2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse, No Reserve on 2040-cars

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2014 Pikes Peak Hill Climb: Final Practice Day 4 and pre-race notes

The running order has been established for the 92nd running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for all classes and everyone's had all the practice they're going to get. On Sunday, June 29, the 14,110-foot-high mountain will ask each of them, "Who wants some?" Unlike previous years, while the bikes will run according to class, the cars will run according to their qualifying times set on the bottom section of the course, regardless of division, the fastest guys going first.
That puts Romain Dumas at the head of the 67 car entries, having set a time of 3:37.525 in his Norma M20 RD in the Unlimited Class, but the next Unlimited entry doesn't appear until sixth, Piero Nappi in his Picchio P4 pp with a time of 4:03.357. In between them, the two Mitsubishi MiEV Evolution IIIs start second and third in the Electric Modified class, that first one driven by Greg Tracy 11 seconds behind Dumas. Then comes Monster Tajima is his E-Runner Pikes Peak Special, then Paul Dallenbach leading the Open Wheel class, four positions ahead of the next Open Wheel competitor.
Leaders in the other classes: Michael Skeen driving a Nissan GT-R in the Open class in seventh, 12 positions ahead of the next class entrant; Jeff Zwart in eighth, driving a Porsche 911, will be the first in Time Attack 1, his competition starting right behind him; Robert Prillka in 21st is the first Time Attack 2 entry in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, three positions ahead of the next entry; in 23rd is Christopher Lennon in his 1973 Porsche 911 in the Vintage class, the next Vintage entry in 37th; the first Exhibition entrant is Donald Huffman in a Radical RXC in 50th, four positions ahead of the next in-class competition; and representing for Electric Production is Roy Richards in a Honda Fit EV.

Long-serving Mitsubishi president Masuko to step aside

Long-struggling Mitsubishi Motors is reportedly preparing for a changing of the guard at home. According to Reuters, Osamu Masuko will step aside in favor of Tesuro Aikawa, currently the company's managing director. Masuko won't be leaving the fold entirely, however - he will take the role of chairman, displacing Takashi Nishioka, who will resign. The shakeup has not been confirmed by Mitsubishi, but word is that the changes will take effect April 1.
Mitsu's US troubles are no secret, but the brand's struggles in its home market haven't been quite so publicized. The company was bailed out by other arms of the Mitsubishi empire, and it just raised $2 billion this month to buy back preferred shares that were issued during the bailout. Masuko served as president for nearly ten years, during which the brand's US efforts utterly stalled out, recalls cropped up in Japan and an alliance with Daimler (which was DaimlerChrysler at the time) disintegrated.
According to Reuters, establishing the kind of alliances that will allow the brand to grow, such as its tie-up with Renault-Nissan, are key to Mitsu's long-term success. The thought is that an alliance will allow the brand to come up with some innovative models that won't be compromised by its lack of production scale. It looks like Aikawa has his work cut out for him.

Mitsubishi Mirage bows in Montreal without a name, Canadian sales promised

The Detroit Auto Show had plenty of major debuts for North American car buyers, but the Montreal Auto Show is being used for the North American debut of a new subcompact hatchback from Mitsubishi. Although this car is unnamed, it is almost identical to the redesigned Mirage we saw back at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show (and has been on sale in Asian markets such as Thailand since last year), but it is unclear if the car will carry this name when it goes on sale for our neighbors to the north starting this fall.
Aside from a slightly less annoying shade the of green we saw the car painted in at the Tokyo show, there are a few changes made for the car's Canadian debut. The biggest difference is that it is almost three inches longer, which is likely a result of the new rear fascia that is also visually different with some altered lines and small, circular reflectors. Other changes include a bigger three-cylinder engine (with a 1.2-liter displacement instead of the Tokyo car's 1.0-liter engine) and headlights that have new amber lenses for side reflectors.
There is still no word as to whether or not we'll see this new car in Mitsubishi's US lineup anytime soon, but it does seem like a good competitor against cars like that Mazda2, Chevrolet Spark and Hyundai Accent.