1994 Mitsubishi 3000 Gt Only 66k Miles on 2040-cars

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Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida rules out closer capital ties with Renault

YOKOHAMA — Nissan is committed to its automaking alliance with Renault but will not look to deepen its capital ties with the French automaker any time soon, its new CEO said on Monday. On his first day in the new position, chief executive Makoto Uchida also pledged to repair profitability at Japan's No. 2 automaker and said setting realistic targets would be key toward that goal, as it tries to make a clean break from the leadership of former chairman Carlos Ghosn. "Closer capital ties with Renault are not a focus in the short term," he told reporters. Uchida became CEO of Nissan on Dec. 1, as the car maker tries to recover from a profit slump and draw a line under a year of turmoil after the Ghosn scandal. The ousted chairman is fighting financial misconduct charges in Japan. One of the new CEO's big tasks is to salvage ties with Renault, which have deteriorated since Ghosn's ouster as chairman of both companies. Renault holds a 43.4% stake in Nissan after it saved the Japanese automaker from financial ruin two decades ago, and has pushed for the two companies to merge. In rejecting a notion of a merger with Renault, Uchida, 53, echoes his predecessor Hiroto Saikawa, who stepped down in September. He added that the alliance must re-think how it can serve all of its three members, which also includes Mitsubishi Motors. "The alliance has to benefit each of its partners in terms of revenue and profit," he said. "We need to re-evaluate what has worked and what hasn't worked in the alliance in the past few years." The CEO called for Nissan to set "challenging but achievable" targets, adding that this and the launch of more new car models and vehicle technologies would be key to its financial recovery. Nissan is bracing for its lowest annual profit in 11 years and has slashed its dividend by 65%. Its struggles come at a time when car companies desperately need scale to keep up with sweeping technological changes like electric vehicles and ride-hailing. "Somewhere along the way we created a culture of setting targets which could not be achieved," Uchida said, adding that this had resulted in a focus on short-term results. "Years of this had led Nissan to its current "difficult situation," he said, using heavy vehicle discounting in the U.S. market as an example of how aggressive sales targets to grow market share had deteriorated the company's brand.

Should you buy an EV?

Gas prices are hitting the skids and EVs are following suit; nearly every model in today's market has experienced a double-digit decline in sales – with the always notable exception of the Tesla Model S. Some EVs are in the last year of their generation while others have been half-heartedly designed and engineered to fulfill federal government quotas. The two non-Tesla front runners, the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, are in the unfortunate position of offering customers "2015" vehicles that were designed with 2011 in mind. Yet there's plenty of love in the air. Nissan has built over 180,000 Leafs worldwide, and chances are you will be seeing a second electric vehicle accompanying the Leaf when the new generation is released in the coming months. The Chevy Volt now offers the highest customer satisfaction out of any car or truck sold in North America. Forget the luxury cars, the sports cars, the family trucksters, and even the rolling flagship that guides Tesla's jaw dropping valuation on Wall Street. You want happy with your EV? The brand that's rocking the segment right now is Chevy. It's been doing so for a while. The EV market is poised to become a lot more sophisticated over the next 18 months with the three leading manufacturers – Tesla, General Motors, and Nissan – launching five brand new models along with no fewer than 16 other manufacturers making many of their bread and butter cars available as plug-in hybrids. So, if you want to keep your money as far away from the Arab dictatorships and Russian mafia as Mercury is from Pluto, and enjoy your commute, we're more than ready to do our part! So let's begin with the most important question. What's Your Range? How much driving do you generally do in a day? If the answer to that question is 50 miles or fewer, an all-electric vehicle like the Nissan Leaf may be the best ingredient for your driving recipe. This is especially true if you have a second vehicle you can use for the occasional longer drive or are willing to rent for the weekend. But here's a little surprise for you. The upcoming Chevy Volt was designed to be driven in all-electric mode for over 50 miles. Fifty-three, to be exact. Plus, the Volt's battery has experienced a lot fewer deterioration issues than the Nissan Leaf's due in part to the Volt's liquid-cooled battery, which also uses a lot less of its capacity than the air-cooled Leaf's does.

Junkyard Gem: 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT coupe

2001 was an eventful year for sport compacts, with "The Fast and the Furious" hitting the big screen and the "spider eye" Acura Integra entering its final model year. Mitsubishi Motors North America had released a new version of the Eclipse the year before, bigger and more luxurious than its predecessors; today's Junkyard Gem is one of those third-generation Eclipses, the fastest and most furious version available in 2001: a GT coupe with V6 engine and five-speed manual transmission, found in a Colorado Springs boneyard recently. Named for a 17th-century racehorse, the Eclipse (not to be confused with the present-day Eclipse Cross) began life in the 1990 model year as a Galant-based liftback coupe built in partnership with Chrysler at the new Diamond-Star Motors plant in Normal, Illinois (where Rivians are born today). Chrysler sold its own versions of the Eclipse for a while, with the Plymouth Laser produced through 1994 and the Eagle Talon surviving until the Eagle brand's demise in 1998. By the time this car was built, its closest relatives were the Galant, the Chrysler Sebring coupe and the Dodge Stratus coupe. The MSRP for the GT Coupe was $20,947, or about $35,789 in 2023 dollars. You could get a brand-new Integra GS-R for $22,300 ($38,101 today) in 2001, while the Dodge Neon ACR listed at just $13,845 ($23,655 now). This car was quite a bit more powerful than the 170-horsepower Integra GS-R, with this 3.0-liter 6G72 V6 and its 210 horses under the hood. The workhorse 6G72 went into far too many Mitsubishi, Chrysler and Hyundai vehicles to list here; highlights include the Chrysler TC by Maserati, the Chrysler LeBaron, the Mitsubishi Montero/Dodge Raider, the Mitsubishi Diamante and the Mitsubishi 3000GT/Dodge Stealth. This car has the five-speed manual transmission, as is proper. Buyers who insisted on the four-speed automatic had to shell out an extra grand, or $1,709 after inflation. This car appears to have been in decent cosmetic condition when it arrived at its final parking spot. These stickers were mandatory equipment on Eclipses during the 2000s. Likewise with multiple-bolt-pattern aftermarket wheels. This generation of Eclipse stayed in production through 2004, with its successor continuing to be sold through 2012. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.