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2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Luggage Test | Three rows, two tests!

Well, this is a first. Normally, three-row vehicles are so enormous that doing a luggage test with the third row lowered is a total "no kidding" proposition. I'd run out of stuff in my garage long before I'd fill up a Kia Telluride. As such, I only test the space behind the raised third row of three-row SUVs because that can actually be some useful information. The 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander is not a typical three-row SUV, however. It's one of only two SUVs in the compact segment, along with the Volkswagen Tiguan, that offers a third-row seat. As I've already demonstrated, it's not much a seat, but its presence and the need to accommodate it does mean the Outlander has one of the largest cargo volumes in the compact segment.  As such, what we're getting here is the first Double Luggage Test© whereby I'll be treating the Outlander like both a compact SUV and a three-row one, testing it with both the third row raised and lowered. Right!? Pretty damned exciting.  Test 1! Here's what you get with third row raised. On paper, Mitsubishi says this is 11.7 cubic-feet, which is indeed the smallest three-row number I've come across while luggage testing. Congratulations Cadillac XT6, you're no longer last! Wait, hold that thought ... Thanks to those comically tall head restraints and the Outlander's D pillar shape, I could actually safely place the fancy bag on top without it flying forward or excessively blocking rearward visibility (the two reasons I don't load to the roof in these tests). You can see that visibility below right. Below left you can see the 12.6-cubic-foot Cadillac XT6, which could not fit the fancy bag as such (though, obviously, you could fit something). So, sorry XT6, you're in last again. Mwa mwa.  Ah, but what about under-floor space. There's indeed some available. It houses the cargo cover encased in a foam mold that also houses those comically tall headrests when not in use. Remove it all, and there is a decent amount of extra space unearthed, which could theoretically free up some extra space if you left the rigid floor open. That's not the same as vehicles like the Honda Pilot and Kia Telluride, though, which more obviously intend you to use the under-floor space in such a manner.  Test 2! With the third-row lowered and the second-row reclined to a natural position, this is the space available. The specs say it's 33.5 cubic-feet, which falls short of the class-leading Honda CR-V (39.2), Toyota RAV4 (37.5) and Hyundai Tucson (38.7).

Your 2013 Pikes Peak Hill Climb primer: "Donuts at 14,000 feet."

The teams have all set up their pits and paddocks for today's run of the 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, and there's nothing left to do but take a shot at the title. At 8 am Mountain time (9 am EST / 7 am PST), the first of a field of 83 bikes and 63 cars - whittled from an original field of 157 - will race 12.42 miles through 156 turns from the start gate at 9,390 feet to the summit finish at 14,110 feet. The summit is where we'll be all day, having arrived on the media bus at around 5 am and not allowed to come down until the race is finished. If it's anything like last year that could mean a 14-hour day on the top munching on donuts at the summit café, begging for hits of pure oxygen and trying to stay hydrated and warm...
Here are the event with Hyundai, we enjoyed dinner with Rhys Millen got his take on what's happened and what's about to happen. Millen said the issue that caused his engine swap last week was minor, a head gasket (a production part) that was causing a bit of hesitation and a slight drop in top speed. He said it's the first time they've stressed the engines this hard, pushing boost pressures up to 19 psi at altitude, which equates to 25 psi at sea level. Offering testament to the strength of the engines, though, he said that Paul Dallenbach's engine did the entire 2012 drift season as well as Pikes Peak, and it's the engine being used again for the hill climb this year.
We also chatted with Dallenbach, who has come back from that beastly crash last year in the Unlimited category to lead almost every practice day this year in the Time Attack class. Telling us he's happier behind the wheel this year than he has been in 20 years, he asked us, "Know what my dashboard says when I turn the car on? 'Donuts at 14,000 feet.'"

Nissan CEO Uchida says he's willing to be fired if turnaround fails

YOKOHAMA — Nissan's new chief executive said on Tuesday he would accept being fired if he fails to turn around Japan's second biggest automaker which is grappling with plunging sales in the aftermath of the scandal surrounding ex-chairman Carlos Ghosn. Makoto Uchida, who took over the top job in December, put his job on the line at the automaker's shareholders' meeting, where he faced demands ranging from cutting executive pay to offering a bounty to bring Ghosn back to Japan after he fled to Lebanon. Nissan's worsening performance has heaped pressure on Uchida, formerly Nissan's China chief who became its third CEO since September, to come up with aggressive steps to revive the company. On Tuesday, Uchida, who was repeatedly heckled by shareholders, said he was ready to face dismissal if he failed to improve profitability at the company, which is on course to post its worst annual operating profit in 11 years. "We will make sure that we steer the company in an effective way so that it is visible in the eyes of viewers. I will commit to this: if the circumstances remain uncertain you can fire me immediately," he said. Uchida, 53, did not give a timeframe for improving Nissan's performance. The new boss must prove to the board he can accelerate cost-cutting and rebuild profits at the 86-year-old Japanese giant, and that he has the right strategy to repair its partnership with France's Renault, sources have told Reuters. Uchida pleaded with shareholders to be patient while he comes up with a plan by May to recover from crumbling profits and a corporate shake-up following Ghosn's arrest in Japan in late 2018 over financial misconduct charges. "If you can be patient a little bit longer, on a day-to-day basis you will be able to sense we are changing," he said. Ahead of the meeting, some shareholders demanded more clarity about Uchida's plan. "I just want to know what the plan for recovery is. At the moment, the share price has dropped again, and the value of the company has plummeted," said a 70-year-old former employee who owns shares in the company. "If this is the situation, part of me thinks that we would be better off with Ghosn ... If we don't get a clearer vision of the path the company is taking, it will be a worry." Nissan's shares are trading around their lowest level in more than a decade following its latest earnings.