Japanese auto makers have been scrambling to assess the impact of the recent natural disasters on their supply chains, as North American production facilities face potential harm, as Japanese factories have begun suspending production in the face of a series of catastrophic events.

Toyota has suspended overtime production at their North American facilities, while Subaru announced that some 30 percent of their parts suppliers were affected. Automakers have closed their factories as part of a campaign to ease stress on the nation’s power grid. While many of the Japanese car companies built a significant portion of their vehicles in North America, the Toyota Prius and Honda’s entire hybrid lineup are built in Japan, and these vehicles will be critical for dealers if they wish to have a hedge against rising gas prices. Similarly, Ford procures much of their battery technology from Japan, and supplies could be compromised.

[Source: Automotive News]

Japan’s three largest automakers announced that they will donate $3.75 million each for earthquake relief. Honda says it will donate 1,000 power generators (a product made by the company) as well as 5,000 gas canisters, while Nissan is considering the donation of vehicles, provisions and medical supplies. Toyota also said that it is investigating such a move.

The three companies have all announced production stoppages of varying degrees, as have other Japanese automakers like Mazda, Subaru, Suzuki and Mitsubishi.

[Source: Carscoop]

Designing a single car for the entire world is a tough proposition. No matter how hard engineers strive towards a unified design, concessions must usually be made, particularly with regards to engine and gearbox choices. Other instances have called for variations in size to suit regional tastes.

While the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze are technically world cars, albeit with different powertrains for different markets, Mitsubishi is forging ahead with a much more ambitious world car project.

In an interview with Autocar magazine, Mitsubishi‘s global product director, Gayu Eusegi, said that the company was limiting regional changes to its not Global Small Car “colours and interior fabrics”, and that engine variations would only be carried out in the name of meeting emissions standards.

Mitsubishi is apparently planning on using 1.0L and 1.2L gasoline engines, with a start-stop system. While such small engines are the norm in most markets, they would be considered extremely undersized for North America. Mitsubishi also plans on offering hybrid and full electric versions of the car.

[Source: Autocar]

Japanese automakers Nissan and Mitsubishi today announced partnership that will see the two companies work together on a mini-car project. The joint venture brings together the struggling Mitsubishi Motors with the more successful Nissan brand.

As a part of the plan, Nissan has appointed its Senior Vice President Junichi Endo as CEO of the joint-venture, while Mitsubishi Motors Senior Executive Officer will be COO.

No details on the vehicle itself have been named, but a mini-car is likely to be smaller than the new Concept Global Small Car that Mitsubishi unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show last week.

Of note, Nissan recently had to scrap plans to deliver a vehicle for the Smart brand in North America after a corporate restructuring by Smart parent company Daimler brought development of that car to a halt.

Mitsubishi has been in the news quite a bit lately, mostly to do with the rumors that the Lancer Evolution is to be killed off by 2013. Those rumors also suggested that Mitsubishi will now focus their energy on hybrids and full-electric vehicles.

Now comes the news that Mitsubishi North America has a new President and CEO, to perhaps get things back on the right track. Yoichi Yokozawa will take the helm from Shinichi Kurihara as of April 1, 2011. Kurihara will be returning to Japan to continue working for the company.

Yokozawa is not new to the company either, having already served 13-years with Mitsubishi, which included heading the brands European board.

Yokozawa has worn many hats within Mitsubishi and we wish him all the best for the future. And Mr. Yokozawa if you’re listening, don’t kill off the Evo.

Press release after the jump:

Continue Reading…

The Mitsubishi Evo might be slated for the history books, but a few folks out there intend to send it off with a bang.

The team at GMG is currently prepping an Evo for the SCCA World Challenge Series, where it will compete in the new(ish) GTS class.

Just a few years ago World Challenge only had two levels of racing and as such the Evo was pegged into the top-tier GT category with cars like the Viper, making it unattractive to potential racing teams. Now, however, with the new GTS level, the Evo might just be the perfect balance of performance and grip to take on the Mustangs, Camaros, BMWs and Acuras of that class.

