Zoomi Life

We promised when we mentioned the debuts at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show that we’d get into more detail with some of them. Mitsubishi’s concept they’re calling the PX MiEV was one of those. This is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) styled as a crossover SUV/sedan.

Read More: The New Mitsubishi PX MiEV Plug-in Hybrid Concept SUV

Officially opening on October 24, the Tokyo Motor Show is already getting in the news as a few participants make early announcements about what they’ll be showcasing at the East’s largest auto event. So far, interesting stuff from Suzuki, Mitsubishi, and Honda have been announced.

Read More: Tokyo Motor Show 2009: Early Announcements for Participants Are Enticing

Tesla Motors announced what most in the industry probably saw coming: their in-house platform for the Model S sedan will be in later models too. Using a platform to create a series of vehicle models is nothing new and is, in fact, standard practice in the industry. The new models planned include a minivan, a crossover SUV, and a utility van.

Read More: Tesla Moves Towards the Future With the Model S Platform

Nissan revealed the LEAF electric car in August with announced plans to begin sales in 2010 with a production target date of late 2010/early 2011. This is further confirmed by the latest announcement that they’ll begin taking pre-orders in North America starting in the Spring of 2010. Their goal is a U.S. pre-sales target of 20,000 cars before launch.

Read More: The New Nissan LEAF and Planned U.S. Pre-Sales in 2010

After surviving the bailout scandals and leaving the competition behind to beg for dough and make fools of themselves, the Ford Motor Company may have just signed their own death warrant.

Microsoft announced that Ford will be amongst the company’s trusted partners who’ll be upgrading to Windows 7 when the new operating system comes out. Being in the “early adoption” game, Ford has apparently decided to risk it all on something that, frankly, doesn’t have a very good track record.

Read More: Ford to Upgrade to Windows 7, Crash May Be Imminent

When I saw this car, I had two reactions: “Holy @#$@#$ that’s bad!@#$!” and “Aww, you just suck.” The first reaction was on seeing the car and finding out what it can do. The second was on finding out who can drive it and why I can’t be one of those people.

Read More: The E-Wolf e1 Electric Race Car

For some reason I can’t really figure out, a lot of electric vehicle industry buzz surrounds the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. The little battery electric gets a lot of attention. I haven’t figured out why either, because these cars are ugly, only kind of impressive in performance, and don’t exactly have much about them that says “safe.”

Read More: Want an i-MiEV? Sucks to Be You Then. They’re Sold Out

In mid-January, America’s largest auto show, the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, will take place. The show will feature the usual suspects and showcases, but will have a special addition: a multi-manufacturer/maker electric vehicles area called “Electric Avenue.”

Read More: Next Year’s Detroit Auto Show to Feature Multi-Maker EV Area

Remember the “Electric car in every garage” that Myers Motors promoted earlier this year? Well, they’ve taken another step towards providing a realistic electric vehicle for the masses: the NMG² (a temporary name, more on that in a minute). This car seats two and has the same electric characteristics as its younger NMG cousin, but also some nice improvements.

Read More: Myers Motors Finally Reveals Their Latest NMG Electric 3-Wheeler

Kinetic Vehicles had a vision. Their vision was MAX (Mother’s Automotive eXperiment) and that vision has become reality as a 100mpg biodiesel homebrew car. Although the project was sponsored by Mother Earth News, the sponsorship was mostly moral support as the builder’s wanted to show that this could be done by anyone.

Read More: Meet MAX - The 100mpg Home-Built Lotus Replica