2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Sedan 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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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.

Mitsubishi developing new standalone hybrid Evo successor

Mention the name Mitsubishi to different people and you'll likely get two startling different images. Environmentalists will focus on the company's strides in developing EVs, while performance enthusiasts will point you toward the Lancer Evolution. The prevailing wisdom was that Mitsubishi would cancel the latter to concentrate on the former, but the latest intel suggests that the two will be reconciled with a new Evo around the corner.
Although Mitsubishi is reportedly working to streamline its lineup from 23 models on 12 different platforms to 13 models on 7 by 2016, the next Evo will stand as an exception. Like Subaru did with the formerly Impreza-based WRX (or for that matter Nissan with the formerly Skyline-based GT-R), the new Evo won't have anything to do with the next Lancer, which itself will be based on a Renault-Nissan platform.
On that unique platform, Mitsubishi is likely to install a small direct-injection turbo engine (potentially a diesel) that could be based on the 1.1-liter, three-cylinder turbo engine in the XR-PHEV concept we saw in Tokyo, supplemented by small electric motors with lightweight batteries and driving all four wheels through an enhanced version of the company's Super All-Wheel Control system. As to whether the Evo name will carry over, that remains to be seen, but if these reports prove accurate, its spirit could very much live on.

2022 Mitsubishi Outlander Luggage Test | Three rows, two tests!

Well, this is a first. Normally, three-row vehicles are so enormous that doing a luggage test with the third row lowered is a total "no kidding" proposition. I'd run out of stuff in my garage long before I'd fill up a Kia Telluride. As such, I only test the space behind the raised third row of three-row SUVs because that can actually be some useful information. The 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander is not a typical three-row SUV, however. It's one of only two SUVs in the compact segment, along with the Volkswagen Tiguan, that offers a third-row seat. As I've already demonstrated, it's not much a seat, but its presence and the need to accommodate it does mean the Outlander has one of the largest cargo volumes in the compact segment.  As such, what we're getting here is the first Double Luggage Test© whereby I'll be treating the Outlander like both a compact SUV and a three-row one, testing it with both the third row raised and lowered. Right!? Pretty damned exciting.  Test 1! Here's what you get with third row raised. On paper, Mitsubishi says this is 11.7 cubic-feet, which is indeed the smallest three-row number I've come across while luggage testing. Congratulations Cadillac XT6, you're no longer last! Wait, hold that thought ... Thanks to those comically tall head restraints and the Outlander's D pillar shape, I could actually safely place the fancy bag on top without it flying forward or excessively blocking rearward visibility (the two reasons I don't load to the roof in these tests). You can see that visibility below right. Below left you can see the 12.6-cubic-foot Cadillac XT6, which could not fit the fancy bag as such (though, obviously, you could fit something). So, sorry XT6, you're in last again. Mwa mwa.  Ah, but what about under-floor space. There's indeed some available. It houses the cargo cover encased in a foam mold that also houses those comically tall headrests when not in use. Remove it all, and there is a decent amount of extra space unearthed, which could theoretically free up some extra space if you left the rigid floor open. That's not the same as vehicles like the Honda Pilot and Kia Telluride, though, which more obviously intend you to use the under-floor space in such a manner.  Test 2! With the third-row lowered and the second-row reclined to a natural position, this is the space available. The specs say it's 33.5 cubic-feet, which falls short of the class-leading Honda CR-V (39.2), Toyota RAV4 (37.5) and Hyundai Tucson (38.7).