1996 Mitsubishi 3000gt Sl Coupe 2-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Mitsubishi Evo successor on hold?

Just take one look at Mitsubishi's latest vehicles, both concept and production, and it's obvious that fuel economy - not performance - reigns supreme. With this in mind, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that Caradvice.com.au is suggesting that Mitsubishi is putting development of future performance models (like the 2013 Lancer Evolution GSR shown above) on hold as the company focuses on electric and plug-in vehicles.
In speaking with Mitsubishi managing director of product projects Ryugo Nakao at the Tokyo Motor Show, the publication says that the entire Lancer redesign is on hold, meaning that the aging Lancer Evo and Ralliart will have to contend with fresh performance models like the Volkswagen GTI and Subaru WRX. That being said, the article doesn't completely shut the door on another Evo - in fact, it goes on to indicate that when a new generation does hit the streets, it will almost certainly do so with some sort of electric-assisted powertrain, an oft-repeated rumor that got its legs as early as 2010.

Mitsubishi Mirage sedan confirmed for US

The Mitsubishi Mirage easily takes the cake as the worst new car I've driven in the last year. Actually, make that the worst new car I've driven in several years (Side Note: when was the last time I drove a Smart Fortwo?). But regardless of what I, or my colleagues, think about the Mirage, it's selling decently – Mitsubishi has moved over 14,000 of them so far this year, which is actually higher than the company initially expected. And now, we've got official confirmation that the sedan version is headed our way. This isn't really shocking, considering earlier reports, but Motor Trend received further confirmation of the Mirage sedan's arrival during last week's Los Angeles Auto Show. There's no official timing as to when the sedan will arrive, and when I reached out for comment, a Mitsubishi spokesperson said of this report, "Yep. Confirmed." So, yeah, the Mirage sedan is headed our way. It'll probably come in somewhere around the low, low $12,995 price of the hatchback, and hopefully, it'll be better to drive than its more versatile hatchback sibling. And hey, if it can help Mitsubishi build sales momentum here in the US, then that's a win, right?

Brand new cars are being sold with defective Takata airbags

If you just bought a 2016 Audi TT, 2017 Audi R8, 2016–17 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, or 2016 Volkswagen CC, we have some unsettling news for you. A report provided to a US Senate committee that oversees the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and reported on by Automotive News claims these vehicles were sold with defective Takata airbags. And it gets worse. Toyota and FCA are called out in the report for continuing to build vehicles that will need to be recalled down the line for the same issue. That's not all. The report also states that of the airbags that have been replaced already in the Takata recall campaign, 2.1 million will need to eventually be replaced again. They don't have the drying agent that prevents the degradation of the ammonium nitrate, which can lead to explosions that can destroy the airbag housing and propel metal fragments at occupants. So these airbags are out there already. We're not done yet. There's also a stockpile of about 580,000 airbags waiting to be installed in cars coming in to have their defective airbags replaced. These 580k airbags also don't have the drying agent. They'll need to be replaced down the road, too. A new vehicle with a defective Takata airbag should be safe to drive, but that margin of safety decreases with time. If all this has you spinning around in a frustrated, agitated mess, there's a silver lining that is better than it sounds. So take a breath, run your fingers through your hair, and read on. Our best evidence right now demonstrates that defective Takata airbags – those without the drying agent that prevents humidity from degrading the ammonium nitrate propellant – aren't dangerous yet. It takes a long period of time combined with high humidity for them to reach the point where they can rupture their housing and cause serious injury. It's a matter of years, not days. So a new vehicle with a defective Takata airbag should be safe to drive, but that margin of safety decreases with time – and six years seems to be about as early as the degradation happens in the worst possible scenario. All this is small comfort for the millions of people who just realized their brand-new car has a time bomb installed in the wheel or dashboard, or the owners who waited patiently to have their airbags replaced only to discover that the new airbag is probably defective in the same way (although newer and safer!) as the old one.