Gas 2.0

Mitsubishi PX-MiEV: A Plug-In Hybrid SUV That May Hit US Shores in 2013

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 02:52 PM PST

At the 2009 LA Auto Show, Mitsubishi’s President, Osamu Masuko, debuted the PX-MiEV concept in North America, saying the SUV “matches the needs of the North American market” and the company plans to “revamp the vehicle for release in North America by the year 2013.”

This year’s LA Auto Show is buzzing with real-life and concept hybrid and all-electric cars. But in the clean diesel corner, the crickets were chirping. Will Americans ever be ready for clean diesels?

This post originally appeared on the Popular Mechanics website. You can access the original post here. Written by David Kiley.

German automakers Volkswagen, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are selling their newest “clean” diesel vehicles nationally, including in California—home of the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show—a state that, historically, with its air pollution regulations, has been hostile to diesel cars.

But even the auto companies with umlauts on their computer keyboards are making plug-in electrics and hybrids a major part of their U.S. future. The Germans keep plugging away to make their case for diesel to Americans. At the same time, BMW showed a hybrid, and Audi showed its fully electric e-Tron Concept at the LA show.