Today, Toyota and Isuzu announced a collaboration which will be made possible by the former purchasing a 5.9 percent stake (100 million shares) in the latter. The two companies said in a public statement that the deal will allow them to work together in the research and development in three areas of green car technology. According to Automotive News (subscription required), Isuzu will take the lead in the development of small diesel engines and diesel emissions control while Toyota spearheads alternative-fuel drivetrains and environmental technologies for gas engines.

It seems as though most of the industry can't help but see an impending omen in the announcement. Just seven months ago, GM sold off the entirety of its stake (7.9 percent) in Isuzu in an effort to focus on falling profits in North America. And now, as Toyota makes one of GM's old alliances its own, the Japanese giant also gears up in an attempt to overtake GM as the world's number one automaker.

There's currently no word on the price of the deal, but it should hover somewhere around $354 million. "You have my word on it."

[Source: Associated Press via International Herald Tribune]

Mitsubishi's annoucement of the "i MiEV" electric vehicle based on their "i" minicar has so far caused a bit of a stir. First, Automotive News reported that the car would be headed for the States. Then CNN said that the report was incorrect. Then, in a new article on Monday, AutoWeek, a sister publication of Automotive News, stated that Mitsubishi was still planning to bring the electric car to North America.

In all the confusion, we contacted Dan Irvin, director of corporate communications and public relations for Mitsubishi Motors North America, ourselves to get an official confirmation. In his response, Mr. Irvin said, "There is no current plan to bring an electric vehicle to the United States. MMC in Tokyo has clarified this point with Mr. Treece, the author of the article that you reference... Thanks for checking with us."

That aside, the development of the "i MiEV" is still moving forward. The rest of AutoWeek's article from Monday reports that Mitsubishi has abandoned the four in-wheel motors for a single motor which will power the two rear wheels. The reasons for this come down to conversion cost as the more traditional layout requires fewer modifications. Supposedly, the only major change to the "i" minicar's chassis comes in the form of reinforcing the rear cross member to support the weight of the batteries and motor.

As for timetables, Mitsubishi forsees a relatively quick development process. Next month, they'll begin joint research on the car with three Japanese electric utility companies. Currently, the EV gets an 80-mile range from its 330-volt lithium-ion batteries which provide 16 kilowatt-hours of energy. By the fall of 2007, the company hopes to supply five utilities with several dozen test-fleet cars that are capable of a 100-mile range using a 20-kwh power supply.

[Source: AutoWeek / Mitsubishi Motors North America]

According to AutoWeek, Automotive News has reported that Ford will introduce North America's first light-duty diesel truck in either 2008 or 2009. The confirmation came from Ford's former vice-president of manufacturing for the Americas, Dave Szczupak,who retired last week.

According to the former executive, the F-150 is slated to get a cleaner version of the 3.6 liter V-8 diesel engine used in the European model Range Rover that was developed in conjunction with PSA Peugeot Citroen. The British-market SUV generates 267 horses and 472 lb-ft of torque while sipping fuel at a rate of just 25 mpg.

Szczupak said that two major tasks lie ahead for Ford diesel engineers to get the engine U.S.-certified. First of all, components must be redesigned to generate a cleaner combustion inside the cylinder. Secondly, the diesel team must choose an effective yet affordable emissions system whether it include a lean NOx trap or urea injection.

Other automakers are progressing with efforts to enter the light-duty diesel truck segment, however, none are situated as well as Ford to introduce the first vehicle. Toyota and Nissan are working to get diesel engines inside their Tundra and Titan, respectively, however, neither company has announced a deal with an engine supplier. As for the domestics, 2010 seems to be the magic year. Dodge is expected to receive V-6 and V-8 diesel engines from Cummins at that time while GM announced it would produce a small V-8 diesel truck engine just after.

[Source: Automotive News via AutoWeek]

Last Monday, Sam pointed us to an Automotive News article reporting that Mitsubishi president Osamu Masuko announced that the automaker would begin selling electric cars in the U.S. However, in a request for comment, CNNMoney.com received an email response from Mitsubishi spokesman Dan Irvin saying that the report was incorrect. It said, "Please note that contrary to the Automotive News story of earlier this week, there is currently no plan to sell this car in the U.S."

Automotive News' report also stated that a possible hybrid version of the car may hit U.S. shores in the short-term. Irvin's response made no mention of the hybrid.

Related:

• Mitsubishi to sell electric car in the U.S.
• Mitsubishi Motors builds new research EV, "i MiEV" for joint research with power companies

[Source: CNN, Thanks for the tip David]