2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Gs Coupe 2-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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Carlos Ghosn video: 'This is about conspiracy. This is about backstabbing'

TOKYO — Nissan's former Chairman Carlos Ghosn maintained his innocence in a video released by his legal team Tuesday and accused some executives at the Japanese automaker of a "conspiracy" that led to his arrest on financial misconduct allegations. "The first message is that I'm innocent," said Ghosn, wearing a white shirt and dark jacket and speaking calmly in the nearly 10-minute video shown at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Tokyo. "This is a conspiracy," he said. "This is not about specific events, this is not about, again, greed, this is not about dictatorship. This is about a plot. This is about conspiracy. This is about backstabbing." His lawyer Junichiro Hironaka said the video was prepared in case Ghosn was not able to speak at a news conference planned for Thursday. Ghosn was arrested last week while out on bail and remains at the Tokyo Detention Center. Ghosn said the executives behind the conspiracy were motivated by what he called "selfish fears," including what they saw as a merger with French alliance partner Renault SA. They mistook his leadership for greed and dictatorship, when he was the biggest defender of Nissan's autonomy, Ghosn said. He also said he was worried about Nissan, wondering whether those executives were really watching out for the company. Hironaka said a section of the video in which Ghosn mentioned names was removed on his legal advice. Nissan Motor Co., while declining to comment on the criminal case, has said an internal investigation has found that Ghosn falsified financial documents to under-report compensation, and that he used Nissan money for personal gain. "Nissan's internal investigation has uncovered substantial evidence of blatantly unethical conduct," company spokesman Nicholas Maxfield said when asked for comment on Ghosn's video. "The company's focus remains on addressing weaknesses in governance that enabled this misconduct." Ghosn's fourth arrest was on a fresh breach of trust allegation based on suspicion that payments from a Nissan subsidiary to an Oman dealership were diverted to a company effectively run by Ghosn. On Monday, Nissan Motor Co. shareholders voted to oust Ghosn from its board and to approve the appointment of French alliance partner Renault SA's Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard as Ghosn's replacement. Renault owns 43 percent of Nissan.

Employee warned Mitsubishi execs about mileage cheating in 2005

A damning report from the committee brought in to investigate Mitsubishi's alleged fuel economy fixing scandal has revealed a new employee stepped forward and implored the company to play it straight on its mileage data... Eleven years ago. The employee, identified in the report as F, pushed for honesty during a company workshop in February 2005, The Asahi Shimbun reports. The then-new worker told 20 company officials, including senior members of the performance testing department, that the way Mitsubishi measured fuel economy was different from the way government's method. Instead of acting on F's protests, officials said they had no memory of them, the report claims. The four-person committee, made up of lawyers and industry experts, isn't buying the excuse. "It is difficult to accept their explanations that they have no recollections because a new employee pointing out such a problem must have had a (strong) impact," the report read. But F's comments weren't the only internal sign that Mitsubishi allegedly ignored. In a 2011 questionnaire, multiple employees submitted responses claiming that the company had been falsifying data. But according to the committee's report, Mitsubishi's development department issued a report denying there was even a problem, which the company's execs accepted without question. According to The Asahi Shimbun, Mitsubishi CEO Osamu Masuko revealed that an internal investigation – which also denied F's remarks – acknowledged that the company hadn't followed government rules regarding fuel economy measurements since 1991. "We lacked unity needed to detect problems within the company and to solve them," Masuko-san said, backing up the committee report's claim that the company was divided. "From now on, we need to decide how to change our way of thinking." Related Video: News Source: The Asahi Shimbun via Motor TrendImage Credit: Toru Hanai / Reuters Government/Legal Green Mitsubishi Fuel Efficiency scandal

Mitsubishi's nip-and-tucked Eclipse Cross shows its face for the first time

Mitsubishi's long-promised new models are right around the corner. It released a dark image to preview the 2022 Eclipse Cross, which will boast comprehensive visual updates when it arrives in the first quarter of 2021. Although the photo keeps the full design under wraps, we can tell the Eclipse Cross falls in line with the rest of the Mitsubishi range by adopting new-look headlights with swept-back LED accents and thick pieces of C-shaped trim. Few would qualify these changes as revolutionary, but bigger modifications are found out back. The preview image suggests — and earlier spy shots confirm — that stylists have smoothed out the crossover's rear end, which some have likened to the unfortunate Pontiac Aztek. The end result is a sleeker, less hunchback-like design. Mitsubishi claims the nip-and-tuck makes the Eclipse Cross look more upscale and energetic. We'll wait until it shines more light on its entry-level crossover to decide if it has achieved its goal. Our hopes are high, because the Eclipse Cross will usher in the design language that will permeate all of the brand's new models in the 2020s. "The Eclipse Cross is the first step toward the next generation of Mitsubishi Design, and there is so much more to come," said Seiji Watanabe, the general manager of the company's design department, in a statement. Mitsubishi focused on exterior design, but we're assuming the 2022 update will also bring a new-look interior. We don't know if the firm will make mechanical changes. As of writing, the Eclipse Cross is only offered with a turbocharged, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 152 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. It spins the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT), though all-wheel drive is offered at an extra cost. Additional details about the 2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross will emerge in the coming months. When it arrives, it will join the updated Outlander PHEV (which will receive an improved hybrid powertrain) and the redesigned Mirage in showrooms. Finally, the next-generation Outlander is due out in the second quarter of 2021. Mitsubishi Crossover