Registered under GMG, reports suggest the car will actually run under the Swisher Racing name, with GMG pilot and series veteran James Sofronas sticking to his Porsche in the GT class.

It’s not yet clear if the car will make its debut at the start of the series, March 15th in St. Petersburg

Considering the sad news around the demise of the Evo, it goes without saying that this is not a factory-backed effort.

A Landisville, Pennsylvania area car salesman turned himself in to police after a customer test drive of a Mitsubishi Lancer ended with a passenger’s death.

According to Lancaster Online, Michael D. Hershey was charged with homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence of a controlled substance, reckless endangerment and driving at an unsafe speed in the  death of Jon Christian “Chris” Jensen. Jensen had taken his son Tyler to look for cars, and the two were on a test drive with Hershey when the salesman instructed Tyler to pull over and let him drive. Tyler Jensen said that Hershey was driving recklessly at speeds of up to 90 mph, when he swerved to avoid hitting an oncoming truck and hit an embankment. Hershey and Chris Jensen were ejected from the car, with Jensen suffering horrific injures that mortally wounded him.

It later emerged that Hershey was intoxicated at the time of the crash and had previous convictions for vehicular offenses.

The Mitsubishi Evo series will not continue into its eleventh model, says Gayu Eusegi, global product director. He may as well have kidnapped Santa, in the minds of rally fans everywhere.

“There is still a demand,” says Eusegi, “but we must stop.” Why? Because, he says, Mitsubishi will concentrate on smaller and more environmentally-friendly cars such as the Global Small Concept, the supermini that will compete against the Toyota Aygo. In addition, Mitsubishi is going all out on EV technology by introducing eight full electric or hybrid cars by 2015.

By cutting out their motorsport heritage, Eusegi said that customers would find it “easier to understand” what Mitsubishi was about. The company pulled out of the World Rally Championship in 2005, anyway, and there’s no room for big-winged dirt heroes in their continuous quest for lowering CO2. And yes, that means no diesel Evo, either.

So prepare yourselves for the end of an era: no more Tommi Mäkinen editions, no FQ400 models with turbochargers the size of cantaloupes, and no more need for Ralliart other than a nifty tire and wheel package. At least Subaru fans will rejoice that they’ve “won” this battle with the STI, though they’ll come around to the realization that fevered competition is better than no competition at all.

[Source: Autocar]

If there’s one letter that represents Mitsubishi‘s new global small car concept, it’s not B, but ‘e’. While a B-Segment (or subcompact) car, Mitsubishi touts the vehicle’s “e-compact” characteristics, with the e standing for everything from efficiency, to engineering, to economies, to export, to electric.

The reason for those e-words is quite simple, with Mitsubishi engineering this new model to be flexible to all markets in the world, exporting it from a production facility in Thailand where it will make use of economies of scale as well as efficiencies in the production process to build this concept into a low cost, high value production model. And built it they will, with the Concept Global Small set to roll out in 2012.

Mitsubishi intends that the platform will be able to serve as a basic and cheap method of transportation in emerging markets, while doubling as a higher-content model for markets such as Japan, Europe and North America.

Measuring 12.2 feet long, the concept car has room for 5 and can be powered by either a 1.0-liter or 1.2-liter 3-cylinder gasoline engine, using start-stop technology and brake energy regeneration. And being that this is a Mitsubishi, look for an electric version to follow.

GALLERY: Mitsubishi Concept Global Small

Mitsubishi‘s American plant will transition from making less-than-thrilling cars like the Eclipse and Endeavor SUV to producing vehicles for the global market.

The transition will occur in 2014 as part of its new business plan. The vehicles will share a common platform with the Lancer compact car and Outlander crossover. Along with the Eclipse and Endeavor, the Galant mid-size sedan will also be axed.

Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko said that an onslaught of all-new product will be made available to replace the discontinued vehicles. Osamu was vague with details but said that the “global small car” previewed this month would make it, along with the fully electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which would inexplicably be called “i powered by MiEV” in America. In addition to the i-MiEV, Mitsubishi is hoping to launch 8 EVs or plug-in hybrids by 2016.

[Source: Automotive News]

The Mitsubishi Colt is one of the oldest nameplates in the compact car market, having been sold across the globe in fairly substantial numbers. While North Americans missed out on the previous incarnation, the Colt was well regarded as a practical and inexpensive subcompact that was also a competent driver’s car.

For the next generation of Colt, known as “Mitsubishi Concept Global Small”, the focus is naturally on fuel economy and frugality. The concept version will debut at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show while the production version will hit the road in 2012, and be produced at Mitsubishi’s facility in Thailand. Technical details are scant, but a CVT gearbox will be employed to help bring the new Colt to the top of the fuel economy standings, while the car is said to emit 90 grams of C02 per kilometer, an important figure in Europe, where cars are taxed on emissions.

Get more 2011 Geneva Auto Show news here.

[Source: AutoExpress]

The future of Mitsubishi in America is tied very closely to its production facility in Normal, Ill. Having suffered significantly in the market over the past several years (sales for 2010 were just 55,683 units compared to 345,111 in 2002), the Japanese automaker is planning a shakeup.

According to Automotive News, Mitsubishi will build vehicles based on the Lancer/Outlander platform at the Normal, Ill. facility in two years time. As a result, the current models being built there could get the axe entirely. They include the Galant, Endeavor, Eclipse and Eclipse Spyder.

Once the core of Mitsubishi’s sales, these models have failed to keep up with the times, lacking significant updates, as well as more advanced technology, equipment and design. A mid-sized car like the Galant is, however, key to success in the U.S. market and so it’s unlikely the automaker will abandon that segment entirely.

[Source: Automotive News]

Toronto Motorsports Park, a former airfield that was converted into a 2 mile road course featuring 14 turns, is a great track for novices to dabble in motorsports. The speeds aren’t high enough to obliterate you in a crash, and the 14 turns will challenge a beginner, despite the lack of elevation changes.

TMP’s biggest downfall is the fact that they will rent the track to anyone, and many car clubs take advantage of their affordable rates to host their own lapping sessions. From the looks of it, the incident in the video above took place at one of the uber-cheap afternoon sessions, and was likely hosted by a club with an appalling disregard for professionalism and safety standards.

The driver of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution seen in this mercifully short clip should never have been let on the track to begin with. The driver has no helmet and is wearing shorts, a t-shirt and sandals. But hey, he is wearing a Cosworth flatbill and super-dope driving gloves, so that’s got to count for something.

Common courtesy at TMP dictates that on the front straight, drivers passing slower traffic should give a wide berth and then come back to the racing line as they set up for Turn 1. Instead, the EVO driver came within a pubic hair’s distance from the driver of a Mark II Golf, cut back in, and proceeded to barrel down the straight away and into turn 1, a long, sweeping 120 degree right-hander. Drivers can easily hit 120 mph on the straight away, requiring a ton of speed to be scrubbed off before Turn 1.

Instead, our hero keeps his foot buried to the carpet and only starts braking mere feet before the apex – while steering the car with one hand! The results are predictable, and the EVO makes a glorious exit onto the grass, all while the cameras are rolling.

The Youtube description of the video claims that the brake fluid had “boiled”, causing him to lock the brakes and crash, but we don’t buy that at all. The EVO pilot should have spent money upgrading the driver – and safety equipment – rather than his car.

[Source: Bang Shift]

Continue Reading…

Hot on the heels of Mitsubishi’s joint venture announcement with Nissan comes word that the Japanese conglomerate is developing all of their future products with the ability to use hybrid or electric drive technology.

Mitsubishi’s German spokesman, Helmut Bauer, would only give a cryptic statement to a German magazine, claiming that “Every new car we develop will also be able to be driven by electricity”. Nothing more was said about the planned electrification of Mitsubishi’s lineup, but with the company fading fast into irrelevance, a drastic measure like this might be a shrewd move in light of their much touted i-MiEV electric car.

