What is it?
The R1e is Subaru's electric city-car project. Subaru says that the small lithium-ion battery pack of the R1e will need only five minutes to recharge for a single day's commuting needs.
What's notable?
Both of Subaru's concept cars at the Detroit Auto Show-the R1e and B5-TPH-rely heavily on emerging lithium-ion battery technologies. Aging, failure, and overheating are still major concerns for lithium-ion batteries, but Subaru's wager may pay off. The technology is rapidly advancing, and the use of these batteries in automobiles is now more of a probability than a possibility.
