1988 Mitsubishi Montero 4x4 on 2040-cars

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Mitsubishi teases Ralliart concept for Tokyo Auto Salon

Rumors have been circulating that Mitsubishi will be doing some interesting things with its performance-oriented Ralliart brand. And it has launched some special variants in some overseas markets with the name, but that doesn't seem to be the end of it. Next month at the Tokyo Auto Salon, Mitsubishi will show a Ralliart concept car. The company released a single teaser image of the concept, and it has us feeling optimistic. It shows a huge rear diffuser with a simple and stylish Ralliart badge attached. Unfortunately, that's about all we can see. So there's no way of knowing what kind of vehicle is attached to it. Could it be a fancy show car we've never seen before, or a way sportier version of a current model? At least one rumor suggests the concept could be based on the Outlander PHEV. It would certainly make some sense to revive Ralliart with a popular model such as the Outlander, not to mention one that's completely new and representative of where the brand is headed. The PHEV would be an interesting choice for performance, and we'd be curious what Mitsubishi would change to make it sportier. Bigger electric motors would be very appealing, but a more minimal set of upgrades such as suspension and brakes would be more likely. The Ralliart concept won't be the only concept on display from Mitsubishi, though. The company will also show an electric kei car, which is a car of extra-small proportions for a special class of cars in Japan. As such, there's no way it will make our way to the U.S., but it could still be a neat little machine to see. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Japan prosecutors seek 2 years in prison for ex-Nissan exec Greg Kelly

TOKYO — Japanese prosecutors demanded two years in prison for former Nissan executive Greg Kelly and accused him of joining a “conspiracy” to pay his former boss Carlos Ghosn illicitly in closing arguments Wednesday in a yearlong trial. “That unpaid compensation existed is clear,” prosecutor Yukio Kawasaki told the Tokyo District Court, reading briskly from a thick document. Kelly, a 30-year veteran at the Japanese automaker, was living in the U.S. when he was arrested in November 2018 upon returning to Japan to attend a meeting. The first American to be appointed to NissanÂ’s board, Kelly says he is innocent. He sat calmly in the courtroom, wearing his usual red tie and dark suit, alongside defense lawyers. Everyone in the courthouse was wearing a mask because of the pandemic. Kelly told The Associated Press in an interview last month he did not know all the details of GhosnÂ’s pay. He was determined to retain Ghosn, Nissan's former chairman, because of his extraordinary management skills and wanted to pay him in a legal way, he said. Ghosn was arrested at the same time as Kelly and also maintains he is innocent. He skipped bail in late 2019 and fled to Lebanon, the country of his ancestry. It has no extradition treaty with Japan. The charges center around a pay cut of about 1 billion yen ($10 million) a year that Ghosn voluntarily started taking from 2010, halving his pay after disclosure of high executive pay became mandatory in Japan. Nissan Motor officials considered various ways to make up for the money Ghosn gave up, such as paying him consulting fees after retirement. They also mulled other methods such as payments through subsidiaries and stock options. Nothing had been paid at the time of the arrests. The contention is over whether that money should have been reported as compensation as a de facto promised sum under a binding contract, or didnÂ’t need to be disclosed until it was finalized. Ghosn has said a group at Nissan engineered his arrest because they feared that French automaker Renault, which owns 43% of Nissan, would gain more control over the company. Other Nissan officials made similar comments during KellyÂ’s trial. Renault sent Ghosn to Nissan in 1999 to lead its rescue from the brink of bankruptcy. He successfully steered the maker of the Leaf electric car and Infiniti luxury models for nearly two decades.

2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV First Drive Review: Slightly rough diamond

The Mitsubishi Outlander was one of the first small, affordable plug-in hybrid SUVs, yet it lost ground in recent years with the introduction of strong offerings from Toyota, Ford, Hyundai and Kia. The main reason was that the regular Outlander wasn’t especially competitive, so once the PHEV finally had company, there was nowhere to go but down. Well, thereÂ’s an all-new and dramatically improved Outlander now, and finally, its plug-in hybrid version is here to make up that lost ground. Like the gas-only version, the new 2023 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV impresses with a stylish, spacious and suitably modern interior, and generally comfortable and quiet demeanor. The plug-in hybrid goes significant further, though, with more power and refinement, plus a strong electric range. There are a couple weak points that keep it from being best-in-class (like the gas-only version), but depending on your needs, the Outlander PHEV could still be the green compact SUV for you. The Outlander PHEV has a powertrain that's extremely similar to its predecessor. A naturally aspirated 2.4-liter four-cylinder now makes 134 horsepower rather than the previous model's 148 horsepower. While it can provide direct power to the wheels, itÂ’s most often employed as a motor generator for the front and rear electric motors (much as a Honda hybrid operates). Both of those motors are also more potent than before. The front motor picked up 20 horsepower and 88 pound-feet of torque to make 114 ponies and 188 lb-ft. The rear makes 40 more horsepower for 134, though torque remains the same at 144 pound-feet. The result is a grand total of 248 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque. That's more than the Ford Escape PHEV, and more torque than the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage plug-ins. The Toyota RAV4 Prime's 302 horsepower bests them all. In addition to more power, the Outlander PHEV can now go 38 miles on a charge –14 more than before thanks to a pack that has grown from 13.8 kilowatt-hours to 20 kWh. Once again, thatÂ’s more range than Ford, Hyundai and Kia, though less than the Toyota. Mitsubishi also offers an unusual feature not available on those competitors: DC fast charging. WeÂ’re not sure how necessary a DC fast charger is on a vehicle that can run on gas in a pinch, but if youÂ’d like a topped-up battery and donÂ’t want to wait overnight to get it from the plug in your garage, why not?