1988 Mitsubishi Galant Sigma on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1994 Mitsubishi Diamante ES Sedan

Once the decade of the 1990s got rolling, the Lexus LS400, Toyota Cressida, Infiniti Q45, Acura Legend and Mazda 929 had proven that big Japanese-made luxury sedans could rack up respectable sales in the United States. Mitsubishi dove into that competition starting with the 1992 model year, when the Diamante arrived on our shores. Here's one of those early Diamantes, found in an Oklahoma City car graveyard recently. Mitsubishi had been selling big, swanky Debonairs at home since the middle 1960s, but that car was never sold new in North America (though a Debonair-related Hyundai, the XG300/XG350, did show up here). The Diamante was based on an enlarged Galant/Sigma platform and was available here as a pillared hardtop four-door sedan (in which there is a narrow B pillar but the door windows are frameless) and as a station wagon. The US-market sedan was built in Japan, while the wagon came from Australia. The Diamante's price tag made it tempting for American buyers considering Japanese luxury sedans. The base ES sedan listed for $25,525 in 1994, which comes to about $53,097 in 2023 dollars. Meanwhile, the Mazda 929 started at $30,500 ($63,446 now), the Acura Legend sedan cost $33,800 ($70,311 now), the Infiniti Q45 listed at $49,450 ($102,866 now) and the Lexus LS400 was $51,200 ($106,507 now). The higher-zoot Diamante LS (which cost $32,500 in 1994) got a twin-cam 6G72 V6 driving the front wheels with 202 horsepower, but today's Junkyard Gem is a base ES and it has the SOHC 6G72 with just 175 horses. Mitsubishi built Diamantes with manual transmissions, but we didn't get those cars on our side of the Pacific. A four-speed automatic transmission was mandatory equipment in North American Diamantes. This car didn't quite make it to 140,000 miles during its career. It appears that this car passed through the hands of both Fred Jones and a lesser-known outfit called Amigoland Motors during its life. This generation of Diamante remained on sale in the United States through the 1996 model year, but sales never measured up to Mitsubishi's hopes. The wagon got the axe after 1995, at which time the ES sedan became a fleet-sales-only machine. For 1996, all Diamantes sold here were fleet cars. For 1997, a new generation of Diamante showed up; sales continued through 2004. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. For Mitsubishi's diamond anniversary, the precious Diamante (with cheap lease terms).

'Zero' chance of Renault taking over Nissan, Mitsubishi, says Ghosn

TOKYO — Renault SA absorbing Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp is not an option as the carmakers look to strengthen their partnership while retaining their autonomy, alliance chairman Carlos Ghosn said on Friday. "Anybody who will ask Nissan and Mitsubishi to become wholly owned subsidiaries of Renault has zero chance of getting a result," Ghosn told shareholders of Mitsubishi Motors at a meeting. He also serves as chief executive of France's Renault. The alliance was the world's top-selling passenger vehicle maker in 2017, but as the global auto industry consolidates, it is looking to strengthen its position before the 64-year-old Ghosn, its main architect, retires in the coming years after overseeing the partnership for nearly 20 years. We reported in March that the carmakers were discussing a deeper tie-up, which could see the French government, a major shareholder in Renault, give up influence at Renault and the French carmaker relinquish control over Nissan. The three automakers have a unique partnership designed to leverage their combined scale to save on costs including R&D, parts procurement and production to better compete with rivals Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp. They are also interlinked by their shareholding structure. Renault holds 43.4 percent of shares in Nissan, while Nissan owns 15 percent of Renault, with no voting rights in a partnership that began in 1999. Mitsubishi Motors joined the alliance in 2016 after Nissan took a 34 percent controlling stake in the smaller automaker. Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa has said the alliance is not discussing a "full merger." Ghosn said that while the focus of the alliance was to sell more cars and increase profitability by reducing unnecessary duplication of processes, he wanted each of the three automakers to maintain their independence, which differentiated the group from Toyota and Volkswagen. "We need to work together ... to find a system by which what we have today, which is working very well, can continue in the future no matter who is leading the alliance," he said. "We need to prove that this is sustainable five years down the road, 10 years down the road, 15 years down the road." In a Figaro interview published last week, Ghosn was upbeat about the prospect of securing a new deal for the alliance despite its extreme political sensitivity in France and Japan, saying a plan would need to be announced "well before" the end of his four-year term at the helm of Renault in 2022.

Renault delays decision on merger with Fiat Chrysler

PARIS — Renault has delayed a decision on whether to merge with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, a deal that could reshape the global auto industry as carmakers race to make electric and autonomous vehicles for the masses. The deal still looks likely, but faced new criticism Tuesday from Renault's leading union and questions from its Japanese alliance partner Nissan. The French government is also putting conditions on the deal, including job guarantees and an operational headquarters based in France. The French carmaker's board will meet again at the end of the day Wednesday to "continue to study with interest" last week's merger proposal from FCA, Renault said in a statement. A Renault board meeting Tuesday to study the deal was inconclusive. The company didn't explain why, but a French government official said board members don't want to rush into a deal and are seeking agreement on all parts of the potential merger. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government policy, told The Associated Press the conditions outlined by France's finance minister still "need to be met." France and Italy are both painting themselves as winners in the deal, which could save both companies 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) a year. But workers worry a merger could lead to job losses, and analysts warn it could bog down in the challenges of managing such a hulking company across multiple countries. And a possible loser is Japan's Nissan, whose once-mighty alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi is on the rocks since star CEO Carlos Ghosn's arrest in November. Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa cast doubt Tuesday on whether his company will be involved in a Renault-Fiat Chrysler merger — and suggested adding Fiat Chrysler to the looser Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance instead. Saikawa said in a statement that the Renault-Fiat Chrysler deal would "significantly alter" the structure of Nissan's longtime partnership with Renault, and Nissan would analyze its contractual relationships to protect the company's interests. If Renault's board says "yes" to Fiat Chrysler, that would open the way for a non-binding memorandum of understanding to start exclusive merger negotiations. The ensuing process — including consultations with unions, the French government, antitrust authorities and other regulators — would take about a year. A merger would create the world's third-biggest automaker, worth almost $40 billion and producing some 8.7 million vehicles a year.