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For the United Nations’ World Environment Day on June 5, 2009, Mitsubishi Motors revealed the production version of its new-generation i-MiEV, an all-electric four-passenger vehicle. Approximately 1,400 of these small rear-wheel-drive automobiles, priced at the equivalent of $47,000, will be available via a maintenance lease on the Japanese corporate/government fleet market next month. Sales to individual consumers will follow in April 2010. The i-MiEV is equipped with a 330-volt lithium-ion battery (composed of 88 series-connected cells) under the floor of the car, which helps contribute to its low center of gravity, enhancing stability and handling. Boasting a range of nearly 100 miles, this zero-emissions vehicle can be charged at home via a standard 100- or 200-volt domestic outlet (for fourteen or seven hours, respectively). Also available will be fast-charge stations, currently being established throughout Japan, which will recharge the vehicle to 80 percent in a half hour. May 7, 2009
Ford recently announced that it will invest $550 million to convert its Michigan Truck Plant—the former production site of the gas-guzzling Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs—into a more flexible and modern small car manufacturing facility in order to produce the Ford Focus compact. The complex, renamed Michigan Assembly Plant, was once one of the world’s most profitable automobile plants during the SUV boom of the late 1990s, and will eventually support 3,200 jobs. Ford plans to produce its all-new Focus there in 2010, adding the electric Focus (a plug-in zero-emission vehicle with a lithium-ion battery pack) to the assembly line in 2011. The Focus is part of the Blue Oval’s initiative to deliver four new electric vehicles to the United States by 2012. Along with the Michigan facility, the company is also converting light truck plants in Mexico and Kentucky to build its upcoming array of fuel-efficient models. April 7, 2009
Rolls-Royce recently released information about the powertrain on their new touring sedan codenamed RR4, a production model of their five-passenger 200EX concept car shown at the March 2009 Geneva Motor Show. Tom Purves, the British automaker’s CEO, announced the details at a press conference in New York, where the 200EX was on display as a part of a world tour to show the vehicle to prospective buyers. Set to launch in late 2009, the RR4 will feature a 6.6-liter, 500-horsepower turbocharged V12 engine and an eight-speed automatic ZF transmission. The luxury car company, which sold 1,212 vehicles worldwide in 2008 (a twenty percent increase from 2007), says the RR4’s new drivetrain will be more fuel-efficient than the Phantom series. The 200EX concept, featuring rear-hinged coach doors and measuring 212.6 inches long, will make appearances in Miami (May 19-20); Los Angeles (May 26-28); London (June 9-11); and Cannes, France (July 2-4).
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