2001 Mitsubishi Montero Limited Sport Utility 4-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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2022 Mitsubishi Outlander teased, drifted, muddied

If you've been eagerly awaiting the fourth-generation Mitsubishi Outlander, today is your lucky day. Mitsubishi finally has a debut date for the 2022 edition: February 16, 2021, and the venue will be an online video on the Mitsubishi Motors North America's YouTube channel. That's still three weeks from now, but that channel has a teaser video of the the new SUV in action. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. In it, a camouflaged Outlander does its best Lancer Evolution impression, drifting along in gravel and snow. It also does some light mud bogging and fording of some pretty shallow water. A Montero this is not. In fact, it's not even all Mitsubishi. As part of Nissan's majority stake ownership in Mitsubishi Motors, the Outlander is expected to share a platform and many major components with the latest Nissan Rogue. That even includes Nissan's 181-horsepower, 2.5-liter inline-four mated to a CVT for entry-level models. Of course, the Outlander is also known for its plug-in hybrid variants, and the PHEV might use a 2.4-liter mill with Mitsubishi's own plug-in system. That could see a near doubling of the battery-only range, from 22 to 43 miles. Mitsubishi claims that the new vehicle will combine "everything we know about on and off-road driving put into a single Outlander. Its lead engineer, Kentaro Honda, expands on that, saying, "We took everything we know about on- and off-road driving from the rally experiences to apply the latest Super All-Wheel Control technology in our newly developed platform." If we were to guess, PHEV models will use Mitsubishi's dual-motor Super All-Wheel Control system. The latter will also feature the Evo's yaw control, which can split torque between the front and rear wheels, or between the front wheels alone. One thing that's clear from the videos is that the Outlander will maintain the look of the Engelberg Tourer concept shown in 2019. While the naked Outlander was leaked last month, this camouflaged version confirms the bold design. If you would like to see the live reveal online, tune in to on the 16th at 3:00pm.

Nissan didn't have much say in merger talks, but it had what FCA wanted

TOKYO — Nissan wasn't consulted on the proposed merger between its alliance partner Renault and Fiat Chrysler, but the Japanese automaker's reluctance to go along may have helped bring about the surprise collapse of the talks. While Nissan Motor Co. had a weaker bargaining position from the start, with its financial performance crumbling after the arrest last year of its star executive Carlos Ghosn, it still had as its crown jewel the technology of electric vehicles and hybrids that Fiat Chrysler wanted. The board of Renault, meeting Thursday, didn't get as far as voting on the proposal, announced last week, which would have created the world's third biggest automaker, trailing only Volkswagen AG of Germany and Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. When the French government, Renault's top shareholder with a 15% stake, asked for more time to convince Nissan, Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann abruptly withdrew the offer. Although analysts say reviving the talks isn't out of the question, they say trust among the players appears to have been broken. "The other companies made the mistake of underestimating Nissan's determination to say, 'No,' " said Katsuya Takeuchi, senior analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities in Tokyo. The Note, an electric car with a small gas engine to charge its battery, was Japan's No. 1 selling car, the first time in 50 years that a Nissan beat Toyota and Honda. Renault and Fiat Chrysler highlighted possible synergies that come from sharing parts and research costs as the benefits of the merger. But what Fiat Chrysler lacks and really wanted was what's called in the industry "electrification technology," Takeuchi said. With emissions regulations getting stricter around the world, having such technology is crucial. Yokohama-based Nissan makes the world's best-selling electric car Leaf. Its Note, an electric car equipped with a small gas engine to charge its battery, was Japan's No. 1 selling car for the fiscal year through March, the first time in 50 years that a Nissan model beat Toyota and Honda Motor Co. for that title. Nissan is also a leader in autonomous-driving technology, another area all the automakers are trying to innovate. "Although Nissan had no say, its cautionary stance on the merger ended up being very meaningful," Takeuchi said.

Mitsubishi confirms pair of MiEV Evolution II electric racecars for Pikes Peak

Preparing for next month's Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Mitsubishi - the presenting sponsor of this year's PPIHC - has unveiled its entrant for the race: the all-electric MiEV Evolution II. Building off last year's MiEV-inspired entrant, the Evolution II has received numerous improvements, including a more powerful electric drive system, a lower center of gravity and even a more traditional racecar look. Driving a pair of MiEV Evolution II models this year will be Hiroshi Masuoka from Mitsubishi vehicle development and six-time PPIHC motorcycle winner, Greg Tracy.
Both MiEV Evolution II racers employ a quartet of electric motors (last year's car used just three), and output has been increased from 280 kilowatts (375 horsepower) up to 400 KW (536 hp). For improved handling, the cars' lithium-ion battery packs help provide lower centers of gravity, and both Masuoka's and Tracy's cars have received active yaw control, stability control and redesigned anti-lock braking systems. Hopefully, this will help them stick to the mountain better. As previously mentioned, even their look has changed, with less of a wide-body i-MiEV feel and more of a racecar appearance. We think the finished product would actually make for a pretty cool Le Mans Prototype racer, or perhaps an electrically powered rival for trackday cars like those from Radical.