1993 Mitsubishi Eclipse Gs Hatchback 2-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Mitsubishi and NTT to buy 30% stake in HERE digital mapping company

Digital mapping company HERE Technologies sold a 30% stake to Mitsubishi and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT), diluting German carmakers’ stake to 54% amid uncertainty about the profit potential from autonomous cars. Mitsubishi and NTT will co-invest in the Amsterdam-headquartered company through their newly established, jointly owned holding firm COCO Tech Holding B.V. in the Netherlands, HERE said on Friday. “Their investment also means we are further diversifying our shareholder base beyond automotive, which is important given the appeal and necessity of location technology across geographies and industries,” HEREÂ’s Chief Executive Edzard Overbeek said. The Japanese companies said they would collaborate with HERE to develop services such as ways to tackle road congestion and improve supply chain efficiencies. High definition maps can also be used in fleet management, asset tracking, last-mile delivery, long-distance package delivery by drones and indoor mapping applications, Overbeek told Reuters. Financial details of the transaction, which they said would close next year, were not disclosed. German carmakers BMW, Audi and Daimler saw high definition mapping as a strategic asset and bought HERE from Finnish telecoms group Nokia for around 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) in 2015 to avoid becoming dependent on AlphabetÂ’s Google. FridayÂ’s deal dilutes the stake held by each German carmaker from 25% to just under 18%, HERE said. REALITY CHECK Tech companies and automakers raced to develop self-driving vehicles after Google presented a prototype car in 2012, leading German manufacturers to develop robotaxis as a way to enter the ride-hailing business to take on Uber. However, the technology costs and regulatory hurdles have spiraled, and ride-hailing businesses have struggled to reach sustainable profitability, leading to a reassessment of the business potential of robotaxis and ride hailing. “There has been a reality check setting in here,” Daimler Chief Executive Ola Kaellenius said last month, adding that spending on robotaxis would be “rightsized.” The move comes as BMW and Daimler this week announced they will exit the North American car-sharing market, halting operations in Montreal, New York, Seattle, Washington D.C., and Vancouver, as they focus on the European market. Last year, GermanyÂ’s Continental and Bosch, the worldÂ’s largest automotive suppliers, bought a 5% stake in HERE.

Carlos Ghosn re-arrested and thrown back in jail [UPDATE]

TOKYO — Tokyo prosecutors arrested Nissan's former chairman Carlos Ghosn on Thursday for a fourth time, on fresh allegations that cut short his brief time outside detention. Early in the morning, Ghosn was taken from his apartment in Tokyo to the prosecutors' office and then sent to the Tokyo Detention Center, the same facility where he spent more than three months following his arrest in November. He had been released on bail just a month earlier. It's unclear how long Ghosn may be detained under the latest arrest, which involves what prosecutors said was a new alleged crime. "My arrest this morning is outrageous and arbitrary," Ghosn said in a statement issued Thursday. "It is part of another attempt by some individuals at Nissan to silence me by misleading the prosecutors. Why arrest me except to try to break me? I will not be broken. I am innocent of the groundless charges and accusations against me." The prosecutors defended the move, saying the latest allegations are a new case requiring precautions to prevent Ghosn from destroying evidence. They allege $5 million in funds sent by a Nissan subsidiary to an overseas dealership were diverted to a company controlled by Ghosn. "We now have a totally different case, and we are only doing what we think is right," Shin Kukimoto, deputy chief prosecutor at the Tokyo District Prosecutor's Office, told reporters. "As a result of our investigation, we have a new case in which he must be detained, and we have appropriately obtained an arrest warrant from the court," he said. Ghosn, 65, was first arrested on Nov. 19 on charges of under-reporting his compensation. He was rearrested twice in December, including on breach of trust charges. The multiple arrests prolong detentions without trial and are an oft-criticized prosecution tactic in Japan's criminal justice system. The allegations in the most recent arrest cover three money transfers from 2015 through last year, according to the prosecutors. Kukimoto said the new allegation of breach of trust is different from an earlier charge made in January. The companies where the money was transferred to, the motives, and the alleged scheme are all different, he said. He refused to identify the three companies allegedly involved but said one company was in effect owned by Ghosn. Unlike an earlier case, in which Ghosn caused damage to Nissan to benefit himself and a business partner, this time it was merely "for his own personal benefit," Kukimoto said.

2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Quick Spin Review | Deserving of a clean slate

The 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is named after a sport compact coupe, which was iconic to some and a sad reminder of its brand's slide into irrelevance to most others. That "Eclipse" is now attached to a compact SUV will likely cheese off the former and cause the latter to sarcastically mutter, "Yup, that seems about right." Mitsubishi's marketers would say it shares the old Eclipse's "reputation for driving dynamics and technology." Do with that what you will. For now, though, let's put aside what it's called. Well, beyond the fact it's comically long to say and difficult to type (I started calling it the Eagle Talon Cross for those reasons). Because really, the name straps a whole load of baggage to a mostly clean-slate vehicle that in concept is actually a smart move by a brand trying to climb back to relevance. In size, it straddles the line between B- and C-segment compact SUVs. In shape and style, it's set apart from the more utilitarian entries of both. Under the hood, it provides torque-rich turbocharged grunt in contrast to meek naturally aspirated rivals. The ample ground clearance and standard all-wheel drive (on most trims) take a page from the Subaru playbook that's been moving the chains so well. As we discovered when we compared its specs to those of vaguely similar SUVs, the Eclipse Cross is far more intriguing and potentially competitive than originally thought. Perhaps it's unfair to the car itself, but besides all that baggage attached to its name, it's also saddled with the expectations of recent Mitsubishi products that have been uncompetitive, dull or just plain bad. (The i-Miev is the worst and most embarrassing car I've ever driven, and I've driven a Yugo.) In short, the Eclipse Cross warrants a clean-slate appraisal. Sure, it shares its wheelbase with Mitsubishi's two Outlander SUVs and certainly other components as well, but in appearance, touch and driving feel, the Eclipse Cross is profoundly different. This is immediately obvious in the cabin that's far more contemporary in appearance. If you think it looks a bit like the Lexus NX interior, you certainly wouldn't be alone, right down to its touchpad tech interface (more on that later). Materials quality is also strong, and not just in comparison to its brand mates, but to the compact SUV segment as a whole.