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Mitsubishi Mirage retiring from the Japanese market in current form

The city-friendly sixth-generation Mitsubishi Mirage has reached the end of its career on the Japanese market. The company's consumer website notes that production has ended, and the news fuels speculation that the hatchback will soon retire from the American market. "Due to the end of production of the Mirage, we may not be able to meet the customer's request for body color, options, etc. Please contact our sales staff for details," the message reads. Interestingly, the end of production isn't announced on Mitsubishi's American website. While the Mirage is overshadowed by Mitsubishi's crossovers and SUVs in the United States, a market that has traditionally been unkind to small hatchbacks, it's relatively popular in several Asian markets and nothing suggests slow sales caused its demise. The current-generation model received a new-look exterior design and additional tech features for 2021, but it entered production in April 2012 as a hatchback and in June 2013 as a sedan so it's fairly old in car years — it sounds like the Mirage has simply reached the end of its natural life cycle. It's too early to tell what's next; our spies haven't spotted a new Mirage testing yet. We know that in some markets Mitsubishi will soon revive the heritage-laced Colt nameplate on a hatchback related to the Renault Clio, but we wouldn't be surprised if the Mirage lives on in one form or another. The Clio stretches about eight inches longer and five inches wider than the Mirage so the Colt won't land as a direct replacement. Similarly, what this means for the Mirage's career in the United States is unclear at this point. "The Mirage remains an integral part of our U.S. line-up at this time," a company spokesperson told Autoblog. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Chrysler recalling 67k trucks with manual transmissions

Earlier this month, Chrysler announced the recall of some 280,000 pickup trucks over concerns that their axles could seize up. Now the automaker has announced an entirely separate recall of another 66,819 trucks over the springs that could break in the clutch ignition interlock switch. The recall affects Dodge Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups, as well as the Dodge Dakota and Mitsubishi Raider. The issue is relevant only to those trucks fitted with manual transmissions, from the 2006 and 2007 model years and manufactured between July 1, 2005, and July 31, 2006. Since a broken spring could, according to statements issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and FCA US LLC (previously known as the Chrysler Group) prevent the vehicle from starting, or cause it to move unintentionally once the ignition kicks over, the automaker will begin notifying owners of the affected vehicles just before Valentine's Day to bring their trucks into their local dealers to have the clutch ignition interlock switch replaced. FCA emphasizes, however, that the unintended movement would only occur "in rare cases" and only "if recommended starting procedures are not followed." Only one such case is known to have occurred, but it did regrettably result in a fatality. Statement: Clutch Ignition Interlock Switch December 29, 2014 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is launching a voluntary global recall of an estimated 66,819 older-model pickup trucks equipped with manual transmissions. The Company will replace their clutch ignition interlock switches at no charge to customers. An investigation by FCA US engineers discovered switches in certain model-year 2006 and 2007 pickups may be equipped with spring wire that differs from wire used in previous switches. The alternate wire may break and, as a result, the vehicles may not start. In rare cases, a vehicle may – if recommended starting procedures are not followed – exhibit unintended movement when its ignition key is turned. The Company is aware of one fatality related to this campaign. It stemmed from the single known accident involving this population of vehicles. The recall covers certain Dodge Dakota, Dodge Ram 1500, 2500, 3500 and Mitsubishi Raider pickups. Switches with the alternate wire were not used in any vehicles produced before July of 2005, or after June of 2006. The Dakota and Raider are no longer in production.

New Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV coming before the end of the year

Mitsubishi was the first automaker to market with an all-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid crossover, the Outlander PHEV, which went on sale in some parts of the world as long ago as 2013. It hit the U.S. market in 2016 as a 2017 model and was just updated for 2021 with a more powerful electrified drivetrain and a bigger battery pack. But it was still based on the old Outlander architecture instead of the completely new non-PHEV Outlander that launched as a 2022 model and shared a lot of its underpinnings with the Nissan Rogue. Now Mitsubishi says an all-new Outlander PHEV will hit its home market of Japan before the calendar closes on 2021 and will debut in the States in the middle of 2022. As expected, it will be built on the automaker's latest crossover chassis, a vastly improved platform that benefits greatly from the automaker's partnerships with Nissan and Renault. We don't have any specific details, but Mitsubishi says we can expect "improved motor output and increased battery capacity over the current model." That means "more powerful road performance and greater driving range." As competent as the current Outlander PHEV is, more power, greater range and improved driving dynamics courtesy of a new chassis are all excellent benefits, which is good since the Outlander PHEV faces awfully tough competition, particularly in the form of the Toyota RAV4 Prime. Plus, the new Outlander PHEV has an ace up its sleeve: Mitsubishi says this of its upcoming PHEV: "integrated components and an optimized layout allow the new model to accommodate seven passengers in three rows." That's all we know so far. But as soon as we have more details, so will you. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.