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Japanese earthquakes send ripples through auto industry

The earthquakes since April 14 in Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu are having aftershocks on the US auto industry, particularly for Toyota. The company shut down most of its factories in the country due to parts shortages, and the plants will be closed at least through April 23. "Decisions regarding recommencement of operation at plants in Japan will be made on the basis of availability of parts," the company said in a statement. According to Automotive News, Toyota's closed factories include a vast range of popular models in the US, including the Toyota Prius, Mirai, RAV4, 4Runner, Land Cruiser, Lexus ES, LS, IS, GS, RC, NX, RX, GX, and LX. The company's only sites in Japan that are still open build Hino trucks, Daihatsu models, and the Toyota Century limo. Toyota isn't yet sure whether these shutdowns could lead to vehicle shortages in the US. "As you can imagine, we are still reviewing the situation and working to learn more," company spokesperson Aaron Fowles told Autoblog. "While we know that production will be suspended in stages at most of our vehicle assembly facilities in Japan between April 18th and the 23rd, we do not know if they will continue production suspensions. Also, any effects to our inventory and/or sales have yet to be determined." He expects the automaker to know more in the coming days. Many of the affected Toyota plants aren't even in Kumamoto Prefecture, but major suppliers have factories in the region. For example, Aisin Seiki and Renesas Electronics both had to shutdown operations at plants in the area, according to Automotive News. Toyota isn't the only automaker affected. Nissan experienced a brief slowdown but was back to work on Monday, and Honda has suspended a motorcycle plant in the region until Friday. Mitsubishi had to close a production line due to the parts shortage, according to The Japan Times, but it didn't affect US models. "A supplier to our Mizushima plant has been impacted but they only supply an engine part for our mini car line. That line has been temporarily shut down due to that situation," spokesperson Alex Fedorak told Autoblog. "That same plant builds the Lancer and i-MiEv and there has been no impact to that line and production continues uninterrupted." Two major quakes hit Kumamoto Prefecture around Kumamoto city in the past week. The first on April 14 measured 6.4 magnitude, and a second on April 16 measured 7.3.

Good news, everyone! Updated Mitsubishi Mirage coming in 2017

If you think you see a 2016 Mitsubishi Mirage, it's a mirage. That's because the dreadful subcompact is going away for the new model year. But don't worry, the Mirage will make a triumphant return with a few updates. According to Car and Driver, an updated Mirage will launch early in the 2017 model year with powertrain and chassis enhancements. That's a good thing, considering how poorly the current car has been received. Also coming for 2017 is the Mirage sedan, a car that's already sold in other markets. Mitsubishi already confirmed the sedan's arrival, and considering how popular the base Nissan Versa sedan is, this should only improve the Mirage's sales here in the US. Speaking of sales, the Mirage isn't doing too bad in our market. It's the second-best-selling Mitsubishi product currently, beating the Outlander and Lancer through July of this year. An updated version and a sedan model will help, too. And hey, maybe this refreshed one won't be so dreary.

Mitsubishi refreshes the Triton truck for 2019

In September, Mitsubishi showed a teaser image of the new, redesigned Triton/L200 truck that refreshes the model originally introduced in 2014. Now, the new truck is here, except not here in the sense of being sold in the United States. Alas, we can hope. The new Triton/L200 is a global truck in the sense that it'll be sold in some 150 countries around the world, from Europe to Africa and Oceania, the Middle East and Latin America, but North America isn't part of the plan. Sales start Nov. 17 in Thailand, where the truck is built. Some 180,000 global yearly sales are planned. Looking at the photos released by Mitsubishi, the truck's nose has gained the new corporate styling direction that can also be seen on the Outlander, the Eclipse Cross, and even the re-facelifted Lancer that is sold in some countries. The front design is called "Dynamic Shield" in corporate Mitsubishi language, pointing to the more pronounced grille-intake combo with chrome effect. Otherwise, the basics of the Triton remain as before, with the truck likely to keep the time-honored 4G64 2.4-liter gasoline engine and two inline four diesel options. There are two 4WD systems on offer, either Super Select or Easy Select. Like we said in September, the small truck segment is hotly contested in the U.S. right now, and the Triton, were it sold in the States, would compete against the Tacoma, the Colorado and the Canyon, the Ford Ranger, and a possible Ram truck that would slot underneath the 1500. But the 25 percent Chicken Tax it's subjected to as a foreign-built truck makes it impossible to compete. The currently sold Ranger T6 is originally of Australian design, and as well as being made in Michigan it is also produced in Thailand like the Triton. Related Video: