Mitsubishi announced that it’s little egg-shaped EV, the i-MiEV, will start production ASAP, with limited test leasing of about 1400 cars to select customers begining as soon as July 2009.

The press release for the unveiling of the production version of the i-MiEV calls it “the pioneer that will open the door to the next 100 years of our automobile society.” While electric cars will figure in the next century of driving, let’s remember that improved gasoline technology, clean diesel, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, liquid natural gas, and hydrogen fuel cells will all play a part in transportation in the decades to come.

Image of the production Mitsubishi i-MiEV provided by Mitsubishi Motors.

After much drama — will it be built? where? can it really be sold for so cheap? what about the rioting workers? the abandoned first factory? — the Tata Nano made its world debut at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai last week. Tata Motors kept its promise of offering the car at a $2000 starting price.

So finally, now that its in production and ready to roll, what will the citizens of India get for their 100,000 rupees?

• 632-cc, 2-cylinder engine
• 30 horsepower
• 1 windshield wiper (for one tiny windshield)
• 12″ steel rims
• Optional power steering and power brakes
• No airbags, ABS, or radio — not even as options

The car will hit showrooms in April, according to a New York Times blog post, where buyers can spend $6 to register to buy the car. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in July. There are plans to bring the tiny car to the U.S., but it would need a LOT of safety upgrades to be street legal here — real bumpers, for example.

GM unveiled the European version of the Chevy Volt at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show — the Opel Ampera. The two cars are identical where it counts: they use the same chassis and Voltec extended-range electric vehicle drive system. But the skin they wear is quite different, and not surprisingly, the Euro version has more style.

Following the GM press release’s Euro style, the car can travel on electricity only for 60 km. After that, a small on-board engine acts as a generator to recharge the batteries and give the Ampera another 500 km of driving range. (That’s 37 miles on battery power, and about 300 miles of generator-extended driving on this side of the pond.)

GM says the Ampera will debut in dealerships in 2011, as the Continent’s first EREV. The Chevy Volt will be in U.S. showrooms at about the same time; its production is scheduled to begin in late 2010 at the company’s plant in Flint, Michigan.

Images above courtesy of GM. The Ampere is on the left, at its debut with Opel VP Alain Visser, and the Volt is on the right.

The Bentley Continental Supersports edition will debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show in March. And though it’s the fastest, most bad-ass Bentley ever built, it’s laying claims to green fame as well. The Continental Supersports will be a FlexFuel vehicle.

As part of Bentley’s commitment to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 15% across the range of its cars, the Continental Supersports will be able to run on E85, gasoline, or a combination of the two. The company claims that this reduces “well-to-wheel” emissions by 70%. (By well-to-wheel, they mean from the moment the fuel is sourced to its refinement and delivery to when it burns in the combustion engine and releases emissions from the tailpipe.)

Bentley is basing its green claims on the hope that second-generation biofuels from 100% renewable sources like crop waste will become widely available by the time the Continental Supersports concept becomes a real, live car.

And, you know, it’s got a W12 engine that kicks out 621 bhp and has a 204-mph top speed. If you’re into that kind of thing.

Smart announced today that it will debut the Smart ForTwo edition limited three car with standard micro hybrid drive for spring at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show in early March. MHD is basically start/stop technology, where the engine shuts off when the brake is applied and the car slows to under 8 km/h (5 mph) and restarts as soon as the brake pedal is released. Parent company Daimler says mhd can improve fuel economy by up to 20% in around-town driving.

But the special-edition Smart isn’t just green on the inside. The exterior is covered in metallic melon green paint with a silvery sweep behind the doors. It has limited three logos on the mirrors and alloy wheels, and an exclusive brown interior with more silvery trim.

No word on how limited this limited three edition is, or if any of the examples will roll off the line and across the Atlantic to U.S. dealerships. We do know the coupe price will be just under $20,000 and the cabriolet will go for about $23,500.

Image courtesy of Daimler.

The first car will introduce features that inch the little EV closer to Euro-spec readiness, including left-hand drive. All of the electric Mitsubishis on the road right now in their first phase of testing are Japanese-spec right-hand models, even the few in the U.S. The potato-bug of a car gets a wider stance and longer overhangs for Europe as well.

The i MiEV Sport Air concept is expected to have a more powerful electric motor and a solid driving feel, due to the weight of the in-floor battery packs. It also will feature a “clear cutaway” top, which in Mitsubishi’s sketches looks like a sweep of glass from the windshield to the rear window.

Images courtesy of Mitsubishi.

