EVs present at Newcastle low carbon congress

The Baltic centre for contemporary art hosts the first Green Vehicle Congress this week.

Only a week after the announcement that the Nissan plant in Sunderland would be manufacturing Nissan's new EV the Leaf, the Baltic gallery and Gateshead will be hosting a conference on green vehicles, focusing on EVs, hydrogen vehicles and hybrids. Visitors will be arriving from all over the world, from as far away as Japan, Korea and the USA.

Tarmac stumbled across the conference today and was able to grab some photos of the alternative-fuel vehicles on display.

The congress has been organised by Cenex, the UK’s Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell Technologies.

Hot on the heels of the announcement that the North East of England will be building Nissan's new EV and benefiting from over a thousand new re-charging points, the conference will discuss the importance of alternative fuels and low carbon transport.

More information is available here.

(All images ©Tarmac 2010)

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR 2005

The Lancer Evolution (colloquially known as the "EVO") is Mitsubishi's flagship sports car. Based only on the unibody of the domesticated Lancer sedan, the Evo is a rally inspired, turbocharged, all wheel drive, durable, and finely tuned automobile. The number designation of the model is most commonly a roman numeral. Evolution models prior to version V were the officially approved models for Mitsubishi's efforts in the World Rally Championship's Group A class and SCCA Pro Rally Championship. In order to follow these rules, the Evolution is based on the same platform as the Lancer. However, it is much more powerful than the Lancer, with the unibody being the only major part in common between the two. Nine street versions of the Evolution have been produced from 1993 up to today. Evolution versions VI, VII, VIII and IX did not need to meet WRC homologation requirements.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation to Premiere All-new ASX Compact Crossover at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show

TOKYO, January 19th, 2010 — Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) will premiere its ASX all-new compact crossover from Tuesday March 2, 2010 to Sunday March 14, 2010 at the 80th Geneva International Motor Show held at the Geneva Palexpo in Switzerland.

The ASX is the European-spec version of the Japanese RVR, which is slated to go on sale in Japan from February 2010. MMC's new compact crossover will seat 5 and will be sequentially introduced in European countries from late spring 2010, aimed at expanding MMC's passenger car footprint in the region, following in the footsteps of the larger and recently redesigned Outlander mid-size crossover.

TOKYO, January 19th, 2010 — Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) will premiere its ASX all-new compact crossover from Tuesday March 2, 2010 to Sunday March 14, 2010 at the 80th Geneva International Motor Show held at the Geneva Palexpo in Switzerland.

The ASX is the European-spec version of the Japanese RVR, which is slated to go on sale in Japan from February 2010. MMC's new compact crossover will seat 5 and will be sequentially introduced in European countries from late spring 2010, aimed at expanding MMC's passenger car footprint in the region, following in the footsteps of the larger and recently redesigned Outlander mid-size crossover.



Amongst other available powertrains, the European-spec version will be fitted with an all-new Euro 5-compliant 1.8L turbocharged direct-injection diesel engine jointly developed by MMC and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and will feature "Automatic Stop & Go" technology. Together with a 6-speed manual transmission, this combination will provide high environmental efficiency.

Source: Mitsubishi

Abandoned fuel stations to go electric?

A plan to keep the increasing number of electric cars available buzzing along the streets has been revealed by US firm Evoasis.


The San Diego based company has announced that they have plans to turn disused fuel stations, both in the UK and elsewhere, into electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The plan is known as R2G (Red 2 Green), the name coming from London's red buses and tube routes, with green being fairly self-explanatory. The best news is that rather than standing outside in the cold watching your bank balance decrease, EV owners will be able to go inside, watch films and download music and TV in a lounge area. Charges are expected to take around 20 minutes, as this is the typical time for a "fast charge" in many EVs.

The other benefit to the system is that while your EV is plugged in, Evoasis want to offer diagnostics and battery tests, as well as the ability to download content for your in-car entertainment.


The first stations are due to be rolled out this Autumn, likely starting with major locations in London such as Euston or Waterloo station, with others following. This should follow hot on the heels of cars such as the new Mitsubishi iMiev which is due in the Summer, and benefit drivers of cars like the THiNK and NICE which are already becoming popular.

Images ©Evoasis via AutoExpress