2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Awd 4dr Cvt Se on 2040-cars

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Mitsubishi's first US chairman since 2007 charged with revitalizing brand

Have a look at Mitsubishi North America's vehicle page and you'll find seven cars in four model lines: i-MiEV electric hatch, Lancer sedan, Lancer Evolution and Sportback, Outlander and Outlander Sport, and Galant sedan. The Galant has 3.9 tires in the automotive grave, and the only hope for mainstream excitement, the Eclipse coupe and Spyder, had hemlock poured down their crankcases last year. Increasing the quotient of bleak, the Lancer isn't due for a refresh until 2014, the coming Outlander PHEV will sell in miniscule numbers when it does arrive, a little sports car has been nixed and the only other Mitsu being considered for our landmass is the Colt, which, for its stellar fuel economy numbers, looks like a car designed by Pikachu. There's also that matter of declining NA market share in a rising overall market, Mitsubishi's piece of the total pie currently hovering around the 0.4-percent mark according to Automotive News.
The company has decided to do more about it, reassigning Executive Vice President and Head Officer of the Headquarters Product Projects & Strategy Group Gayu Uesugi to be the new chairman of Mitsubishi Motors North America. It will be the first time in five years that someone has filled the chairman position at MMNA.
The hope is that with Uesugi's 35 years with the company, his experience in the company's global product plan and his success in emerging market strategy, he's the man to "[develop] a product plan and growth strategy for the US market" that will put things right. Or at least better. He will work with Yoichi Yokozawa, who has been CEO of MMNA since last year. There are more details on the move in the press release below.

Nissan's Carlos Ghosn offers to wear electronic ankle tag if released

TOKYO — Ousted Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn has offered to wear an electronic ankle tag and hire guards to monitor him in an unusual bid to secure his release on bail after two months of harsh detention in Japan for alleged financial crimes. Ghosn is also willing to remain in Tokyo, where he has leased an apartment, and post stock he owns in Nissan as collateral, his spokeswoman said. A new bail hearing is set for Monday after an earlier request was denied due partly to concerns the French executive was a flight risk. His release would allow Ghosn to meet more frequently with his lawyers and defend himself before the board of Renault, where he remains chairman and CEO, amid calls for his removal and potential moves to restructure the Nissan tie-up. Ghosn denies any wrongdoing as he awaits trial on charges of financial misconduct. "I will attend my trial not only because I am legally obligated to do so, but because I am eager to finally have the opportunity to defend myself," Ghosn said in a statement on Sunday. "I am not guilty of the charges against me, and I look forward to defending my reputation in the courtroom." Meanwhile, Ghosn's wife, Carole Ghosn, has written to French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss her husband's situation, her public relations representative said. The representative, Devon Spurgeon, confirmed a report in French paper Journal du Dimanche that a letter had been sent to Macron this month, but declined to provide details. France wants a full merger As Ghosn's arrest on Nov. 19 continued to cloud the outlook for Nissan's three-way alliance with France's Renault and Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan said it was not the time to discuss revising the partners' capital ties. Ghosn, who spearheaded Nissan's turnaround two decades ago, had pushed for a deeper tie-up between Nissan and Renault, including possibly a full merger by 2020, despite strong reservations at the Japanese firm. "We are not at the stage for such discussions," Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa told reporters on Monday. Saikawa said he had not heard directly about a reported proposal by the French government to integrate the Japanese carmaker's management with Renault. The Nikkei newspaper reported on Sunday that a French government delegation had informed Tokyo that it would seek an integration of Renault and Nissan, most likely under the umbrella of a single holding company. "Since I have not heard this directly, I cannot comment," Saikawa told reporters.

Junkyard Gem: 1992 Mitsubishi Expo LRV

Chrysler did reasonably well selling first-generation Mitsubishi Chariots in North America with Dodge/Plymouth Colt Vista badging during the 1980s, and so Mitsubishi Motors decided to take a shot at selling the second-generation Chariots with its own company's badges when those vehicles went into production in 1991. Those vehicles were known as Mitsubishi Expos here, with sales beginning in the 1992 model year and continuing through 1995. Here's one of those ultra-rare first-year Expos, found in a Colorado self-service car graveyard recently. The Chariot line had split into two in its home market by that time, with the regular four-door wagons still called Chariots and a shortened three-door version given the RVR name, which stood for Recreational Vehicle Runner (actually ßVR, with the Cyrillic first character). In the United States, the Chariot was sold as the Expo Wagon while the ßVR was dubbed the Expo LRV. The LRV's door setup is a bit odd. On the driver's side, there's just one door. On the passenger side, there's a sliding rear door (with interlock to prevent it from tearing off the fuel-filler door if it's open). In right-hand-drive markets, Mitsubishi put the slider on the left side while keeping the fuel filler on the right. Chrysler sold its own versions of the ßVR, of course. The Eagle version was known as the Summit Wagon. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Dodge and Plymouth dealers sold the ßVR as the Colt Vista. Since this is the base-model Expo LRV for 1992, it has the 1.8-liter SOHC 4G93 engine, sending 113 horsepower and 116 pound-feet in the general direction of the front wheels. The all-wheel-drive and Sport versions got a 2.4-liter 4G64 rated at 136 horsepower and 145 pound-feet. The emissions sticker tells us that this car was sold new in California. It was built in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. This one has the optional four-speed automatic, which cost $670 extra (about $1,460 in 2023 dollars). Not even 100,000 miles passed beneath this Expo's wheels during its 31-year career. Why is it in this place, then? Here's the reason: a crash that mangled the left front suspension. The ignition key dangles from the kind of lanyard used by car auctions, so we can assume this car got totaled instantly by the insurance company and had no chance of being sold to any customer other than a junkyard. The MSRP for this car was $11,537, or about $25,132 today.