Comments on: Mitsubishi i-MiEV goes into production

By: Deco

Deco — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 12:28:11 +0000

I hope this doesn’t represent the next 100 years of motoring. It is god damn ugly and I don’t care what Mitsubishi say, the emissions at the power plants will rival a diesel or even a petrol run car.

Also they’d want to invest a few billion in making a battery capable of travelling over 400km at least, otherwise it is practically useless for many a folk in Australia.

As happy as I am to see thm trying, why couldn’t they stick the engine in a lancer, it’d look alot better lol.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 08:20:16 +0000

Steven, I was to believe that all electric motors produce peak torque from zero rpm, that being the case the Prius takes off in electric mode initially, and lacks the instant bite I’ve come to expect from petrol cars.

I am just wondering, as CA have driven a pre production version, if the iMiev has the same instantaneous lack of performance off the mark?

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 06:16:47 +0000

TS, your analogy is flawed. Batteries on mobile phones shrunk dramatically because 1) change from Ni-Mh to Li-ion batteries in the early 90’s, doubling energy density, and 2) advances in integrated circuit fabrication dramatically reduced the power required, hence now we have quite powerful processors in phones that allow us to have the internet and movies on our phones.

Cars are different. We’ve had electric motors for over a century, and they are much higher up the development chain than electronics. You aren’t going to see significant improvement in efficiency, compared to the electronics industry. Likewise with batteries. EV cars are not going to dramatically improve over the next 10 years in relation to performance and range, because the technologies that power them are extremely mature.

By: lazybones

lazybones — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 04:43:48 +0000

TS you hit the nail on the head, what new technology is cheap. Let the various government departments and hire companies buy them up. Get the market going and watch the price come down over time.

At least its there ready to be sold. Can’t think of any Hydrogen cars which can say the same. 1M USD for a Honda FCX Clarity you’ve got to be kidding me!!

By: Yianni

Yianni — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 04:24:20 +0000

The price doesn’t make sense right now.

Even with the savings of not having to use petrol you’ll still be in a loss money wise when compared to an equivalent sub $20,000 petrol hatch over the life of the car.

The thing is though, this car has to sell to help with development for future electric models. Things will get cheaper and better over time.

Ideally an electric car has to be priced just a little higher than a petrol equivalent to make sense. When we reach that price point then they will really take off.

By: The Salesman

The Salesman — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 02:52:27 +0000

Remember when mobile phones first came out? Big batteries, limited range, expensive to buy. Soon we will be saying the same thing about electric cars. I can’t wait to see what happens to the electric car over the next few years.

By: Andronicus

Andronicus — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:51:02 +0000

Wow, I understand this is good for the environment and all but that price is crazy.

Not to mention it is terribly ugly.
What a shame because the ideas and principles behind it’s creation are great and this type of vehicle will hopefully be common place sometime soon…. but yeesh, it’s hurting my eyes.

By: Captain Mainwaring

Captain Mainwaring — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:38:12 +0000

Nobody has mentioned the price. Go back to the story and have another look at it. Who is going to buy this thing at that sort of cost?
Oh yes, I know. Government agencies, using your money.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 14:33:11 +0000

That is a good catch, steven, now if only they can make it look even slightly attractive.

By: Steven A

Steven A — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:52:16 +0000

Andrew, this vehicle has 100% of its torque available from
‘0 RMP to 2000 RPM”.
Bloody good little bugger if you ask me and its rear drive too.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:06:51 +0000

I had the experience of driving a Prius the other day, and I feel apart from the overly light and loose steering, the biggest detractor was it’s performance off the mark. It was actually a worry until the petrol engine kicked in.

My question is will the iMiev have a similar lack of zest from immediate takeoff? I think a cars ability to accelerate swiftly in front of traffic or accross an intersection relates directly to its safety.

By: nobody

nobody — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:13:59 +0000

A very practical car for driving to work short range and for doing those daily chores. Will probably cost close to nothing to service since there’s not much really to service.

No doubt we’ll see alot more of these cars in the coming 10 years. Probably too costly at the moment for it to be a serious deal for most people. Will probably cost us quite abit more than 60K if Mitsu decides to launch it here. Also don’t see much guys feeling overly excited about the looks.

All in all, it’s a good start. Future products should be more eye opening.

By: Shak

Shak — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:38:13 +0000

well they should try them out here as the east coast is recieving a network of charging stations in 2010, which is being provided by a company know as Better Place. They say Oz’s east is like the west in the US so we are a guinea pig of how the Yankees will react. Id like to have one but the price evn with a subisdy