1999 Mitsubishi 3000 Gt Vr4 on 2040-cars

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Mitsubishi Triton Ralliart hints at performance comeback

Mitsubishi Motors has not had a very good decade. Their lineup has dwindled down to four models and the the company has struggled to stay relevant as a brand as they hemorrhage market share. However, a new Triton Ralliart truck shows some signs of life in a company once rich with enthusiast-oriented offerings. The Mitsubishi Triton Ralliart will participate in the 2022 Asia Cross Country Rally, which takes place primarily in Thailand. The Triton is built there and exported throughout southeast Asia, which happens to be one of the few markets in which Mitsubishi still enjoys decent sales. Though not sold in the U.S., the four-wheel-drive Ranger-sized pickup is available in four-cylinder gas, diesel and turbodiesel configurations, the most powerful of which makes 176 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Manual and automatic transmissions are available, with the latest versions each offering six speeds. The Triton marks a return for the company's Ralliart banner. Though Mitsubishi had been rally racing since the 1960s, the Ralliart name only made its debut in 1981. The dedicated motorsports arm allowed the company to build and campaign models like the Lancer and Galant VR-4 in international rally races, ultimately leading to a slew of World Rally Championship wins, and an equally impressive string of victories at the Paris-Dakar Rally.  Ralliart folded up in 2010 after the global financial crisis and lay dormant for over a decade. Last year Mitsubishi quietly revived the brand, revealed a concept, released a lineup of accessories for its vehicles (available only in Asia) and hinted at a racing comeback. The Triton is the first Ralliart-branded vehicle since the revival. Mitsubishi didn't reveal what modifications were made to the Triton. One encouraging sign, however, is the fact that the rally team is headed by Hiroshi Masuoka, a long-time Mitsubishi driver who won the Paris-Dakar twice. Masuoka was also a test driver who helped develop the Pajero (known in the U.S. as the Montero). Sadly, the Pajero factory was sold last week to a toilet paper manufacturer, but perhaps Masuoka can recapture a bit of Mitsubishi's past glory with the Triton, even if he's essentially starting from scratch. The Triton effort, and yesterday's announcement that Mitsubishi was donating 1 million euros to aid Ukrainian refugees, suggests Mitsubishi feels it is in a better place financially.

2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV to get a much bigger battery

So it turns out we still don't have full details on the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Information will continue to trickle out instead. But at least we have information on one of the SUV's most critical parts: the battery pack. It has more capacity, and should have more range. The outgoing Outlander PHEV had a 13.8-kWh battery pack good for 22 to 24 miles of all-electric range. The new model's battery expands to 20 kWh. On the WLTP cycle, it's good for 54 miles, but the U.S. EPA numbers will probably be lower. The capacity increase is about 45%, so applying that to the miles, we're expecting somewhere around 32 to 35 miles of electric range. That would put it close to the Ford Escape PHEV's 37 miles of range and the Kia Sorento PHEV's 32 miles. It would still trail the RAV4 Prime's 42 miles of range. Mitsubishi also noted that the gas tank has expanded, too, so the Outlander PHEV's overall range should increase. Despite all this, the plug-in hybrid also retains a third row of seats, something its predecessor lost. This is due to a revised rear motor that includes the motor controller as part of the unit. The previous model had the controller located in the passenger compartment. Mitsubishi says this freed up interior room for the rear-most seats and also reduced the amount of high-frequency noise in the cabin. As for the powertrain itself, Mitsubishi isn't sharing output details. All it has said is that the Outlander PHEV still has dual electric motors, plus a gas engine. That engine is a 2.4-liter four-cylinder similar to the current model. The press release Mitsubishi provided suggests the electric motors are more potent, so we may see more than the 221 combined horsepower of the outgoing model. The Outlander PHEV will go on sale in the United State in the second half of next year. We should have many more details on it as we approach the on-sale date. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander exterior and interior walkaround

Carlos Ghosn vows to 'restore my honor' in first remarks since arrest

TOKYO — Nissan Motor's jailed ex-chairman, Carlos Ghosn, vowed to restore his good name in court after a month in detention, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said on Friday. "Things as they stand are absolutely unacceptable," Ghosn was quoted as saying via his lawyer. "I want to have my position heard and restore my honor in court." It was Ghosn's first comment since his arrest on Nov 19 for allegedly understating his income by about half over a five-year period from 2010. He was later charged with the same alleged crime covering the past three years. A call to the office of his lawyer, Motonari Otsuru, went unanswered outside business hours early on Friday. The lawyer has previously declined to return calls for comment on the Ghosn case. A Tokyo court on Thursday unexpectedly rejected prosecutors' request to extend Ghosn's detention, which Japanese media said means he could go free on bail as early as Friday. Ghosn wants to hold a news conference after he is released, NHK quoted his lawyer as saying. The executive, who formed a carmaking alliance among Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors Corp and France's Renault SA, said he is not a flight risk and wants to be able to travel abroad, the report said. The Ghosn case has put Japan's criminal justice system under international scrutiny and sparked criticism for some of its practices, including keeping suspects in detention for long periods and prohibiting defense lawyers from being present during interrogations, which can last eight hours a day. Japan has also come under fire for its 99.9 percent conviction rate. The Tokyo court unexpectedly ruled not to extend Ghosn's detention. It said it had also decided against extending detention for Greg Kelly, a former Nissan executive who was arrested along with Ghosn on Nov. 19. It later overruled an appeal by prosecutors against the decision, clearing the way for the possible release of the two men as early as Friday. The court did not disclose reasons for its decision, and NHK said it was "extremely rare" for it to reject the prosecutors' request to extend detention. If Ghosn and Kelly are granted bail, conditions may require them to apply for permission to travel overseas. They could also be barred from contacting Nissan officials. Both executives had not been able to make any public statements since their arrest, although local media have reported that they have denied wrongdoing. Ghosn was indicted on Dec.