The winner of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize will meet several criteria:

• Achieve 100 MPGe — the energy equivalent of 100 miles per gallon of gasoline
• Be affordable (no six-figure pricetags here)
• Meet market standards for safety and performance
• Be production-ready

In a nutshell, these high-efficiency cars have to work and real people have to be able to buy them.

The Zap Alias, a two-seater electric vehicle, is competing in the “alternative” class. It requires two seats (check) and a 100-mile range, which Zap says the Alias will be able to do. The alternative class encourages new designs, which Zap took to heart when coming up with the three-wheeled Alias. It’s more than a motorcycle, but not quite a full-fledged car, with an other-worldly, sci-fi flair. Which may be just the ticket for the $1 million prize purse.

If you’re into the Alias and want one regardless of its chances at the X Prize, Zap is taking deposits of $1000 for the car. There will be a limited number of Signature Series examples sold in 2009.

Check out the 30-second video to get a glimpse of the Alias.

The blogosphere (GoodGreenCars.com included) has been abuzz this fall about two new hybrids: the third generation of the crazy popular Toyota Prius, and the resurrection of the pioneer Honda Insight. We’ve already talked about the “most important reveal,” according to humble Toyota execs, of the 2009 Detroit auto show, so now let’s turn to the potential giant-killer Insight.

First of all, if you take a look at the pictures of the new Honda Insight on the stand in Detroit, one thing stands out: it looks just like a Prius. Same short, sloped nose, same little wheels, same chunky back. Part of that is due to the aerodynamics necessary to get high fuel economy in a hybrid, but part of it is probably a little Prius piggy-backing, as well. In order to sell a lot of Insights, you have to aim for the familiar.

Honda hasn’t announced an official price for its hybrid, but it keeps saying it will be cheaper than the Prius. The new Prius doesn’t have an MSRP yet, either, but we can expect both of the cars to be somewhere slightly north of $20,000.

Interestingly, while Toyota couldn’t have tooted its own horn louder if it had brought a drum and bugle corps to Detroit, Honda didn’t schedule a press conference for its Insight. It left the car on the dais for the curious to find, with a cutaway car showcasing the Insight’s technology nearby. Humility won’t get anyone anywhere in the new automotive landscape, so if Honda wants to take on the mighty Prius, it had better step up is marketing game.

At last: the 2010 Toyota Prius, making its world debut at the 2009 North American International Auto Show.

Here’s the skinny from Toyota’s Group VP Bob Carter, who introduced the car at the Detroit auto show:

• 50 mpg combined — the highest-mileage car sold in the U.S.
• Most aerodynamic production vehicle in the world, with a drag coefficient of .25
• Three driving modes: EV, economy, and power
• 0-60 in about 9 seconds (a noticeable improvement)
• Solar sun roof powers an interior cooling fan while the car is parked
• Sales start in late spring 2009 in the U.S. and Japan

See more images by yours truly on my Flickr page.

GM: To emphasize the company’s commitment to greener powertrain technology, the Volt led the GM parade. The much-hyped range-extended electric vehicle should be market-ready by the end of 2010. The Chevy Beat microcar concept will be produced worldwide as the Chevy Spark in 2011. The surprise of the conference was the all-electric Cadillac Converj concept (nice spelling, eh?) It’s based on the Voltech system, as the company is calling it, and should have a 40-mile range.

Lexus: Toyota’s luxury arm debuted a dedicated hybrid, the HS 250 h. The “entry-level luxury vehicle” has plant-based eco-plastics, according to Lexus, throughout the interior, which is 30% recyclable. The car overall is 85% recyclable, including the batteries. It’ll be on sale in late summer 2009, but no price was announced yet.

Ford: Ford was all about its new EcoBoost engine, which is an option for the Flex right now and will be available on 90% of Ford vehicles by 2013. Bill Ford Jr. announced plans to bring four new high-mileage battery vehicles to the market by 2012, declaring it “not a test program,” but a business strategy.

Chrysler: Chrysler execs were grateful for the government bailout and weren’t afraid to show it. They brought their GEM low-power electric vehicles, plus the three ENVI electric prototypes they debuted in 2008. They also brought the new Patriot EV (the second Jeep to get the EV treatment) and the Chrysler 200c EV concept, which is packed with more hi-tech bits than an iPhone.

Bentley: The high-luxury car maker made available its corporate plans to move to flex fuels in its massive sedans and convertibles. It also announced a new biofuel car that would debut in Geneva this March. Oh, and they brought champagne. Yum.

Mini: Mini brought its E electric car and talked about its program to get a fleet of 500 test cars in Los Angeles and New York City, and it debuted a new convertible that is more fuel efficient and emits less carbon dioxide than the previous model.

That’s all for now. More press conferences tomorrow, including a new plug-in hybrid sports car concept from Fisker.