When the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show opens later this month, Mitsubishi will have 16 vehicles on display, including to new electric vehicle concepts. Of the remaining 14 Mitsubishis at the show, 10 are current production models that qualify for eco-tax deductions in Japan. That leaves four gas-guzzling, carbon-spewing vehicles.

But, to go back to the future, let’s take a look at the Mitsubishi PX-MiEV and i-MiEV Cargo:

Mitsubishi PX-MiEV

• Plug-in hybrid system
• 115 mpg
• Super All-Wheel Control and Electric-Powered Active Yaw Control for better performance
• Two motors, one at each axle
• Smart-grid ready

Mitsubishi i-MiEV Cargo

• Adds rear space to the current i-MiEV microcar
• Cube-shaped luggage space with a flat floor for maximum usable space
• Overall height rises to just over 6 feet

Images courtesy of Mitsubishi Motors.

It may cramp Superman’s quick-changing style, but the phone booths in Madrid weren’t fully enclosed anyway, making them even easier to adapt for charging. Nothing’s official yet, but it would be a sweet spot monetarily and ecologically if Madrid can repurpose its existing infrastructure for new technologies.

Like a lot of automakers in the past year, Think had to file for bankruptcy protection in its native Norway. But now the little company has emerged from the bankruptcy tar pit ready to build electric cars for the masses. Production is set to resume “as soon as possible,” according to the company’s CEO, and customers can expect to take deliveries in early 2010.

The Th!nk City (as the company prefers to spell its name) will be the first small electric vehicle to earn safety approval across Europe. Rumor has it that the car will reach American shores next year, too. Here’s what you can expect:

• Range of over 100 miles
• Top speed of about 60 mph
• Dual airbags
• Inertia OFF switch to cut power in case of an accident
• Sodium or lithium batteries

I wish I were a bookie, or knew how to put odds on events. Starting a betting pool on Tesla chairman Elon Musk’s plans for the company’s future would be fun. The company is seemingly doing pretty well, despite internal disputes, lawsuits, changes at the top, and who knows what all. Musk keeps on keeping on, though. Tesla’s got a deal with Daimler to help build electric smart cars, and Musk recently announced the addition of an SUV to Tesla’s future lineup and reiterated the company’s plans for an affordable sedan.

During an interview with PBS’s Charlie Rose last week, Musk said the sedan will sell for around $50,000, or half the current price of the Roadster, and be produced in much larger numbers. Like, 20,000 a year, compared to 1,000 for the Roadster this year. An electric SUV and a new, smaller, more affordable car will follow sometime in the future. But you can look for the Tesla S sedan in two years … or can you? Place your bets!

Image of the Tesla S courtesy of Tesla Motors.

What will Keio University do with all this electric power? Turn it into a public transportation project, of course. According to Popular Science, the school has signed a deal with Isuzu Motors and the local government to build a bus using the Ellica’s technology to shuttle passengers up to almost 100 miles per charge. The bus will likely be produced in 2011.

The company expects the EUV to do well with customers like farmers and winery owners who have have to tend acres of plants, though the EUV will probably go over well with recreational users who would prefer a lighter carbon footprint, too. It can even be used to round up livestock, though I doubt it will be the death knell of the traditional horseback cowboy.

Here are the specs for the first EUV from Barefoot, the Model One:

• 40-hp electric motor and lithium batteries
• 30 mph top speed
• 7-hour charge time
• Up to a 40-mile range, and as long as 8 hours of operation
• Four-wheel and two-wheel drive available
• Starts at $11,900

Baltimorians are so lucky. Lots of cool stuff is there, like director John Waters, television series “The Wire,” and now an electric car sharing service. AltCar operates similarly to widespread car-sharing venture ZipCar, but with a twist: all the cars in the AltCar fleet are zero-emissions battery-electric vehicles. Cars can be reserved through the AltCar web site.

The cars currently in the fleet are all neighborhood electric vehicles, or NEVs. The company calls them “city cars.” Whatever you call them, they can only travel on streets posted at 35 mph or below.  AltCar promises to bring highway-capable cars to the fleet in the next few months. It also anticipates adding plug-in hybrids to the fleet.

AltCar has a monthly membership fee of $25, with 15 hours of car sharing for $90. Insurance and parking fees are included, and there’s no gas involved. One charge gets you up to 120 miles, and a full recharge takes 8 hours. But a quick one-hour charge adds 25 miles or so of driving time.

Think said in a press release that it is talking to reps from eight states, including hard-hit Michigan, about where to build the plant. It’s also applied for loans from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program, but like any government process, it’s a slow one.

Green Car Advisor gave an update on the shaky process, due to Think’s filing for reorganization in Norway in late 2008. A spokesperson told Senior Editor John O’Dell that the company will press ahead with plans to build the cars in the U.S. whether or not its DoE loan goes through, and that it could be building demonstration and fleet cars here in limited numbers next year.

Swedes will soon be able to offset their guilt at supporting big agribusiness and cultural hegemony by charging their electric vehicles while they eat at McDonald’s.

The company is buying bright-yellow curbside charging stations with the red-and-gold arches logo for customers to use, though the system will be run by the national grid. Each charger supplies 230 volts, which is enough power to charge up one of the EVs currently on the market in under an hour.

The first McPowerstation, as I’m sure they are not called, will be installed in the next few months. No word on how much — or if — customers will pay for the electrons fueling their cars.

With claims like that, I was a bit suspicious. Now that green cars and alternative fuels are in the public eye, we have to watch out for outrageous claims from companies that seem unlikely to deliver. I mean, the Tesla Roadster gets 244 miles per charge from its Li-ion batteries, more than almost any EV out there right now, and look how long its taken to get those cars on the road–with a placeholder transmission, no less.

My radar really went up when I noticed that the company wanted to save consumers from “ever flocculating gas prices.” Further investigation turned up a web site URL that didn’t go anywhere and an email address that bounced back when I asked for more information.

So keep your skeptic hats on, readers. Many fantastic-sounding breakthroughs are real (remember when veggie diesel was funny? Now it’s a booming business), but if it sounds downright miraculous, do a little research before you repeat it as gospel. And if you see anything that makes you cock an eyebrow and say, “Really?” pass it on to me in the comments. I’d be happy to look into it and share what I find.