At the 2009 Detroit Auto Show in January, Chrysler showcased its ENVI-program EVs, including the electric-orange Dodge Circuit. No definite dates were set for any of the range-extended electric vehicles, but buzz was high and Chrysler seemed close to ready to put at least one of them into production.

Last week, Chrysler and GM were required to file their restructuring plans with the government to receive the next round of cash. GreenCarReports.com found buried on page 135 a mention of an “EV roadster” to be produced in 2010 for the 2011 model year. The site extrapolates from this one word that the first EV from the embattled company won’t be the Lotus-bodied number they’ve parading all over town, but instead an open-topped car based on the 2007 Dodge Demon concept.

Of course, the “roadster” thing could have been a mistake, or just a typo. Really, though, if they can bring in an EV sports car at a decent price, would you care if it was a hard-top Lotus-derived body or a drop-top Miata-style mini monster?

Demon image courtesy of Chrysler. Circuit image by Kristen Hall-Geisler.

Fuel-efficient small cars like the Smart ForTwo and EVs like the Zap Xebra have a built-in cuteness due to their diminutive size. But the 2009 GEM Peapod acutally made me say, out loud, “Oh! They’re adorable.”

Like the Xebra, the Peapod is a neighborhood-electric vehicle, or NEV, so it can’t do highway speeds or ferry your family to Yellowstone for vacation (unless you live less than 30 miles from Yellowstone and have a very small family). Surprisingly, the Peapod is longer and taller than the Smart ForTwo, and even has rear seats. But the NEV’s top speed is 25 mph, where the gasoline-powered ForTwo can do a highway-capable 90 mph.

The Peapod comes from those eco-innovation lovers over at Chrysler’s ENVI outfit, the same folks who brought us the Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge EV designs in late September. The design of the latest little EV is completely new, unlike, say, the Jeep or the Town and Country minivan EVs, and features a lot of glass and a shape straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I’ve blogged about GEM before, back in the dark ages of EVs (early 2008). With the advent of the Peapod, though, the decade-old, North Dakota-based subsidiary of Chrysler got a new-ish name, GreenEcoMobility. Whatever they call themselves, this is a big improvement over GEM’s glorified golfcarts of old. And by old, I mean six months ago.