1998 Mitsubishi 3000gt-performance Parts-beautiful on 2040-cars

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Mitsubishi Triton Ralliart hints at performance comeback

Mitsubishi Motors has not had a very good decade. Their lineup has dwindled down to four models and the the company has struggled to stay relevant as a brand as they hemorrhage market share. However, a new Triton Ralliart truck shows some signs of life in a company once rich with enthusiast-oriented offerings. The Mitsubishi Triton Ralliart will participate in the 2022 Asia Cross Country Rally, which takes place primarily in Thailand. The Triton is built there and exported throughout southeast Asia, which happens to be one of the few markets in which Mitsubishi still enjoys decent sales. Though not sold in the U.S., the four-wheel-drive Ranger-sized pickup is available in four-cylinder gas, diesel and turbodiesel configurations, the most powerful of which makes 176 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Manual and automatic transmissions are available, with the latest versions each offering six speeds. The Triton marks a return for the company's Ralliart banner. Though Mitsubishi had been rally racing since the 1960s, the Ralliart name only made its debut in 1981. The dedicated motorsports arm allowed the company to build and campaign models like the Lancer and Galant VR-4 in international rally races, ultimately leading to a slew of World Rally Championship wins, and an equally impressive string of victories at the Paris-Dakar Rally.  Ralliart folded up in 2010 after the global financial crisis and lay dormant for over a decade. Last year Mitsubishi quietly revived the brand, revealed a concept, released a lineup of accessories for its vehicles (available only in Asia) and hinted at a racing comeback. The Triton is the first Ralliart-branded vehicle since the revival. Mitsubishi didn't reveal what modifications were made to the Triton. One encouraging sign, however, is the fact that the rally team is headed by Hiroshi Masuoka, a long-time Mitsubishi driver who won the Paris-Dakar twice. Masuoka was also a test driver who helped develop the Pajero (known in the U.S. as the Montero). Sadly, the Pajero factory was sold last week to a toilet paper manufacturer, but perhaps Masuoka can recapture a bit of Mitsubishi's past glory with the Triton, even if he's essentially starting from scratch. The Triton effort, and yesterday's announcement that Mitsubishi was donating 1 million euros to aid Ukrainian refugees, suggests Mitsubishi feels it is in a better place financially.

2019 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Quick Spin Review | Space and power make it worth your consideration

The subcompact crossover market is one of the fastest growing segments in the industry. That can make it tough to stand out. Some highlight style, like with the Hyundai Kona and Jeep Renegade. Some go for a bargain focus such as with the Nissan Kicks. Our subject in this case, the 2019 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, earns a look for its remarkable space, strong powertrain and generally good value. The Eclipse Cross's spaciousness is its ultimate party trick, especially for its small size. From the driver's seat, your 5-foot 11-inch and somewhat heavy author could find a very comfortable driving position with loads of head room and leg room. The seating position is high with loads of visibility. The generous headroom also keeps you from feeling like you're sitting on top of the car. The front seats don't have much shape to them, but the cushions are thick and soft enough that they're plenty comfortable. I was also surprised at how easy it was to get in and out of the Eclipse Cross. The door opening is quite large, thanks to a high roof and reasonably low floor, plus the relatively high seat. This kind of easy ingress and egress I don't see often except for in minivans such as our long-term Chrysler Pacifica. More impressive than the space in the front is the space in the back. I could sit behind myself with a few inches to spare in front of my knees. I can't even say that about many comparably-sized cars let alone the current crop of cramped crossovers. The back seats are flat and firmer than I would like, but they do recline and can slide fore and aft to make more room for cargo or passengers. All of this fits into a package that's about 5 inches shorter than a Honda Civic hatchback, one of the most spacious small cars on the market. Cargo space is close to the Civic, too. With the seats up, it's slightly behind the Honda at 22.6 cubic feet (22.1 for our SEL with the subwoofer and moonroof) versus 25.7. But with the 60/40 split seats folded, the Eclipse Cross jumps ahead with 48.9 cubic feet versus the Civic's 46.2. The rest of the interior is less impressive. The plastics, while varied in texture and finish, are cheap and hard. The infotainment offers two ways to interact with it, either with the touchscreen or a touch pad, but neither is great. The touchscreen is far away, and the touch buttons on either side are annoying, and the touch pad is only slightly better than the terrible Lexus touch pad interface.

Renault-Nissan alliance reboot will kick off with five projects

Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. are moving ahead with a plan to recalibrate a two-decades-old alliance that had weakened over time, starting with a range of industrial projects alongside an agreement to rebalance capital ties, according to people familiar with the situation. Top executives from the alliance partners held an operating board meeting on Thursday, giving a nod to bringing Nissan and Renault’s cross shareholdings to an equal level, as well as common projects as part of the reshaped cooperation, the people said. The partners also agreed on an alliance event to be held on Feb. 6 in London to present details of the plans, the people added, declining to be named discussing details before they are public. Under the landmark plan, Renault is expected to cut its 43% stake in Nissan to 15% via an orderly disposal of shares over time to eliminate lopsided capital ties that have been a source of friction for years. The tentative agreement comes after years of tension that at one point spilled over into Japanese-French politics when Renault-NissanÂ’s then-leader Carlos Ghosn weighed to merge the two companies.   The partners also agreed to continue collaborating on various industrial projects, a condition that was crucial for Renault to obtain approval for the rebalancing from its most powerful shareholder, the French government. Media representatives for Renault and Nissan declined to comment. The boards of directors of the respective companies will have to approve the agreement in meetings to be held in coming days, the people said.  Code name: ‘ReloadedÂ’ The redesigned alliance will allow Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo to move on with a complex split of Renault into five separate businesses, including carved-out electric-vehicle business Ampere and to deepen ties with a series of other partners, including ChinaÂ’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Co. and Qualcomm Inc., the people said. “The interest for each of the partners is now to be able to move forward without, for example, RenaultÂ’s management getting distracted in endless trans-national politics,” says Stifel analyst Pierre-Yves Quemener. Failure of the talks would have been “a negative,” Quemener said.  Renault, Nissan and junior partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will embark on roughly five projects initially, codenamed “Reloaded,” with others to follow, the people said.