[Source: Automotive.com]

Nissan and Mitsubishi announced a new joint venture today, notably involving a minicar project that will see Nissan’s engineering prowess and Mitsubishi’s small car expertise utilized in to give greater market share to both companies in markets outside North America.

The first salvo of products will include a Nissan-built van to be sold as a Mitsubishi in Japan, while Mitsubishi will build a Nissan badged SUV for the Middle East market. The upcoming minicar will compete in a segment that comprises a third of Japanese new car sales, and has increasing demand in many developing markets.

“In the global auto industry, cooperation on specific projects among automakers is becoming increasingly common,” Ghosn said at a press conference announcing the venture.”It is, in fact, a signal of how our industry is evolving to sustain success over the long term, by leveraging size, scale and investments more effectively to create more value.”

[Source: The Detroit News]

Mitsubishi has just announced a new global small car that could turn out to be the next Colt. Currently Mitsubishi sells the Colt in major markets like Europe and Japan, competing in the popular sub-compact segment. The Colt has also been long-rumored to make a return to North America, where the small car segment has been growing in popularity with new models like the Fiesta and Mazda2 launching just this past year.

Several design sketches give a strong indication of the direction Mitsubishi will take with the car, and Mitsubishi has said the car will get an engine between 1.0-liters and 1.2-liters. Production of the car is set to start next year at a new factory in Thailand, which will export cars to emerging markets.

GALLERY: Mitsubishi Global Small Car

Official release after the jump:

Continue Reading…

Malaysian car company Proton, which normally only makes boring econo cars, is set to make some vehicles that will excite enthusiasts. However, these cars aren’t exactly Proton originals.

First up is the Lekir, which is essentially a Lotus Europa dressed up in re-altered clothes. Lotus (which is owned by Proton) had recently discontinued production of the unloved Europa in favor of the new Evora, so it can easily start building its old model for its parent company. This will allow Lotus to sell more vehicles and will in return bring in some much needed enthusiasts to Proton dealers. Also, since Proton has a much larger international distribution network, the Europa could finally see the success it never had.

When the Lekir hits the showroom, it will feature either a 1.6-liter pr 2.0-liter turbo charged four-cylinder engine, the latter producing about 220-hp.

Continue Reading…

With the recent launch of the U.S.-spec i-MiEV electric car at the LA Auto Show, Mitsubishi has announced a plan to help bring the company back to its former self.

In 2002 the Japanese automaker sold 345,111 vehicles and operated 637 retail outlets in the United States. Currently, there are just 401 dealerships and the total sales figures are a scant 53,986 units.

Seeing the correlation, Mitsubishi will launch 26 new dealers over the next year, with three new stores in Texas, seven in California and the rest in 11 other states, mostly in the West or East. The dealerships aren’t just designed to sell any car, but to support the rollout of the new i-MiEV electric car. According to PR rep Maurice Durand, Mitsubishi also wants to put dealers back in place in markets where previous dealers had shut down during the recession.

Apart from the shrinking dealer numbers, Mitsubishi is also facing an issue of aging products, with little new in the lineup apart from the the Outlander Sport (a smaller compact crossover compared to the Outlander) in the past several years.

[Source: Automotive News via 4WheelsNews]

Mitsubishi recently reached a milestone with the completion of their 5000th i-MiEV electric car, which rolled off the line at its Mizushima plant this week.

After starting production in June of 2009, the i-MiEV has been a hit in Japan, and will make its debut in America in late 2011 after being unveiled at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. The i-MiEV will also hit Europe next year, in advance of the car’s North American launch.

[Source: Left Lane News]

We regret to inform you that the subject matter behind the enticing title won’t live up to whatever thoughts are circulating in your head. Rather, Forbes’ list of “Americas Dirtiest Vehicles” has to do with pollution and gas mileage, and is mostly comprised of cars we ourselves would want to own.

