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Mitsubishi cheated on Japanese fuel economy test since 1991

Mitsubishi now says that its cheating on Japanese fuel economy tests stretches as far back as 1991. The automaker has hired an independent panel of investigators to get to the bottom of what happened, and the company will give them three months to prepare a report about the deception. Mitsubishi's cheat involves how the company calculated driving resistance to determine fuel economy. In 1991, Japan's Road Transport Vehicle Act established a coasting test to establish the driving resistance, but Mitsubishi's engineers used their own "high-speed coasting test," according to its statement. In 2007, the company decided to only use the country's mandated evaluation, but the employees kept utilizing the high-speed test in the field. In the most recent scandal, workers selected low values for driving resistance from the results, which made the fuel economy look better. Mitsubishi's presented these details in a report to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. "We are currently investigating the reasoning behind each of the decisions," the company said in a statement. It also hired three former prosecutors to figure out why this happened for so long. At this time, Mitsubishi only confirms the incorrect figures for some of the company's minicars, but this investigation could discover more transgressions. This fiasco started when Nissan discovered fuel economy discrepancies in some of its Mitsubishi-made tiny kei-class cars in Japan. Mitsubishi came clean and admitted the problem affected about 625,000 vehicles in the country. Japanese media have alleged more vehicles have incorrect mileage, including the Outlander. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US has also requested data from the Japanese automaker to confirm similar deceptions didn't happen for vehicles here. Related Video: Regarding the Report to MLIT Concerning Improper Conduct in Fuel Consumption Testing of Vehicles Manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Tokyo, April 26, 2016 The following is a summary of the report submitted by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) today, pursuant to instructions received from MLIT on April 20 to investigate improper conduct in fuel consumption testing of vehicles manufactured by MMC. Report Summary 1.

Nissan Leaf's lead over Renault Zoe narrows in Europe

The Nissan Leaf has seen its sales steadily decline in the US for a while now. Here, its been eclipsed by the second-generation Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in while people await the next-generation version of the all-electric Leaf. The EV may be starting to receive a similar response across the Pond. While the Leaf remains Europe's biggest-selling EV, that lead is eroding, as sales of the Renault Zoe are catching up, according to the European Alternative Fuels Observatory (EAFO). It's a good thing Nissan and Renault are sister companies. Through May, Nissan sold about 9,500 Leaf vehicles in Europe. The good news is that number is up 37 percent from a year earlier. There's disconcerting news, too, and that is that the Renault Zoe's sales have surged 60 percent this year to almost 9,400 units. So, for all we know, the Zoe may have caught up with the Leaf last month. Still, both models are outpacing demand for the Tesla Model S and Volkswagen e-Golf: the former's sales are little-changed this year, while the latter model's sales have dropped 34 percent. The BMW i3, Kia Soul EV, and Mercedes-Benz B250e all have had higher sales this year. As for plug-in hybrids, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV has maintained its substantial European lead, almost doubling sales of the Volkswagen Golf GTE and totaling almost 9,400 units sold through May. Meanwhile, the new Volvo XC90 PHEV has leapfrogged models such as the Volkswagen Passat GTE, Mercedes-Benz C350e, and Audi A3 e-Tron into third place behind the Mitsubishi and VW. Here in the US, Nissan Leaf sales through June fell 41 percent from a year earlier to about 5,800 units, while Chevrolet Volt sales have surged 75 percent to 9,808 units. Featured Gallery 2016 Nissan Leaf View 30 Photos News Source: EAFO, Getty via Green Car Reports Green Nissan Renault Electric ev sales zoe

2015 Nissan Altima pricing released, V6 gets MPG bump

Nissan has announced a range of moderate enhancements for its 2015 Altima sedan, starting with a one-mile-per-gallon increase in the highway fuel economy of the top-tier, 3.5-liter V6 engine. The six-pot now returns 32 mpg on the highway and 22 mpg in the city.
The 3.5 SV and 3.5 SL, the mid and top-end six-cylinder trims, also get NissanConnect with Navigation, blind-spot monitoring and lane departure warning. Prices, though, see a commensurate increase.
The starting price for a base, 2.5-liter four-cylinder Altima has been nudged up by $130, to $22,300, not counting the $810 destination charge. The 2.5 S model is down $130, though, to $22,560. Meanwhile, the top-end four-cylinder models, the SV and SL see their prices increase by $380 and $230, respectively.