The Ashes

Represents from Mitsubishi confirmed today that the i-MiEV electric vehicle will definitely be making an appearance in the United States. The company has been suggesting its appearance in the form of sweaty, mumbled rumored for a few ticks of the clock now, but this is the first official confirmation that we’ve heard of the super-popular “electric jellybean” making it stateside.

For now, all we know is that car is likely to show up sometime before 2012; any further details are few and far between. This thing runs on a special lithium battery, so the manufacturers are waiting carefully to ensure that supplies of the fuel cell will be readily available. Mitsubishi stepped up their current production goals to about 20,000 units a year, which is substantial for a car of this type. When the i-MiEV finally does it make to the United States, it’ll probably have a different name – and maybe even a slightly different look.

This thing’s getting people from Cleveland to Calais excited about the prospect of zipping around in a nerdy little Li-Ion electric transporter. Fans of the genre even like this car a little better than the Toyota iQ or the Honda FXC Clarity – shocking, given the IQ’s well-known loyal following. We’ll keep you posted when we get more news about this thing; for now, just have a gander at its silky curves.