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Junkyard Gem: 2003 Mitsubishi Diamante LS

While Chrysler started selling Dodge- and Plymouth-badged Mitsubishis in the United States starting with the 1971 model year, Americans couldn't buy new cars with the Mitsubishi name until 1983. Thirty-five years later, Mitsubishi is down to just four models on these shores, all of which cater to the lower end of the market. However, from 1992 through 2004, Mitsubishi tackled the luxury market with its Diamante big sedan. Here's a very rare second-to-last-model-year Diamante, spotted in a Denver-area wrecking yard. I have documented plenty of Mitsubishis during my junkyard explorations, but these late Diamantes have been tough to find (though I have spotted a Diamante wagon). Sales of this car weren't great given that Mitsubishi's name didn't exactly resonate with luxury shoppers. Not when there was a Lexus ES around that did the same thing with a proper premium badge and brand. Second-generation Diamantes sold outside of Japan were built in Australia. Mitsubishi got its money's worth with the 6G7 series of V6 engines, starting with the 1986 Galant and continuing in trucks to the present day. Endless Chryslers of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s also received 6G72 power. This car has the DOHC 3.5-liter 6G74 version, rated at 205 horsepower. The interior is pretty nice, in its turn-of-the-21st-century manner, and the fact that this car has an ignition key means that it's probably an insurance total or a dealership trade-in. The nose shows evidence of a fender-bender, and that's enough to doom a forgotten luxury car like this. Next stop: The Crusher. Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 2003 Mitsubishi Diamante LS View 20 Photos Auto News Mitsubishi Automotive History Sedan

Nissan posts $6.2 billion annual loss and unveils plan to cut costs

TOKYO — Nissan outlined a new plan on Thursday to become a smaller, more cost-efficient carmaker after the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated a slide in profitability that culminated in its first annual loss in 11 years. Under a new four-year plan, the Japanese manufacturer will slash its production capacity and model range by about a fifth to help cut 300 billion yen from fixed costs. It will shut plants in Spain and Indonesia, leave the South Korean market and pull its Datsun brand from Russia as part of a strategy unveiled on Wednesday to share production globally with its partners Renault and Mitsubishi. "I will make every effort to return Nissan to a growth path," Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said, adding that the company had learned from its past mistakes of chasing global market share at all costs. "We must admit failures and take corrective actions," he said, adding that starting with top-level managers, the company had to break its inward-looking culture which in the past has stymied efforts to deepen cooperation with France's Renault. Uchida said improving the company's cash flow was its biggest challenge. He reiterated that Nissan's cash liquidity was good even though it had negative free cash flow of 641 billion yen in the year ended in March. Nissan declined to give any forecasts for its current financial year which started in April due to the uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic. It also declined to give details on how many jobs it was cutting. In what is Nissan's second recovery plan in less than a year, Uchida pledged a return to profitability with a core operating profit margin above 5% and a sustainable global market share of 6%. Nissan posted an annual operating loss of 40.5 billion yen for the year to March 31, its worst performance since 2008/09. Its operating profit margin was -0.4%. The automaker said on Thursday that it sold 4.9 million vehicles last year, up from an earlier estimate of 4.8 million. That was still the second decline in a row and a fall of 11% from the previous period but meant Nissan clung on to its position as Japan's second biggest carmaker, just ahead of Honda and a long way behind Toyota. Pandemic pressure Even before the spread of the novel coronavirus, Nissan's slumping profits had forced it to row back on an aggressive expansion plan pursued by ousted leader Carlos Ghosn. The pandemic has only piled on the urgency to downsize.

2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV gets more power, EV range

It's been quite awhile coming, but the key details of the 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV are finally here: electric range, horsepower and pricing. And they're all increases over the old model, mostly in good ways. Like before, the Outlander PHEV runs mainly as a series hybrid, with forward propulsion coming from a pair of electric motors (one front, one rear). The naturally aspirated 2.4-liter four-cylinder mainly acts as a generator, though it can provide direct power in certain circumstances. Overall output is 248 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. Supplying electric power is a 20-kWh battery pack, a touch more than 6-kWh greater than the old pack. The bigger battery boosts electric range to 38 miles. Interestingly, Mitsubishi continues to also offer the ability to charge at a DC fast charger. At 38 minutes to charge to 80%, it's not especially fast compared with many modern electric cars, but it's a neat option that few plug-in hybrids offer. Overall fuel economy is rated at 64 mpg-e, which is actually worse than the outgoing model that got 74 mpg-e. We're not entirely sure what resulted in the lower overall number, since fuel economy when running on a depleted battery wasn't given. We would expect numbers close to the regular Outlander, which gets 26 to 27 mpg in combined driving depending on configuration.  The price also goes up. At $41,190, it's $2,690 more than the old model. But that seems fairly reasonable considering the additional electric range and power, not to mention the fact that the powertrain is packaged in the vastly improved new Outlander chassis with its more attractive styling and nicer interior. It also finds itself priced carefully between the slightly more expensive RAV4 Prime (which has a bit more electric range and more power) and the Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid (which is front-drive only and just one mile less range). Both those options are more efficient overall, as is the most affordable Tucson PHEV, though it's only available in select states and has the lowest range at 33 miles. It does offer a bit more power than the Mitsubishi, though. The 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV goes on sale first in select states around November, but will be offered nationwide a little later. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.