel stations in North America - 9 in Canada and 61 in the U.S., with 28 of those in just one state, California.

First to open was dedicated Aug. 11 in Billerica, Mass. (it is also the first hydrogen station in the entire state), followed by a station in Rolla, Mo., at the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

The third new facility is slated to open Sept. 4 on the campus of Humboldt State University in Humboldt, Calif.

The hydrogen association lists stations - one list for those in operation, another for 41 that are planned but not yet open -- in an online hydrogen fuel station database and you can click here to see it and to see how many more milestones need to be added to the hydrogen highway that politicians like to talk about before it its truly a transcontinental road.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Lighter-Weight Vehicles Have Higher Injury Claim Costs Than Heavier Vehicles

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:03:13 -0800

The cost of automotive injury claims involving lighter-weight vehicles tends to be significantly higher than the cost of claims involving heavy vehicles, according to new research from the Insurance Research Council.

The findings are important because they suggest insurance costs should be taken into account by motorists who are principally interested in purchasing a lighter vehicle to save money at the pump.

The council -- a nongovernmental organization supported by insurance companies -- found that the average auto injury claim payment in accidents involving lighter-weight vehicles was 14.3 percent greater than the average payment in accidents involving heavy vehicles.

These findings suggest that as gas prices prompt more drivers to choose lighter and more fuel-efficient vehicles, the average cost of injury claims arising from motor vehicle accidents can be expected to climb.

The council's findings indicate that the higher average claim costs associated with lighter vehicles have the potential to at least partially offset whatever fuel savings that might be achieved at the pump.

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In a First, Toyota Dealership Is Now Taking Deposits for Plug-in Priuses

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:16:25 -0800

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

A Northern California Toyota dealership has become the first business to accept deposits for factory-direct plug-in Priuses.

Magnussen's Toyota of Palo Alto started accepting $500 deposits for plug-in Priuses two weeks ago and as of this morning had accepted 25 of them, according to Eric Doebert, business development manager for the dealer.

That development has occurred despite the fact that the automaker has repeatedly told the press that it will limit production to 400 of the vehicles during or before 2010 and that those vehicles will be for fleet evaluation only.

In other words, while some government and commercial fleets may contain plug-in Priuses in 2010, retail sales -- plug-in Priuses for the general public -- won't begin until sometime after 2010.

That's what Toyota has been telling reporters, but it's possible the automaker has said something different to its dealers. Doebert says that's exactly what's happened.

"There is no official word that we have as a dealer regarding exactly what is going to happen," he told Green Car Advisor today. "We've heard different things. Nothing concrete. However, we are very confident that we'll have retail units in 2010.

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Ford Committed to Improving Fuel Efficiency of Vehicles and Consumers

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:40:54 -0800

Right, Todd Cook, eco-driver extraordinaire.

By Scott Doggett, Contributor

I'm a non-mechanical hypermiler. I do everything short of modifying my car to eek out as many miles from a tank of gasoline as is humanly possible.

So when Ford Motor Co. asked me if I'd like to attend an eco-driving class they were hosting in Phoenix yesterday to learn how I could become a more fuel-efficient driver, I quickly agreed.

It's them who would learn from me, I thought. The so-called class is just more green-washing event put on by an automaker that was slow to get with the high-MPG program. So I thought.

And I was dead wrong. It was I who had much to learn about hypermiling -- or as Ford prefers, eco-driving.

There were maybe a dozen journalists in the class and nearly as many people there from Ford. We learned that during the preceding days, Ford had posted an ad on craigslist inviting Phoenix-area residents to evaluate a few vehicles and earn $125 for their trouble.

A diverse group of 48 people participated, only Ford wasn't primarily interested in what the 48 thought of the vehicles. Rather, Ford wanted to see whether or not they could be taught to drive very fuel efficiently in a short period of time.

The participants adhered to an 11.6-mile route, seven miles on 25- and 35-mile-an-hour streets through residential and commercial neighborhoods and 4.6 miles on a fast stretch of Interstate 10. They drove four vehicles: a 2008 Ford Fusion, a 2009 Ford Flex, a 2008 F-150, and a 2009 Lincoln MKS AWD.

Seated beside each participant was a Ford eco-driving trainer, only the participants didn't know that initially. Rather, they were led to believe that the trainers were researchers tasked with recording the participants' likes and dislikes regarding the four vehicles.

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Flint Offers GM Millions in Tax Breaks for Locating Volt Engine Plant There

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:30:05 -0800

Flint, Michigan -- the city made famous by a Michael Moore documentary about the devastating financial and emotional hits the city suffered as General Motors laid off thousands of workers there while reaping record profits -- has agreed to give GM millions of dollars in tax incentives if the automaker builds an engine plant for the Chevrolet Volt in the poverty-sticken community.

GM asked for the tax breaks to help support its $359 million investment in a new plant where workers will build 1.4-liter turbo engines for the Volt plug-in hybrid, as well as GM's new compact car, the Chevy Cruze. The proposed 500,000-square-foot facility, which would be built near Flint Engine South and Flint Truck, would retain about 300 jobs.

The automaker plans to begin production of the Volt in late 2010.

GM's request for incentives, approved Monday by the Flint City Council, stirred unease among some residents in GM's birthplace, where thousands of jobs have been eliminated over the years.

"A lot of people still feel ... General Motors owes us more than just a couple hundred jobs," Councilman Jim Ananich said the other day, according to an article in The Detroit News. "But as competitive as the market is and the trouble General Motors is having, we have to help them with whatever we can do to keep them competitive."

The city extended an existing abatement of 100 percent of the personal property taxes until 2033 and granted GM a 50-percent, 15-year abatement of real property taxes.

The City Council also approved a GM redevelopment plan for the proposed engine plant that makes GM eligible for state tax credits. The automaker is further seeking billions of dollars in low-interest loans from Congress to develop fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Volt, and GM is lobbying Congress for a $7,000 federal tax rebate for Volt buyers.

The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that a whopping 35.5 percent of Flint residents live in poverty, with more than one in every three Flint residents out of work.

Scott Doggett, Contributor

Mitsubishi Will Build 2,000 iMiEV Electric Cars Next Year

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:07:06 -0800

Japan's Mitsubishi Motors, which earlier this month announced plans for a lithium-ion battery factory capable of producing enough cells next year to outfit 2,000 cars, now says - drumroll and trumpets, please -- that it will build 2,000 of its iMiEV electric cars next year!

Mitsubishi Motors President Osamu Masuko announced the plans Tuesday in Japan, according to a Jiji Press item posted on the English-language Japan Corporate Network site.

He said the automaker would double production to 4,000 of the batter-electric minicars in 2010 before ramping up for mass market production.

Most of the cars will be sold in Japan, where initial pricing is expected to be about 3 million yen ($27,500).

Masuko said prices would drop as volume increases.

Mitsubishi, which already is testing a small fleet of iMiEVs in the U.S., also said it will begin European road tests in October.

No plans for a retail version of the car for the U.S. market have been announced, but we know there is a lot of internal lobbying to bring the car over here.

Many in the Mitsubishi North America operation believe a case can be made for marketing the car as an commuter vehicle in cities -- such as San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and New York - with compact downtown areas.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor