Mitsubishi Straightline Archives

Call me crazy, but as neat as this Mitsubishi i-MiEV Evolution is -- and with three motors it's kind of neat -- I think I'd prefer to watch the conventionally powered Lancer Evolution race pikes peak.

Like the Lancer Evolution, the road-going  Mitsubishi i-MiEV has one motor. For racing duty, that number has been tripled and the car goes from rear-drive to all-wheel drive. Combined, the three motors produce 240 kW (322 horsepower) directly to the 245/40R18 tires. The standard i-MiEV rides on super skinny 145/65R15 tires up front and 175/60R15 out back and only produces 49 kW (66 hp).

Mitsubishi team manager Hiroshi Masuoka will drive the racecar while Beccy Gordon -- sister of Robby -- will "race" a production i-MiEV up the hill. Fingers crossed Mitsubishi posts the range before and after.

Categories: Electric Vehicles,Mitsubishi,Motorsports

Certain manufacturers love the idea of getting cozy with the youth market. They chase teens and twenty-somethings by turning out models with trick sound systems and loads of customization options, with the thinking being that the younger buyer can be defined by his love for a great stereo and a highly personalized ride. 

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Categories: Dodge,Honda,Jeep,Kia,MINI,Mazda,Mitsubishi,Nissan,Subaru,Volkswagen

Mitsubishi released the all new, 7-seat Outlander at the 2012 Mitsubishi Outlander. It's very...sensible. And it will come as a plug-in hybrid!

Alistair's also got some information on the Evo XI in the video after the jump.

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Categories: Crossovers,Geneva Motor Show,Mitsubishi,Videos

First off, we promise to get at least one, possibly two, of these for our long-term fleet. Second of all, this is the third-generation Mitsubishi Outlander, which debuted here in Geneva. It launches this summer in Russia, at the end of the summer in the rest of Europe, and sometime a bit later than that in North America... we're guessing 2013.

Wheelbase and overall length, width and height haven't changed on this revamped Outlander, but the bodywork is obviously new and comes pretty much directly from the PX-MiEV crossover concept shown at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show. That concept was a plug-in hybrid, and sure enough, Mitsu will launch a PHEV version of the Outlander first in Japan before the end of this year, then in Europe in 2013, and then, well, we'll see.

Exactly which drivetrain Mitsubishi would use in a U.S.-spec Outlander is unclear. The base drivetrain in Europe involves the 148-hp, 2.0-liter four-cylinder and CVT used in our small Outlander Sport, but we can't see the automaker offering that in the U.S. Most likely, the larger-displacement 2.4-liter version of that engine will return, probably with a CVT, and we won't love that. Both of our Outlander long-termers used a 3.0-liter V6, which offered good performance (apart from the sometimes uncooperative six-speed automatic that went with it), but that's an old, thirsty engine that doesn't fit with Mitsu's new focus on fuel economy.

Aside from that issue, Mitsubishi has addressed several of our gripes about the current model...

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Categories: Crossovers,Geneva Motor Show,Mitsubishi,SUVs

In March, Mitsubishi is set to do something they've never done before: Debut a new car in Europe. That's right, at this year's Geneva Motor Show, Mitsubishi will not just be in attendance hoping to catch a glimpse of Lapo Elkann patroling the uber-stylish show, they will be showing off the all new...well, whatever this concept turns out to be.

And whatever it turns out to be will be the first car in Mitsubishi's "Jump 2013" business plan for a "greener and more global Mitsubishi." This includes i-MiEV, 4N1 Clean diesels, Green Plastics and a PHEV. 

Not that we can tell any of that from this teaser. What we do know is that it features Mitsu's re-focused design language and is "envisaged as an open design concept, meant to be flexible enough to suit specific vehicle requirements whilst staging Mitsubishi's famous Three Diamond logo accordingly."

It sort of looks like a more masculine Forte which isn't a bad thing. We'll know more in Geneva.

Categories: Concept Vehicles,Geneva Motor Show,Mitsubishi

     
Sometimes merely getting there is not enough; you want to get there really, really quickly. After all, there's nothing like the thrill you get from a car that leaps off the line. 

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Categories: Chrysler,Dodge,Ford,Mitsubishi,Subaru

With all due respect to Kermit the frog, these days it's easier than ever to be green, at least when you're talking cars. The reason for this concerns choice: The selection of green transportation keeps growing by leaps and bounds, and buyers have their pick of several pretty satisfactory options. 

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Categories: Ford,Mitsubishi,Tesla Motors

When you're driving through inches and inches of snow, assistance can be useful, and all-wheel drive provides exactly that. This system sends power to all four wheels, providing traction that can mean the difference between an uneventful ride home and getting stuck in the sludge. 

All-wheel drive can be useful on clear pavement at well, as it can serve to improve traction in corners. If you're thinking sedans, you'll be happy to know that there are choices on the market that are both snow-friendly and a blast to drive. 

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Categories: Audi,BMW,Infiniti,Mitsubishi,Porsche,Subaru

To house a hybrid powertrain as comprehensive as that found in the Mitsubishi Concept PX-MiEV II, you need something as sizable as, er, the Mitsubishi Concept PX-MiEV II. This five-passenger plug-in hybrid SUV concept made its debut here in Tokyo. It's a prelude to a similar vehicle that will, according to Mitsubishi boss Masuko, be introduced "sometime in the 2012 fiscal year."

So, really, the Concept PX-MiEV II is just an incidental wrapper for the hybrid propulsion bits that will probably end up in the Outlander. That fancy hybrid system works like this. Hit the jump.

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Categories: Car Tech,Concept Vehicles,Crossovers,Future Vehicles,Green Tech,Hybrids,Mitsubishi,SUVs,Tokyo Motor Show

  Good News, everyone! The finalsts for the 2012 Green Car of the Year have finally been announced! 

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Categories: Ford,Honda,Mitsubishi,Toyota,Volkswagen

 "We will start work on the project next year, and it will be ready within three. I have set the goal of developing a sporting car featuring electric power." -- Osamu Masuko, President of Mitsubishi Motors.

This latest batch of Evo XI hybrid news comes, like the rest, from Britains Autocar magazine. Masuko was thin on details on the new project, which we'd fully expec't from a product just entering the development phase, but Autocar is still expecting the hybrid Evo to be a diesel.

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Categories: Diesels,Future Vehicles,Hybrids,Mitsubishi

Dear Mitsubishi,

The illustration above (Mark's handiwork) is all you need to do to in terms of style to bring the Nissan Fuga-based Mitsubishi flagship to the Japanese market.

Oh, I suppose you could take the Nissan logo off the wheels, too. Your call.

-mike

This new flagship Mitsubishi sedan will be the first big Mitsubishi sedan since the slow-selling Diamante and is part of a deal that will send a version of Mitsubishi's Minicab-MiEV to Nissan and an NV200 variant from Nissan to Mitsubishi.

While we can probably do without this particular car, a Mitsubishi-badged G37x with a couple of turbos and a GSX badge is a really nice daydream.

Categories: Mitsubishi,Nissan

We tend to give auction cars a bit of a pass when they're for charity. See: Kiss Minis, that Freddie Mercury/Lotus thing. It's a flaw. We're just too good hearted.But auctioning off the last Mitsubishi Eclipse to benefit the Japan Red Cross? It's not that the Eclipse is a cheap car, especially not in 265-horsepower GT trim where it rings up at a slightly shocking $29,089, it's just that, uhm, who's going to buy it?

This particular Eclipse, though a 2012 Eclipse SE V6 ($24,699), is special, see; it's the last one to roll off the line after 22 years of Eclipse production. It's also coming in a special Kalapana Black, because when Mitsubishi opened up a Facebook poll to decide the color -- between ANY historic Eclipse color -- why wouldn't you vote for a no-cost paint option currently available? It's also got 18 inch wheels, sunroof, leather, Rockford Fosgate 9-speaker stereo, rear-view camear and HIDs. Oh, and it's also the ONLY one to have the SE package and the V6. Which means that it doesn't get the GT's brakes or suspension, but hey, the rocker panel graphics match the wheels and the mirrors are black.

The auction takes place at the Mecum St. Charles, IL Auction on Sept 15-18. The Eclipse will be sold at 1:55pm on Saturday, get your bids in fast. There's no auction estimate, we'll see if it ends up higher than simply pushing the Eclipse into that lake and claiming the insurance on it. Though that probably violates the spirit of charity (and US law) or something like that.

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Categories: Car Auctions,Mitsubishi

 Mitsubishi thinks that they've just cleared the deepest part of the sales valley. In 2007, the automaker responsible for the Eclipse, 3000GT and the EVO sold 127,993 vehicles -- the last time they went over 100,000. In 2010 they sold a disasterous 55,683, a number that's already been eclipsed for 2011. "We are quickly recovering from the bottom years of 2009 and 2010. We want to be getting back as quickly as possible to 100,000 units in a few years." said Yoichi Yakozawa, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors North America.

And helping them get there will be the new Mitsubishi Lancer SE. The Lancer SE will be the least-expensive model in Mitsubishi's lineup with all wheel drive. Though at $20,000, it will be more expensive than the Subaru Impreza and the Suzuki SX4 and on par with a base Legacy.

It's a solid move as AWD is getting more and more popular in the U.S. with analysts estimating that 30% of all cars sold in the U.S. will be AWD by 2013, but is it too late for this Lancer?

(Automotive News)

Categories: Future Vehicles,Mitsubishi

Perhaps the biggest news here is that the Mitsubishi Eclipse ad Endeavor are still in production, though, not for long. 

The automaker announced that Eclipse, Eclipse Spyder and Endeavor production would cease at the company's Normal, Ill plant. Gallant production, however, will continue at the facility and Outlander production is scheduled to ramp up in Ill. 

In our "What's New" for 2011 feature, we noted that the 2011 Mitsubishi Eclipse would soldier on with reduced ride height (half an inch), a blacked-out roof, standard alloy wheels on the GS and standard heated leather on the GS sport. How could that fail?

The Endeavor, too, got some new features for 2011, like standard Nav and Sunroof on SE models.

Mitsubishi is currently sitting on a 180-day supply of the Eclipse, and a 23 day supply of the Endeavor (which I'm seeing more and more of lately with dealer plates.)

So: Should we mourn or be happy that they're finally gone after a long battle with relevance?

( Auto News)

Categories: Auto Industry,Mitsubishi

Insofar as rumors go, this is a good one. Autocar, who you'll remember started this whole kerfuffle, has some new information from Mitsubishi on the exaggerated death of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

First, the reasonable: Mitsubishi President and CEO, Osamu Masuko, has said that "Production of the current Lancer Evolution X continues as planned. As for its successor, regulations and market feedback will dictate its engineering package and architecture." Which has been the company line all along.

He concludes, “The new direction, the technologies involved, and corresponding products will be disclosed in due course.”

And then Autocar goes all crazy...

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Categories: Diesels,Hybrids,Mitsubishi,Sedans,Sports Cars

"Mitsubishi, Keep the Evo Alive
Mitsubishi wants to discontinue or desecrate the Evolution. Let's show the company how many people disagree with its plan." 

The rumors of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution's demise may or may not have been exaggerated, but the company sure isn't doing anything to make the fans feel any better. There are always reasons for sports / muscle car fans to be afraid, but right now, those closely bonded with the Lancer Evolution see an immediate threat.

And so, they've responded by creating a group on Causes.com, Mitsubishi, Keep the Evo Alive.

"We don't want a hybrid Evo or larger vehicle with another name that uses a similar 4WD system - the current recipe of the Evolution is what we need. If you agree, please join our cause."

They have 671 members so far and are looking for more. Check 'em out here.

Think it'll work? (Our odds 671:1 against)

Categories: Mitsubishi

  You're going to be shocked to hear this, but a Dodge Neon SRT-4 and a Mitsubishi Lancer, were involved in some illegal street racing on New York's Long Island Expressway. Even more shocking, the drivers were men in their early 20s.

The pair exited the LIE after being clocked at over 140 MPH and promptly crashed -- one into a gas station (pictured) and one into a Hooters ( unfortunately not pictured). And then they were promptly arrested. A passenger (a passenger?! If my buddy was driving and pulled this stunt I'd have to punch him until he stopped or crashed into something nicer than a hooters) was injured upon impact with the Hooters, but no other injuries were reported.

( NY Daily News )

Categories: Dodge,Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi isn't taking this whole "Lancer Evolution is dead after 2013" thing lying down. Recent Facebook posts and emails with Inside Line show that the company is at least sitting up a little to fight the rumor.

Via FB: "Further to some comments published in the press recently, production of the current Lancer Evolution continues as planned. As for its successor, regulations and market feedback will dictate its engineering package & architecture. Stay tuned"

And our emails to the company were returned with an official statement...

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Categories: Auto Industry,Mitsubishi

AutoCar UK is reporting today that Mitsubishi is killing the Lancer Evolution -- a blow to its image which will be hard to overcome. Although the rumor remains unconfirmed by the company's U.S. PR team, there's little financial reason to keep it around.

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Categories: Mitsubishi