Hot '94 Mitsubishi 3000gt (no Reserve!!) on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Europe on track to buy more PHEVs than hybrids by 2019

LMC Automotive, formerly the forecasting division of J.D. Power & Associates, predicts that plug-in hybrids will sell better than conventional hybrids by 2019. By 2021, it envisions PHEV sales at 600,000 units yearly compared to 325,000 standard hybrid sales, and by 2024 PHEV sales are expected to account for 1.2 million sales every year. Part of LMC's prediction is based on a few factors, such as that it believes "electric-only operation will come to be seen as a true luxury characteristic and will be prized sufficiently to command significant premiums." Certain PHEVs are helped in countries like the UK and The Netherlands by generous incentives or other perks, like avoiding inner London's congestion charge, that allow them to address their price differences compared to standard offerings. And the number of PHEVs on the market will soon eclipse regular hybrids, coming from makers across the spectrum. Volvo has twice recently, and only belatedly, learned of the popularity of PHEVs: in 2013 it had to triple production of the V60 PHEV, and just this month it said demand for its XC90 PHEV is four times expectations. The Porsche Panamera E-Hybrid is outselling the traditional hybrid Panamera by more than seven-to-one. And then there's Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, Europe's best-selling PHEV with 19,855 units, a volume more than three times larger than the second-best seller. Although LMC sees hybrid growth slowing, they're still doing well. Toyota and Lexus build the top-five selling traditional hybrids in Europe, combining for 72 percent of European sales, with the new Auris and Yaris hybrids alone selling 123,506 units in 2014. For LMC's forecast to come true, Europe will need a spectacular change in buying habits, since the top ten conventional hybrids tallied 175,847 sales in 2014, and the top ten PHEVs rang up 36,138 sales. Featured Gallery 2015 Volvo XC90 T8 View 14 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req. Green Mitsubishi Toyota Volvo Hybrid ev sales hybrid sales toyota auris hybrid toyota yaris hybrid

Junkyard Gem: 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Sedan

Ever since I pined for a new Starion while I was driving a beige Toyota sedan in high school, I've had a great affection for sporty Mitsubishis. That means that I keep my eyes open for such cars while making my appointed junkyard rounds, especially the more obscure machines. Cordia Turbos, Tredia Turbos, Colt Turbos, Conquests, and — of course — interesting variations on the Lancer theme (no, not this kind of Lancer, nor this kind) make up my Mitsubishi junkyard-photography shopping list. Just recently, I spotted this 2005 Lancer Ralliart in a Denver yard, right next to a clean 2006 MINI Cooper S. The O-Z Rally Edition Lancers sold very well in Colorado, and so I find plenty of them (nearly all missing their original O-Z wheels) in the car graveyards in these parts. Most of the O-Z Lancers came in bright yellow paint. When I spotted a discarded yellow Lancer with special decklid badging, I thought I had run across yet another cool-looking-but-slow, appearance-package Lancer. A closer look (and a VIN check, because car owners "upgrade" with badge swaps all the time) revealed the truth: not a dime-a-dozen O-Z Rally but a genuine, numbers-matching Ralliart! As a matter of fact, I do find Lancer Evolutions (and Subaru WRXs) in Colorado U-Wrench-type yards, but they're always so thoroughly crashed and/or gutted that I don't bother photographing them. The 2005 Ralliart was no Evo, of course, but it came with a 162-horsepower 4G69 2.4-liter straight-four instead of the regular Lancer's 120-horse 4G94. Throw in the Ralliart's four-wheel-disc brakes plus its suspension upgrades, add the front seats out of the Japan-market Evolution GTA, and you had a reasonably quick car for just $18,499 (about $25,000 in 2019 dollars). That was a pretty good deal, at a time when the Dodge Neon SRT-4 cost $20,700, the Chevy Cobalt SS started at $21,995, the Volkswagen 1.8T GTI went for $19,510, and the Honda Civic Si cost $19,220 (though all but the Civic Si boasted more power than the Lancer Ralliart). A five-speed manual came as standard equipment on the Ralliart, though I fear many (probably most) American buyers chose the optional slushbox. This car has the five-speed. In theory, the powertrain from this car ought to be a not-too-difficult swap into any number of cheap-as-dirt 1980s Dodge/Plymouth Colts, and I hope some Colt-owning junkyard shopper grabs the guts from this car for that purpose.

Renault to propose joint holding company with Nissan, Nikkei reports

TOKYO — Renault SA will propose to Nissan Motor Co a plan to create a joint holding company that would give both firms equal footing as the French automaker seeks further integration with its Japanese partner, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday. Under the proposal, both firms would nominate a nearly equal number of directors to the new company in which ordinary shares in both Nissan and Renault would be transferred on a balanced basis, the newspaper said, without citing sources. This would effectively dilute the stake held by the French government in Renault to around 7-8 percent, from its current 15 percent, it added. The new company would be headquartered in a third country, such as Singapore. Renault plans to make the proposal to Nissan soon, the Nikkei said, having modified an earlier merger idea that Nissan rejected on April 12. Nissan declined to comment on the issue. The Financial Times newspaper reported that both Nissan and the Japanese government have refused to engage in merger talks with Renault. The report of the proposal comes as the outlook for the alliance — one of the world's top automaking partnerships — has clouded since the arrest in November of its main architect, Carlos Ghosn, for suspected financial misconduct. It also comes as Nissan's financial performance struggles following years of focusing on volume sales over building its brand, particularly in the United States, its biggest market. Nissan slashes its forecast This week, the Japanese automaker slashed its profit forecast for the year just ended to its lowest in nearly a decade, citing weakness in its U.S. operations. Renault for years has been vying for a closer merger with Nissan, which it rescued from the brink of bankruptcy two decades ago. Ghosn had been working to achieve a deeper integration before his arrest on financial misconduct charges in November last year. While the automakers have been consolidating many of their operations over the past decade, including procurement and production, many executives at Nissan have opposed an all-out merger with Renault. Instead, Nissan has argued for a more equal footing with Renault, which holds a 43 percent stake in its bigger partner. Nissan holds a 15 percent stake in Renault. It was unclear whether Renault would hold the casting vote in major decisions at the new company, as it did in Renault-Nissan B.V., a strategic management company jointly held by both companies that oversaw operations for the partnership.