Forbes used a variety of factors to determine what qualified for the list, with both carbon emissions and fuel consumption factoring in to the economy. “Heavy Duty” trucks were left off the list, as well performance cars that only get driven on special occasions, like the Ferrari 599 GTO (and, apparently, Mercedes’ AMG lineup).

Hit the jump to see the list for yourself

[Source: Forbes]

Continue Reading…

After unveiling the U.S.-spec i-MiEV production car at the LA Auto Show last week, Mitsubishi has confirmed the electrification of its vehicles won’t end there. Next up is the Outlander SUV, which is set to get a plug-in hybrid powertrain when it launches in 2012.

According to Mitsubishi electric vehicle manager Yoshikazu Nakamura, the next-gen Outlander hybrid will be similar to the PX-MiEV concept from the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show. That vehicle uses a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder with two electric motors to deliver power to all four wheels in a unique AWD setup. Mitsubishi claims the concept can travel 30 miles on just electric power with a rating of 117.6 mpg.

The concept’s styling is also likely to show through in the production model, which Nakamura has confirmed is nearly production ready.

[Source: Automotive News via Motor Trend]

Citing the company’s long history of affordable compact cars that are environmentally sustainable, Mitsubishi today launched the U.S.-spec version of the electric i-MiEV at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show.

With some 4,000 i-MiEV models already on the road in different parts of the world, the car is now somewhat familiar, but the U.S. version has a few changes on the outside and underneath. The front fascia, in particular, has been reworked for U.S. standards, and Mitsubishi tells us this four-passenger car is intended to be the first salvo in the company’s push towards better overall emissions and consumption by 2020.

Power comes from a lithium-ion battery and electric motor that can be recharged in 16 hours from a conventional household outlet or 8 hours using a 220V outlet. A special 220V quick charger will, however, be able to charge up to 80 percent in just 30 minutes.

The other announcement today was that Mitsubishi has teamed up with Eaton to supply home recharging stations, and Best Buy to sell and install them. One last mention was the pricing, which will start at under $30,000 before any government incentives – or the optional graphics packages that will be available when the car hits showrooms next Fall.

Cars will hit dealers in California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii in November of next year with larger scale sales at the end of 2012.

GALLERY: U.S.-Spec Mitsubishi i-MiEV

Continue Reading…

A full four years before the Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder debuted, another Japanese sports car with a folding hardtop made its debut. You may not have heard of the Nissan 300ZX Spyder, partly because they only ever made one example.

While the 300ZX came in either hardtop, t-top and convertible variants, the folding hardtop was a novel idea that never made it past concept form. The aforementioned 3000GT paid the price for its innovation, selling less than 2000 units over two years, leading us to believe Nissan’s decision to not produce the 300ZX Spyder was a wise one.

But the similarities don’t end there. The  300ZX Spyder costs $62,000 and the roof conversion was done by noted coachbuilder ASC – just like the 3000GT Spyder did in 1995. At least the Nissan will hold its re-sale value.

[Source: eBay]

Ahead of its planned debut at the LA Auto Show next week, Mitsubishi has released photos and details of it’s U.S.-spec i-MiEV electric car. Normally there’s little differentiation between a U.S.-spec model and one from the brand’s domestic market, but in this case the tiny i-MiEV has been widened to meet the needs of U.S. customers.

The car itself is 285mm (11.2-in.) longer at 3,680mm, it’s wider by 110mm (4.3-in.) at 1,585mm and also higher by 5mm for a total of 1,615mm. The front and rear track are also a total of 110mm (4.3-in.) wider. To a give a sense of perspective that’s roughly three feet longer than a Smart fortwo and about a foot shorter than the Honda Fit.

The U.S.-Spec i-Miev is expected to get the same battery pack and electric motor with a total of 63-hp and 133 ft-lbs of torque.

GALLERY: U.S.-Spec Mitsubishi i-MiEV

Official release after the jump:

Continue Reading…