2007 Mitsubishi Endeavor Se on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Junkyard Gem: 1995 Mitsubishi Diamante Station Wagon

Chrysler sold Dodge- and Plymouth-badged Mitsubishis in the United States starting in the early 1970s, but it wasn't until the 1983 model year that Mitsubishi sold cars under their own name on this side of the Pacific. The Diamante made its American debut for the 1992 model year, but it proved unable to steal many sales from the likes of Lexus and Infiniti and not many were sold. Sure, it was big and comfortable, but SUV and minivan sales soon squeezed most wagons out of the American marketplace. Here's a rare '95 station wagon, spotted in a California yard recently. 240,664 miles on the clock, which is much higher than the not-very-trashed interior might suggest. The owner or owners of this car got their money's worth out of it. The 6G72 3.0-liter V6 went into Chrysler minivans, Mitsubishi 3000GTs, and many members of the extended Chrysler K-Car family; production of this versatile engine continued well into our current century. This one was rated at 175 horsepower. Technically, this isn't a Japanese car, since the Diamante wagons were built in Australia. Rumor has it that some 5-speed Diamante wagons were sold in the United States, but I have never seen one. 1995 was the last year for the Diamante wagon in the United States, and the Camry and Accord wagons soon got the axe as well. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. US-market Diamante ads went for a gauzy-focus Infiniti Q45-ish look. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Meanwhile, Japanese-market Diamante ads got roaring engines, macho voiceovers, and dramatic music. Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 1995 Mitsubishi Diamante Station Wagon View 14 Photos Auto News Mitsubishi Wagon Classics

Mitsubishi says it will make money from EVs

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV is the lowest-cost plug-in vehicle available in the US. The spartan EV's small price tag shouldn't lead you to believe the company doesn't see dollar signs where there's a plug. Mitsubishi says that electric vehicles are one of the three profitable segments that have helped the company get back into the black. The other two are light trucks and crossovers. We suspect that the resounding success of the Outlander PHEV played a bigger role in this than the i-MiEV, but you never know. Mitsubishi Motors Corp president Tetsuro Aikawa told Automotive News that the company will keeps its focus on those three segments and ease back on sedans and performance cars. To that end, the Outlander Plug-In Hybrid will come to the US next April, many years after it went on sale in Japan and Europe. The vehicle will fit well with Mitsubishi's plans to shift its strategy to SUVs and CUVs here. Related Video:

10 automakers shack up in Detroit hotel to talk Takata airbags

Since Takata has decided not to take the lead concerning potential issues with its airbag inflators, the automakers have. Perhaps that's unsurprising, since it's the automakers, not Takata, that will take a beating on the dealership floor if consumers decide its models are a health hazards. The Detroit News reports that Toyota, Honda, General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Subaru met in a hotel conference room near the Detroit Metropolitan Airport last week to sort out a way to understand the technical issues involved. So far, faulty airbag inflators have been ruled the cause of five deaths and 50 injuries around the world, but neither Takata nor investigators understands exactly why the inflators are malfunctioning. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently asked Takata to issue a national recall, Takata declined, citing a minuscule failure rate and the fact that it's still investigating the issue. Toyota and Honda then made an industry-wide appeal for "a coordinated, comprehensive testing program" that would pinpoint the problem inflators and get them replaced, and that's what the Detroit meeting was about. Numerous issues, however, will make this a long row to hoe: simply getting the parts to replace the nearly 20 million inflators in cars recalled around the world so far - even working with other suppliers - will take a years, but more importantly, no one knows if the replacement inflators currently being installed will suffer the same issue. Answers will hopefully come quickly with Takata, the ten automakers and NHTSA all independently investigating the problem.