1993 Mitsubishi 3000gt Vr-4 Coupe 2-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Even Ferrari swept up in latest Takata recall expansion

The scope of Takata's deadly airbag problems continues to widen. Eight manufacturers announced recalls Friday that affect more than 12 million vehicles, according to documents filed with federal regulators. The automakers include Honda, which is recalling 4.5 million units, Fiat Chrysler with 4.3 million, Toyota with 1.65 million, and Subaru, which is recalling almost 400,000. Some of these cars include the Saab 9-2x and Pontiac Vibe that Toyota and Subaru made for General Motors. Mazda will recall 730,000 vehicles and Nissan has 400,000 affected units. The smallest numbers were posted by Mitsubishi, with 38,000 Lancers manufactured from 2006 to 2007, and as a noteworthy high-end manufacturer, Ferrari is calling back 2,800 vehicles. These are all US-market cars. Beyond America, the Japanese Transport Ministry has announced seven million additional vehicles will be recalled, which means 19.6 million vehicles across the globe are affected by recalls announced. The defects have been traced to an insufficiently manufactured airbag inflator, which lacks a drying agent that would prevent the inflators from deteriorating over time. Thirteen deaths have been linked to the faulty airbags, which have become unstable and are prone to exploding and showering vehicle occupants with lethal amounts of metal shrapnel. A private equity firm, KKR & Co., has been named in a possible buyout of the struggling Takata. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Shutterstock Government/Legal Recalls Ferrari Honda Mazda Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Pontiac Subaru Toyota Saab Safety

Mitsubishi and Nissan teaming up on electric kei car

Nissan and Mitsubishi have announced plans to build an electric kei car together. The yet-unnamed car would mark a major step towards electrification of Japan's popular supercompact segment. The car will be powered by a 20 kWh battery and will be engineered to cover daily driving duties in a Japanese driving cycle. The car can also double as a mobile power source or power a home in emergency situations. Nissan says the car will measure 134 inches long, 58 inches wide, and 65 inches tall, in order to comply with laws limiting kei car size. The companies state that the car will be developed by NMKV Co., Ltd., a joint-venture that stands for Nissan Mitsubishi Kei Vehicle. Each carmaker owns a 50 percent stake, and already jointly builds models such as the feline favorite Nissan Dayz, which Mitsubishi sells as the eK. In reality, that likely means Mitsubishi will be developing the car and Nissan will simply slap a badge on it. Nissan has not traditionally built kei cars, choosing instead to rebadge those made by Suzuki or Mitsubishi. In fact, Mitsubishi built the first electric kei car, the i-Miev, way back in 2009, and it was actually sold in the U.S. until 2017. The jellybean-shaped EV was a pioneer in the field, but its 62-mile range from a 16 kWh lithium-ion battery showed the limitations of the technology at the time. Mitsubishi moved about 32,000 of them before they pulled the plug, with a pre-tax-credit price ranging from $23,000 to $31,000. The new Nissan-Mitsubishi kei car will land at around 2 million yen, or $18,200. The price, while slightly more expensive than a gasoline counterpart, bucks predictions from analysts that said prices would skyrocket by 66 to 120 percent if kei cars were forced to electrify. A petrol-powered Nissan Dayz starts at around $15,200. Size-wise, the two share a similar footprint as they are governed by kei car size limits. The special class of cars get unique license plates and other registration cost benefits due to their compact dimensions. A BMW i3 would exceed those boundaries due to its 158-inch length and 70-inch width. However, the larger EV comes equipped with a substantially bigger 42.2 kWh battery good for 152 miles of range. Though no photos have been released, we predict it will look like the iMk concept (pictured above). The car will go on sale in spring 2022. Related Video This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

James May was hospitalized after Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution crash

British auto journalist and TV host James May was reportedly whisked to the hospital after a crash during filming of The Grand Tour. The presenter was said to have been driving a yellow Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII at 75 mph when he crashed into a tunnel wall.  Fortunately, The Sun reports that May, 59, broke a rib during the crash and required x-rays and a brain scan before being released from the hospital in mostly good health. This was not always the case with the former BBC Top Gear hosts. Famously, Richard Hammond received severe injuries from a 2006 crash at 280 mph in a drag racer. Hammond was also involved in a fiery crash of a Rimac One in 2017, but walked away mostly uninjured.  The details of the crash are a bit vague, but apparently it involved a challenge where May was supposed to drive the Evo down a long tunnel at a naval base in Norway. The Sun describes the stunt as taking place in the pitch black passage, with lights only illuminating as the car drove by. With mere seconds to react, May was unable to brake in time from 75 mph and slammed the Evo into a wall. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The segment apparently involved May, Hammond, and Jeremy Clarkson taking AWD sedans to the Arctic Circle. Two other cars have been posted to social media by Clarkson himself and by fans, as discovered by Motor 1. Those cars are a Subaru Impreza WRX STI and an Audi RS4. After the Evo's destruction, the Subaru and Audi continued on without it. The cars were driving in Norway six months ago, but May's hospitalization is only now coming to light.  Thankfully Captain Slow, as May is nicknamed, is alright. As for the state of the increasingly endangered Evo, however, we'll just have to wait until the next season of Grand Tour airs.