1997 Mitsubishi Eclipse Gst Hatchback 2-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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.'"

Mitsubishi recalling i-MiEV models for brake problem

Mitsubishi is issuing a recall for the 2010-2014 i-MiEV that affects 1,810 units of the little electric car, because it's possible for the brake vacuum pump to stop working. If this happens, the result would be longer stopping distances, according to the company. The affected models were built between September 15, 2009, and March 25, 2014.
While this is just a single recall, there are actually two things that can cause this brake problem on the i-MiEV, according to Mitsubishi's filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. First, bad programming in the EV-ECU could cause the system to "falsely judge that the relay contact point is stuck," according to the full NHTSA defect notice PDF. Second, the vacuum pump exhaust hole could be corroded and blocked due to being splashed with road salt. However, the company says that if either fault happens, the brake warning lamp would illuminate, and there would be an audible alarm.
Depending on which issue is affecting an owner's i-MiEV, Mitsubishi is going to reprogram the software, replace the pump or both. Scroll down to read the recall report from NHTSA.

Mitsubishi mulling Mirage sedan for US [w/videos]

Mitsubishi is bringing the Mirage hatchback to the US this fall, carrying a price tag of $12,995, not including the $725 destination charge. Mitsunori Kitao, COO of Mitsubishi Motors Thailand Co., says that the Japanese automaker might consider releasing the sedan version of the Thailand-built compact - called the Attrage in Thailand and the Mirage G4 in the Phillipines - if the little hatchback takes off in the US market, Automotive News reports.
Weight is a key concern with importing the sedan. The non-US Mirage hatchback weighs just 1,900 pounds, but its naturally aspirated 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine makes just 79 horsepower and 78 pound-feet of torque, which can only manage a 0-62 miles-per-hour time of 11.2 seconds. The heavier sedan would take even longer.