Mitsubishi i-miev - Electric Production Car

Mitsubishi's 'i' city runabout transforms into the i MiEV for the electric version, and is an acronym for Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle. It retains the 5 door hatchback layout of the petrol engined version. Re-badged by Peugeot as the iOn and by Citroen as the C-Zero.


Powered by a 66HP - 133lb/ft permanent magnet electric motor, spinning at up to 8,000 RPM, the i-MiEV has a single speed transmission which takes it to a maximum speed of around 80MPH. Mitsubishi say the i-MiEV has a range of 93 miles, but as with all electric vehicles this can be affected by driving conditions, having lights on, radio, air-con or poor weather conditions.


The traction battery pack, located below the i-MiEV’s floor, consists of 88 lithium-ion 3.7V/50Ah cells connected in series to deliver 330V/16kWh, and powers the electric motor (via the inverter), air conditioning and cabin heater. Other devices are powered by a conventional 12V auxiliary battery, charged by the traction battery via a DC-DC converter integrated with the on-board charger. Safety features include a cell monitoring device, electrical leakage detector and a very strong protective casing. Regenerative braking is included to help top up the battery when going downhill or braking. A full re-charge should take 7 hours from a household supply.


The i-MiEV has it's heavy battery pack placed low down in the car to aid handling with a low centre of gravity. 


In Japan Mitsubishi have taken the unusual step of configuring the i-MiEV to power hosehold electrical goods in an emergency.

Wrightspeed X1 - Prototype Electric Car

Ian Wright and his Wrightspeed organisation converted  an Aerial Atom to electric power to show off their EV technologies, Wrightspeed's usual day-to-day business is producing an advanced Hybrid drive train which retro-fit's to Trucks. Electric Motors and a clever software controlled 2 speed gearbox system allied to micro-turbine generators make for an extremely lightweight and fuel-efficient range extended electric vehicle.

The X1 may not have the company's range-extending capabilities but it does have raw speed on it's side, depending on gearing and configuration the X1 is capable of 0-60 MPH in around 3 seconds and with massive amounts of torque available from virtually a standstill, can out accelerate most conventionally powered vehicles.

Fuel consumption comes in at about 170 MPG-e and depending on gearing it has a top speed around the 100 MPH mark.  

How Outsourcing to China will "Bring it Home"

Mei (name changed) is a Chinese factory worker who makes toys sold overseas. She works 12 hours except on Saturday when she is permitted to only work six hours. She lives in a small flat with her husband and one child. She was pregnant with a second but the local authorities forced her to have an abortion. For two years she managed raising their living child alone, because her husband was being detained under suspicion of having ties to a certain religion. This is not Hollywood, this is nothing remarkable, this is common people's life.. in mainland China.

The phenomenon of outsourcing to China took on a complete new dimension in the USA, with the sudden success of what some consider the single largest retail scandal in American history - Wal*Mart. According to the PBS documentary STORE WARS: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town:

Made in the U.S.A? Despite a well-publicized "Made in the U.S.A." campaign, 85 percent of the stores' items are made overseas, often in Third World sweatshops. In fact, only after Wal-Mart's "Buy American" ad campaign was in full swing did the company become the country's largest importer of Chinese goods in any industry. By taking its orders abroad, Wal-Mart has forced many U.S. manufacturers out of business.

(note the above recording of Wal-Mart's 1992 television ad "Bring it Home to the USA" was removed from YouTube several weeks after this article was published)

Most Americans never saw past the red-white-and-blue logo of this seemingly phony patriotism. Wal*Mart stock price skyrocketed with its success. Wal*Mart would ultimately get away with "selling the American economy" to Chinese elite on an unprecedented scale. Other retailers - by choice or by necessity - also increased Chinese imports. The Chinese elite came to understand that a great weakness of their western counterparts was the overwhelming self-centeredness of some. And as Wal*Mart showed everyone, you only need some. Convince one to outsource - two more follow. Others resist, but as their own products loose markets to cheaper competition, they too are soon forced to follow suit in a massive avalanche of outsourcing. This flood of new low-cost, low-quality product to store shelves also fostered a new "use up and throw away" mentality in people, which produces more waste and garbage.

But it gets worse. In early 2009 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a collateral agreement in Beijing which grants China the right to claim Eminent Domain of LAND within the USA as security for all the debt this has helped cause. America has now quite literally - and quietly - mortgaged itself to China, and most people living there don't even know. Americans can partly thank their local Wal-Mart - after all - "They Care", as their carts say. All of this for the everyday low price of cheap tube socks and $2 a day paid in sweat shops that nobody else had to look at. So, for those who want to move to China, there is good news. We just keep outsourcing to China, and China will be brought to us.

Press Release: The Open Design Alliance (ODA) today announced the availability of a new enhancement request system

Phoenix, AZ, October 26, 2009 – The Open Design Alliance (ODA) today announced the availability of a new enhancement request system designed to improve communication between ODA Sustaining and Founding Members and ODA development.

As a member-driven organization, the ODA has consistently delivered technology that stems directly from the focus set by members through long-term development relationships and close communication. The newly implemented enhancement request system further strengthens the role of members within the organization by enabling them to enter and vote on new requests for ODA platform components, enhancements, and features. Members will also be able to collaborate on requests with each other and with ODA development.

ODA Chief Technical Officer Neil Peterson stated, “The ODA has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. As the size of our organization and the sophistication of our platform increases, we need to adopt infrastructure tools which are better suited to handling the increased communication load. The new enhancement request system will play a key role in future growth by providing an organized framework for expressing and prioritizing new ideas and development goals. It’s a strong addition to the membership infrastructure of the ODA.”

More information about the ODA and its members is available at http://www.opendesign.com/.