This week at the New York Auto Show Mitsubishi made the announcement that they would assist in building a state-wide charging network for electric cars in Oregon.

Mitsubishi Motors North America CEO Shinichi Kurihara announced the commitment the same morning that it was announced that the Mitsubishi iMiEV would be coming to the United States.

Mitsubishi’s contribution will come in the form of input to state while it builds the electric vehicle charging stations.

This makes the second partnership for the state of Oregon’s EV charging station project. Nissan was in Portland last Monday with a prototype of a 2010 electric car which is expected to be sold this year.

At the New York Auto Show this morning, the Honda FCX Clarity was named the World Green Car.

The list of 22 candidates was made of cars which had at least 10 produced and were either being driven by owners or were operating in test fleets. Among the top vote-getters along with Honda were the Toyota iQ and the Mitsubishi iMiEV.

The FCX Clarity is interestingly enough, a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. So that makes for a point for hydrogen vehicles in their eternal battle against electric and hybrid cards for the title of best choice for the future of automotive drive trains.

Where do you think the future lies? It’s a hot topic but we’d love to know where you stand on the battle between hyrdrogen vehicles and electric cars.

At a Mitsubishi press conference at the New York Auto show today, it was announced officially that the Mitsubishi iMiEV electric vehicle will be available for purchase in the US.

The iMiEV, which is proving to be a hit in test drives, has long been rumored to be coming to the US, but now it’s a fact. Although there is no exact date for release of the Mitsubishi iMiEV but it is expected before 2012.

Mitsubishi’s main hurtle for producing the iMiEV is whether or not GS Yuasa (the battery producer) can secure enough lithium for the lithium-ion batteries, although it should be noted that Mitsubishi production plans were recently increase to 20,000 iMiEV’s per year.

The iMiEV will (thankfully) get a new name when it comes to the States. We aren’t huge fans of the current acronym, which stands for Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle.

The tiny iMiEV boasts a 63-hp electric motor that can get it up to a top speed of 81 mph. Whiel it takes about seven hours to recharge the battery from 220-volt outlets or a whopping 14 hours, if using a 110-volt source. Fortunately there’s a three-phase ‘quick charger’ that can charge it to 80 percent capacity in about 30 minutes.

In a speech at the New York Auto Show, the head of Volkswagen, Stefan Jacoby, stated that they are considering bringing the Volkswagen Up! Microcar to the US.

“Up! could be in the future of the market here. In urban areas like New York, a car like Up! has a good chance.” Stated Jacoby.

VW expects to have the Up! ready for sale by 2012. While there have been no official announcements on which countries will be selling it first, the news about the US market does make it sound like the Up! could be cruising New York streets in three years.

Among the yet-to-be-announced facts about the Up! is what kind of drive train it will have. Nobody even knows if it will be an electric vehicle, gas powered, or a hybrid.

Currently still a prototype, an all-electric sports car, the Liv Inizio will make its debut at the 2009 New York auto show.

EV Innovations claims a 200-mile range for the Liv Inizio goes from 0 to 60 mph in a staggering 5 seconds and is the direct competitor to the Tesla Roadster. The Inizio will also have a traveling distance of 200 miles between charges.

Three hundred pounds lighter than the Tesla Roadster, the Liv Inizio is about 15 inches longer and 6 inches wider. Using a lithium ion battery pack, the Inizio has a recharging time of about 8 hours. Drivers can easily see information such as remaining range using a touch-screen LCD in the cabin.

We’re thinking this electric sports car is going to be a hit a the New York auto show.