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Mitsubishi Motors halts some SUV sales in Japan as MPG scandal grows

Mitsubishi's fuel-economy scandal is going from bad to worse. First, the Japanese automaker claimed it lied about the fuel economy for a few kei cars, then it claimed fuel economy tests for as far back as 1991 could reveal mile-per-gallon figures that were tampered with. In May the automaker, admitted that every single vehicle it's sold in Japan could be affected by the fuel-economy scandal. Now, the Japanese automaker revealed that more of its vehicles were involved in the fuel-economy cheating scandal – and one of them is sold in the US. After completing its investigation into the automaker's fuel-economy scandal, Japan's Transport Ministry found that Mitsubishi overstated the fuel economy for eight more vehicles in marketing brochures, one of which is sold as the Outlander Sport in the US, reports Automotive News. The Transport Ministry ordered Mitsubishi to stop domestic sales of the models, which include the Pajero, Outlander, and RVR SUV (known as the Outlander Sport in the US). The latest finding adds to four kei cars that were previously noted for having overstated fuel economy figures earlier this year. Japan's sixth-largest automaker is having a hard time recuperating since the scandal broke earlier this April. The initial scandal led to the automaker suspending its sales, which caused a large dip in the automaker's market value. The scandal required Mitsubishi to seek financial assistance from Nissan, which agreed to buy a controlling 34-percent stake for $2.2 billion. Investigators hired by Mitsubishi to look into the automaker's overstated fuel economy figures revealed the company's "corporate culture" as the issue. More specifically, the investigators founds the company's pressure to improve fuel-efficiency figures, a lack of unity between divisions, and an unwillingness to accept fuel economy shortfalls as the reason for falsifying its vehicles' mpg figures. Mitsubishi is expected to compensate Japanese owners for the overstated fuel economy figures, which would result in a massive loss for the automaker. The company is expected to post a net loss of roughly $1.4 billion this year, pushing Mitsubishi into the red for the first time in approximately eight years. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News-sub.req.Image Credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi / Bloomberg via Getty Images Government/Legal Green Mitsubishi Nissan Fuel Efficiency kei car scandal

Nissan's Le Mans prototype V6 to power next GT-R

You can debate all you want about whether racing has any relevance to road cars. And while you're doing that, Nissan will be getting the most out of its GT-R LM Nismo. In fact, the latest reports indicate that the Japanese automaker will use the engine (or some version thereof) in the next-generation GT-R. The Nissan GT-R LM Nismo, for those who may have missed it, is the company's radical attempt to take on the Audis, Porsches and Toyotas of the top-tier LMP1 class in the FIA World Endurance Championship. And to do so at its flagship event, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Only unlike its rivals, it's not a mid-engined, all-wheel-drive design; both the engine and the driven wheels are at the front end. That engine, however, isn't actually all that radical. It's a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 producing 550 horsepower. Potent, but nothing earth-shattering. In fact it's not far off from the 545-hp 3.8-liter unit in the current production GT-R. And according to Top Gear, in speaking with the racing program's director Ben Bowlby, it will be essentially the same engine that will power the next road-going GT-R. Now if you're thinking that something's missing here, you're right: the GT-R LM Nismo packs a lot more than 550 horses. It actually has over 1,250 on tap. The remaining 700 hp are kicked in by the electric component of the racing prototype's hybrid powertrain. The next GT-R is widely expected to incorporate hybrid technology as well, but it won't be good for 700 hp all on its own. And it will almost certainly be driving all four wheels like the current version. Related Video:

Autoblog fan favorite car ads from Super Bowl XLIX

Super Bowl XLIX is in the books, and the New England Patriots emerged victorious. Of course, if you're like us, the big game wasn't so much about the battle between the east coast and west, so much as a fight between the world's automotive advertisers. We collected and collated all of last night's new ads and put them together for you to vote on. And yes, we're limiting this year's contest to last night's new features. That's why you aren't seeing Dodge's epic Wisdom among our collection of commercials, and it's a similar story with Chevrolet's Truck Guy Focus Group series, which highlights the new Colorado. You can still vote for your favorites. We won't be closing the voting on our Super Bowl page, so while the winners and losers are correct as of this writing, it's entirely possible that there could be some changes in the rankings as time goes on. So, without any further ado, here are the winning ads based on your voting. Nissan: With Dad Fiat: Ready For Action Jeep: Beautiful Lands BMW: Newfangled Idea Mercedes-Benz: Fable NASCAR: America Start Your Engines As for those ads that failed to impact you, loyal readers, Toyota was the absolute, undisputed loser. The Japanese brand ran four ads in total – two for Toyota and two for Lexus – and all of them have negative tallies as of this writing. Lexus' Make Some Noise and Lets Play and Toyota's One Bold Choice and My Bold Dad both had very weak showings among the commercials that aired, although they weren't alone. Neither Mazda nor Kia scored particularly well, despite featuring celebrity magic act Penn and Teller and former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, respectively. Chevrolet was the winner of the losers, as of our writing, recording the fewest downvotes for its audience-punking The Big Game ad. If you want to take a second look at the losing ads, you can head back to our Super Bowl page for the complete collection. But for now, head into Comments and let us know what you think of the results.