Sometimes a tiny nugget of information with sizable implications can slip by in the truckloads of news we sift through everyday. Just yesterday, for instance, there was a small mention in the China Real News of an "high-speed Hafei Saibao electric car" passing an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) crash test. Big deal, right? Well, yes and no. A little digging helped us uncover that the test wasn't actually conducted by the IIHS but rather by the China National Quality Control & Inspection Center for Automobiles and was meant to replicate the IIHS 40 percent frontal offset impact. Still no biggie until you realize that this car also very likely goes by the name of XS500 and that Miles Electric Vehicles is planning on selling it in the U.S. sometime next year. One of the worries about importing cars from China has been their past crash test performance (or lack thereof) and this test offers some insight into how well the XS500 may do when it comes time for its testing over here.

So, how did it fare? After a little more digging we found out it did quite well. After hitting the barrier at 40 mph, the injuries to the crash dummy were "lower than standard limited values" (We're pretty sure that's good). All the expensive stuff, including the lithium ion batteries, motor and controller survived intact and were still operable as well. There was no mention made of any side impact or other tests which vehicles must pass to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and although Miles declined to comment on the progress of their testing, this small tidbit does offer up some hope that their XS500 may indeed make it to the American market.

[Source: EV World / China Real News]

In an interview by Industry Standard, Miles Automotive CEO Jeff Boyd said the all-electric X500 is "a little over a year" from release. Industry Standard asked what Boyd thought about competition from plug-in hybrids and he replied that he was not aware of any plug-in close to production. Boyd then added that, "We're a little over a year away, so we think we're maybe two or three years ahead of most plug-in hybrid vehicles." Someone should tell Boyd about the Saturn PHEV is scheduled for a release in 2010 late 2009. Miles Automotive has a variety of models in mind like a XS500-based crossover. Electric cars are no longer a fad, Boyd said, but a revolution.


[Source: Industry Standard]

The team at Miles Automotive has just taken a big step toward making their XS500 electric sedan a reality thanks to $15 million in new funding. Los Angeles-based Angeleno Group led the latest funding round for Miles. The XS500 is a highway-speed-capable battery electric sedan that Miles is developing for production in China and sales in the U.S. and Europe. Recently, Miles has been doing a lot of re-engineeriffng of the XS500 which has led to some questions as to whether they can actually deliver a car with the specifications that they have quoted at a $30,000-35,000 price point. Considering that no one else has yet managed to build a car like this, the XS500 could be quite an achievement.

[Source: GreenCarAdvisor]

If you're in the market for an electric vehicle and you want to check out specs and see what's available, Miles Automotive has launched an all new site. The new virtual showroom has pics and specs on their current lineup of low-speed neighborhood electric vehicles and their upcoming XS500 full-speed sedan. The XS500 will be a Chinese-built, battery-powered, five-passenger sedan that is supposed to sell for an affordable price. If their manufacturing partner can do a better job of meeting US safety standards than most other Chinese companies have done, this could be an important entrant in the market. If not, what you're looking at here is just more vapor.

[Source: Miles Automotive, thanks to Andrew for the tip]

Remember the presentation that Miles Rubin gave at the EDTA last November on the semi-secretive car his company, Miles Automotive, would bring to the 2007 LA Auto Show? (If not, read about it here). It's time to update the story.

I certainly didn't expect to find any new alternative fueled vehicles while roaming through the AFVI Expo hall today. This isn't the type of show where new cars are announced. And, technically, the all-new Javlon XS500 I discovered at the Miles booth isn't exactly being announced. It's clear that Miles Automotive is doing a soft roll-out of their WhiteStar challenger: an all-electric, five-seat sedan with an 85 mph top speed and a 150+ mile range. Oh, and the base model starts at $29,500.

I cornered Chris Buehrer of Miles Automotive on the showroom floor. He was forthcoming on some points, less so on others (like who's making the XS500's 320 V, 25 kWh, 80 Ah lithium-ion batteries that take six hours to charge). You can probably tell from the interview that I was much more impressed to see the chassis in the metal - it's an original design by Pininfarina - than I was of Rubin's talk last November. For now, please give Chris a listen for many, many details on the Javlon (MP3). We'll have a transcript of this up shortly. (UPDATE: Here it is).



Related:

• EDTA Conference: Miles Automotive chairman previews 2007 LA Auto Show
• Want to become a Miles Automotive Dealer? You'll need to buy a 45-day supply of EVs