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Fiat taps Mitsubishi for European pickup

Mitsubishi is often derided in the US for its relatively boring lineup, Lancer Evolution aside, but the company is on the upswing worldwide, recently posting record global operating profits. The Japanese automaker may get a further boost in the near future from a rumored pickup truck deal with Fiat.
According to insider sources speaking to Automotive News Europe, Mitsubishi would reportedly build a variant of its widely respected L200 pickup truck for the Fiat Professional brand in Europe and Latin America starting in 2016. The L200 is larger than the Fiat Strada front-wheel-drive pickup already available in those markets, and it's available in rear- and four-wheel-drive configurations. The idea of adding a midsize truck to the commercial lineup was in the Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles five-year plan, but it didn't include any mention of a partnership to build it.
At first blush, the Mitsubishi agreement seems like an odd move, given that Fiat already owns pickup truck specialists Ram. However, according to ANE, the company had at one time planned to use a version of a new Dodge Dakota pickup for duty in Europe and Latin America, but the model never came to fruition.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution's curtain call will come with more power

We love the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, but by this point, we've accepted the fact that the its days are numbered, despite the noticeable back and forth that accompanied rumors of the vehicle's future for so many months and years. And while the Evo's coming death in 2015 is pretty sad, a report from Automotive News claims that the road-going rally machine will at least be leaving with a fairly substantial bang.
According to AN, Mitsubishi will send off the Evo with a Special Action Model. Limited to between 2,000 to 2,500 units and destined exclusively for the United States, the Evo X SAM should boast, most notably, a bump in power for its 291-pony, 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder. There should be a few other performance tweaks to accompany the increased output, although it's unclear what those might be. AN claims the limited-edition model will drop during the last six months of Evo production, some time next year.
AN's report was confirmed to us by Mitsubishi spokesman Alex Fedorak, who said that, yes, there will be "a US special edition in 2015." We've asked for additional information, but all we've heard back, so far, is that mum's the word. Here's hoping we won't be waiting too long to get official details.

NHTSA releases updated Takata airbag recalled cars list, but it still has errors

Unfortunately, the government's list still contains errors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued an updated list of vehicle models that it's urging owners to repair under the mushrooming Takata airbag inflator recall. The latest version adds vehicles from new automakers like Subaru and Ford that are missing from the original announcement, and it also removes erroneous entries from General Motors, leaving only the 2005 Saab 9-2X (a reskinned Subaru WRX), and the 2003-2005 Pontiac Vibe, a joint project with Toyota.