San Antonio Mitsubishi Dealer

Mitsubishi i-MiEV Sport Air concept.

At the recently concluded Geneva Auto Show, Japanese auto maker Mitsubishi announced its entrance into the electric vehicle market via the i-MiEV.

Aside from this they also announced their newest study-the Mitsubishi i-MiEV Sport Air concept.

The idea that is the “innovated Mitsubishi Electric Vehicle” has been around for several years now.

Most memorable was the 2005 Mitsubishi Colt, the company’s first mass produced electric vehicle.

The year after the Lancer EVO MiEV and two other concepts were introduced.

In 2007, the i-MiEV concept was presented to the world.

When comparing the two, one sees the different directions that the vehicles are going to take.

The i-MiEV looks somewhat like a Honda Fit only with a shorter snout.

The i-MiEV Sport Air has a more flat, ground hugging appearance.

The i-MiEV Sport Air concept is a continuation to this line, and a direct descendant to the acclaimed i-MiEV Sport show car.

The i-MiEV Sport had a range of 125 miles and a top speed of 112 mph.

With today’s advances in electric vehicle technology, one can but imagine what the Sport Air will achieve in terms of speed and range.

While the rest are building electric sedans and coupés, Mitsubishi apparently want to get into the electric sports car side of the market.

Talk to your San Antonio Mistubshi Dealer.

Last November at the Los Angeles Auto Show, MINI, the makers of that cute little pug of a car that you will either love or hate, announced that it is formally throwing in its hat in into the electric vehicle basket by way of the MINI e.

The MINI e has a range of approximately 150 miles and a regulated top speed of 95mph making it the fastest electric vehicle in its estimated price range.

The title of fastest I believe still goes to the Tesla Roadster at 130mph.

With all this said, Mitsubishi, the makers of the i-MiEV are hot on everybody’s heels.

A few months ago at the Geneva Auto Show, not only did Mitsubishi formally unveil the i-MiEV, they also announced their newest study – the Mitsubishi i-MiEV Sport Air concept.

The Sport Air if all goes according to plan will be the continuation of the i-MiEV series and again if it goes according to plan will be a cabriolet version of the i-MiEV.

Looking at the vehicle, the large curved glass atop is indeed removable but obviously not storable inside the vehicle itself.

The other question in our minds is if whether or not the front and rear windscreen goes when you take the top down.

You can get even more info from the San Antonio Mitsubishi Dealers.

The i-MiEV, Mitsubishi’s entry into the electric vehicle industry is scheduled to be available in the US market “before 2012” as Mitsubishi officials put it. Latest update has it that the UK will be the first recipient of 50 of the all electric, zero emission cars by November and an additional 150 units are scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2010. MSRP of the i-MiEV in the UK will be in somewhere in the range of $30,000-$50,000-batteries included. Reports also have it that Mitsubishi will be supplying the PSA/Puegot-Citroen Group with the cars as early as next year and possibly as many as 10,000 units by 2011. But this has yet to be officially confirmed.
What has been confirmed is Mitsubishi’s intention of increasing production of the i-MiEV to 20,000 units a year. Aside the above announcement was Mitsubishi’s partnering with both the State of Oregon and Portland General Electric, its primary supplier of power, to develop an infrastructure of charging station for the i-MiEV and other electric cars electric cars.
Powered by lithium-ion batteries specifically built for automobiles, the i-MiEV has a top speed of 81mph and can travel 81 miles on a single charge. Produced through a joint venture among GS Yuasa, Mitsubishi Corporation, Lithium Energy Japan, and Mitsubishi Motors, the batteries could be the determining factor as to how many cars Mitsubishi can actually produce. John Koenig, Mitsubishi’s North American Vice President for Operations said “Right now, GS Yuasa is our source of batteries, through the joint venture we’ve done with them. I think 10, – or 12,000 is the maximum volume at the beginning. We’re working on figuring out a way to get greater battery production, but that’s going to mean an investment in a plant somewhere to produce more. We haven’t made a decision on where that plant would be located, whether that be in Japan or North America or Europe. That’s the biggest decision right now.” Find out the latest at your San Antonio Mitsubishi Dealer

The Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle or i-MiEV was formally unveiled at the New York Auto Show last month.
Also announced was Mitsubishi’s plan to bring the all electric vehicle to the US before 2012.

On display at the auto show was an i-MiEV outfitted with a left hand drive.
On the inside, one can hardly tell that this is an electric vehicle.

According to Mitsubishi engineers, the unique midship architecture of the i-MiEV allowed for seamless integration under the floor board, luggage compartment and seats of the new components.

Directly under the flooring are the 1-MiEV’s battery pack that consists of 22 modules of four cells each which can be installed either vertically or transversely depending on the requirements.

The batteries are proprietary lithium-ion purpose built for automobiles.

They’re made by a joint venture among GS Yuasa, Mitsubishi Corporation, Lithium Energy Japan, and Mitsubishi Motors.

Capable of a range of approximately 80 miles on a single charge, the advanced lithium-ion batteries are fully charged after 12-14 hours using a standard 110 volt outlet or half that on a 220 volt outlet.

The i-MiEV on board charger will automatically adapt between the two voltages whenever needed.

There is also a fast charger that can charge the battery to 80% of its capacity in 30 minutes.
There are several units already in use by the Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric but these are for evaluation purposes only.

Being right hand drive cannot legally be sold in North America plus they were never meant to meet US safety or equipment standards.

Ride wise, overall was a “pleasant” experience. With four adults, it did keep up with the traffic-perfect for the urban environment but I would not want (or dare?) take it cross country.

A friend who was a bit over six feet had a few more inches of headroom to spare.

See the i-MieV at San Antonio’s Mitsubishi Dealer

Walking around in San Antonio, Texas a couple of weeks ago, I found myself looking at a display in one of the car dealerships.

Something caught my eye. I noticed the front bumper of a Mitsubishi Lancer that had a slightly different look to it.

It had a rather unique and “aggressive” look to it.

On closer inspection I realized what I was looking at was the 09 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart

Think of 09 Lancer Ralliart this way: it’s more than a Lancer GTS but not an Evo X, performance wise at least.

It’s sort of like an in between or a toned down Evo X.

The Ralliart is powered by the same turbocharged 2.0 liter, 4 cylinder, turbocharged 16-valve MIVEC4 engine as the Evo X but for want of a better word, “downgraded” to just 236 hp as compared to the X’s 295 hp.

It also has full time 4WD which features Active Center Differential or ACD uses an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch center differential that shifts drive torque to either the front or rear based on the type of driving conditions in order to achieve the best balance between steering response and traction characteristics be it asphalt, snow or gravel surfaces.

The Ralliart aside from the uniquely designed front bumper also distinguishes itself by its lightweight aluminium ducted hood that allows cool air to flow to the turbocharger, rear air dam, rear bumper cover and dual outlet mufflers.

On the inside you find hands free telephone interface, FAST key, easily accessible steering column mounted paddle shifter and it also has the same Twin Clutch Sportronic Shift Transmission or TC-SST as the X.

Optional are a 30 GB Hard Drive Navigation system, a power sunroof, Recaro seats, 650 watt Rockford Fosgate 9-speaker audio system, HID headlights and a Sirius satellite radio.

You should swing by the San Antonio Mitsubishi Dealership and have a look for yourself.