2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Gts Sedan Sunroof on 2040-cars

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Mexican police seize engine-powered drug cannon

It seems like we're always hearing about new ways in which people are trying to smuggle things into the US from Mexico - including simply driving over the wall. Case in point? Mexican police have found yet another way criminals are attempting to get drugs over the border. Mexicali police have seized what looks to be either a Mitsubishi Mighty Max or Dodge Ram 50 pickup, equipped with what is essentially an oversized spud gun in the bed used to shoot marijuana over the border.
Constructed from a metal tank and a large plastic pipe, The Guardian reports that this drug cannon actually uses a car engine to build up enough air pressure to launch up to 13 kilos of marijuana at a time. Mexicali police were alerted to this truck when their US counterparts found drug packages on this side of the border. As of yet, there is no word as to how the vehicle was caught and whether any arrests resulted.

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.

Junkyard Gem: 1999 Mitsubishi Galant GTZ-V6

The Mitsubishi Galant first appeared on American streets as the 1971 Dodge Colt and then a bit later with Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Sapporo badges. Mitsubishi Motors finally began selling Galants from its own U.S. showrooms for the 1985 model year, and Galant sales continued here through four more generations before getting the axe in 2012. We saw some interesting and/or quick Galants along the way, including the Sigma, VR-4, GS-X and Ralliart; today's Junkyard Gem is a rare example of the sporty eighth-generation Galant GTZ sedan, found in a North Carolina self-service wrecking yard recently. The final year for the hot-rod all-wheel-drive VR-4 and GS-X Galants in the United States was 1992. By 1998, there were just three levels of new Galant here, all with 141-horse four-cylinder engines driving the front wheels. Then the 1999 model year arrived, and so did the 6G72 V6 engine under Galant hoods. This SOHC (yet still 24-valve) engine was rated at 161 horsepower and 205 pound-feet. It was available in the U.S.-market ES-V6, GTZ-V6 and LS-V6 Galants for the '99. The GTZ was sporty-looking, but not as loaded with luxury features as the LS. 1999 was the first model year for the eighth-generation Galant in North America, and it had finally become big and powerful enough to be considered a genuine rival for the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord (both of which had been available with V6 power for quite a few years). The 1999 Galant got a grille that resembled the one on its upscale Diamante big brother, which had five years to live at the time. The MSRP for this car was $24,300, which comes to about $46,374 in 2024 dollars. The base 1999 Galant DE started at just $16,999, or $32,441 in today's money. Those prices were in the ballpark with the Galant's Camry and Accord rivals; the Camry LE V6 with automatic started at $22,748 ($43,412 now) with automatic transmission, while the Accord LX V6 with automatic was $21,700 ($41,412 today). Both those cars had a lot more power than the Mitsubishi, though: 194 horsepower for the Toyota and 200 for the Honda. The 1999 Galant sold in the United States was not available with a manual transmission, which made the El Cheapo DE trim level a steal compared to the cost of two-pedal base Accords and Camrys. The Galant DE even came with air conditioning at no extra cost. The factory wing on the GT-Z is serious. Collectible today? Hardly, but an interesting bit of automotive history. This content is hosted by a third party.