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Mitsubishi exec says Evo 'will be replaced in spirit' by high-po hybrid SUV

Stop us if you've heard this one: According to Autocar, the current generation will be the last Mitsubishi Evolution we will ever see.
That, while unfortunate for driving enthusiasts, is a reality we've had plenty of time to digest. The days of wanton fuel burning for the sake of speed and power will soon come to an end. But that doesn't mean the days of performance have to die, too. "Green is still fun to drive," said Mitsubishi UK boss Lance Bradley in a conversation with Autocar. "It's a challenge to make it fun, but not a particularly difficult one. Electric vehicle performance is very good."
So, should we expect a new hybrid sedan to take up the mantle left by the Evo? Not so much. The British magazine quotes Kanenori Okamoto of Mitsubishi as saying, "It will be replaced in spirit by an SUV with high performance," which will apparently incorporate lessons learned in the automaker's efforts at Pikes Peak. The Mitsubishi MiEV Evolution III, which handily broke the EV record at the famed mountain course, will donate much of its high-performance, zero-emissions technology to the project, including its Super All Wheel Control four-wheel-drive system.

Mitsubishi hopes to raise $2.5B with stock sale

Mitsubishi, which dates all the way back to 1870, is one of the oldest business collectives in Japan. Today, the various businesses that share the Mitsubishi name are largely independent of each other. The automotive unit, however, has fallen on hard times over the past few years.
Back in 2004 and 2005, Mitsubishi Motors sold billions of preferred shares to sister companies like Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Corp. Now the automaker is preparing to buy back those shares, only to raise the capital, it's selling $2.5 billion worth of shares, simultaneously paying stock dividends for the first time in over 16 years.
The stock issue will reportedly include as many as 241 million shares at a value of $10.73 each. The move is part of a long-term reorganization being implemented by the automaker's president Osamu Masuko, and is expected to help the company double its net income and eliminate all outstanding preferred shares by the end of the fiscal year closing in March.

Mitsubishi pondering $2B share sale?

Mitsubishi makes the brilliantly fast, wonderfully fun Lancer Evolution. Outside of that road-going rally car, the rest of the range is pretty poor - the new Outlander isn't bad, but the subcompact Mirage looks like might've been competitive five years ago, while the Galant and Lancer have suffered from serial neglect.
This hasn't just lead to rumors of Mitsu's death in America; the subsidiary of the massive Mitsubishi Group has been in trouble at home, too. It was bailed out by three other Mitsubishi Group companies - Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Corporation - between 2004 and 2005, according to Bloomberg. Now, it's attempting to extricate itself from "emergency mode," as analyst Koichi Sugimoto told the financial site, adding that "they're still in the very early stages of recovery."
As part of the bailout, Mitsubishi issued its three saviors billions of dollars of preferred shares, which don't have voting rights. The problem is, Mitsubishi hasn't issued dividend payments since 1998, and these stocks aren't exactly competing with Apple or Google, in terms of value. In other words, they're mostly worthless. With a public offering, Mitsubishi is expecting to raise 200 billion yen, or about $2 billion, in order to reduce the number of preferred shares. If all goes according to plan, it will wipe out preferred shares by March of 2014, or the end of fiscal year 2013.