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The 100,000th EV sold in the US is... a Mitsubishi i-MiEV

The news here isn't that 100,000 EVs have been sold in the US, although that's quite the accomplishment. It's that the 100,000th car is a Mitsubishi i-MiEV - a car that takes nearly a full day to recharge on a standard outlet and can only travel about 62 miles per charge (according to the car's Monroney).
Jabs at the Mitsubishi aside, the fact that US dealers have moved 100,000 electric cars is made more impressive in that it's only been done since the latest generation of EVs arrived, typified by the Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus Electric and aforementioned i-MiEV. Chronologically, that means roughly the last two years. It's a number that we can only expect to climb, as EVs gain a stronger foothold among manufacturers and consumers.
Plug In America, an EV advocacy group, crunched the numbers for a contest called #PIA100K, to find the lucky buyer, who would be given a ClipperCreek Level 2 charger (which takes the i-MiEV's recharge time down to just seven hours). The winner, Rich Salmon of Grand Bay, Alabama, picked up his i-MiEV from Pete Moore Mitsubishi.

Automakers drop support for Trump effort against California emissions

WASHINGTON — Toyota, Fiat Chrysler (now known as Stellantis following its merger with Peugeot) and other major automakers said on Tuesday they were joining General Motors in abandoning support for former President Donald Trump's effort to bar California from setting its own zero emission vehicle rules. The automakers, which also included Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Mazda and Subaru, said in a joint statement they were withdrawing from an ongoing legal challenge to California's emission-setting powers, "in a gesture of good faith and to find a constructive path forward" with President Joe Biden. The automakers, along with the National Automobile Dealers Association, said they were aligned "with the Biden administrationÂ’s goals to achieve year-over-year improvements in fuel economy standards." Nissan in December withdrew from the challenge after GM's decision in November shocked the industry and won praise from Biden. On Monday, the Justice Department asked the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia to put the California emissions litigation on hold to "ensure due respect for the prerogative of the executive branch to reconsider the policy decisions of a prior administration." Biden has directed agencies to quickly reconsider TrumpÂ’s 2019 decision to revoke CaliforniaÂ’s authority to set its own auto tailpipe emissions standards and require rising numbers of zero-emission vehicles, as well as Trump's national fuel economy rollback. Asked to respond to the automakers' action, White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy said in a statement that "after four years of putting us in reverse, it is time to restart and build a sustainable future, grow domestic manufacturing, and deliver clean cars for America." California Governor Gavin Newsom praised the automakers on Twitter for "dropping your climate-denying, air-polluting, Trump-era lawsuit against CA" and urged them to join the voluntary framework. TALKS WITH BIDEN Separately, an industry trade group on Tuesday proposed to start talks with Biden on revised fuel economy standards that would be higher than Trump-era standards but lower than ones set during the prior Democratic administration. The Trump administration in March finalized a rollback of U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards to require 1.5% annual increases in efficiency through 2026, well below the 5% yearly boosts under the Obama administration rules it discarded.

The Mitsubishi GT-PHEV Concept offers an unsightly look into the automaker's future

It was only a few months ago that Mitsubishi teased the Grand Tourer Concept with an image of the SUV's side profile. Now that it's just a few weeks before the Paris Motor Show, Mitsubishi released some renderings of the GT-PHEV Concept that will influence the rest of the automaker's lineup for the future. Mitsubishi is touting the concept as a "high-end next-generation SUV." Styling may indeed be subjective, but the GT-PHEV Concept has a face that only a mother could love. There's a bit of Lexus-like hate-it-or-like-it in the fascia, and the rest of it looks similar to that of the eX Concept that was revealed last year. Both concepts have grille openings that resemble the letter X, three hexagonal fog lights on the sides, and tiny slivers for headlights. The side profile of the GT-PHEV Concept reminds us of a Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, which isn't such a bad thing. The back of the concept features a rakish design with thin wrap-around taillights that also look good. If you can get past the SUV's looks, you'll find comfort the GT-PHEV's powertrain to be an interesting look into the future. The concept features Mitsubishi's next-gen plug-in hybrid system, which is comprised of three electric motors (one in the front and two at the back), a regular internal combustion engine, and a high-capacity battery. The systems work together as a full-time four-wheel-drive system. On electric-only power, the GT-PHEV Concept can travel an estimated 75 miles, while the car's total range is roughly 746 miles. Mitsubishi claims the GT-PHEV Concept is a ground tourer capable of chewing away the miles with ease. And while the automaker didn't include any images of the vehicle's interior, Mitsubishi claims the concept has a cockpit-like interior that wraps around the front passengers. The interior leather color can also be found on the roof of the vehicle for a "classy" look. Mitsubishi continues to focus on SUVs and crossovers, but we doubt the automaker will put a vehicle that looks like the GT-PHEV Concept on the road. We think this concept is more for show, but it will probably be used as inspiration for the design of the next Mitsubishi Outlander. Here's hoping that face gets toned down some.