2012 Mitsubishi Outlander 4dr Es Fwd on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart

I do manage to find the occasional discarded Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution during my Denver-area junkyard explorations, but such cars— like their Subaru WRX rivals— are always far too crashed and/or stripped to be worth documenting for this series. When it comes to the Mitsubishi Lancer O-Z Rally Edition, though, I get the impression that just about every Lancer sold here during the first part of the 2000s had that all-show-and-no-go package; after shooting several examples, I no longer pay attention to the O-Z Rally. The Ralliart Lancer, on the other hand, was a genuine factory hot-rod, with much more power and a stiffer suspension than the ordinary Lancer. We saw a used-up bright yellow '05 Ralliart last year, and now here's a black '04 in a different Denver yard. The Lancer Ralliart wasn't anywhere near as fast and crazy as its Evolution sibling, but (compared to the base Lancer) it came with more power, bigger brakes, stiffer suspension, better steering, and bucket seats sourced from the JDM Evolution GTA. List price was $18,572 (about $26,110 today), far cheaper than the $29,999 ($42,175 today) Evo VIII. The regular Lancer sedan had an unimpressive 120 horses from its 2.0-liter engine in 2004, while the Lancer Ralliart got this 162-horse MIVEC 2.4. Just in case you were wondering, MIVEC stands for Mitsubishi Innovative Valve-Timing-and-Lift Electronic Control, which doesn't sound as cool as VTEC, but at least seems more convincing than Daewoo's D-TEC. Nearly every O-Z Rally Lancer I see has an automatic transmission, but this Ralliart rolled out of the showroom with a genuine 5-speed manual and Evo shifter. The Japan-market front seats are a bit racier than the ordinary Lancer's, too. Though it is a Colorado car and drivers here think they need AWD to navigate a quarter-inch of snow in the supermarket parking lot, it lacks the all-wheel-drive system that went on the Evo. What more do you want for $18,572? I'm a bit surprised that some local Lancer owner didn't snag the factory strut-tower brace immediately, but I'll bet someone buys this part before the car gets crushed. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. So fast. So furious. 

Mitsubishi reveals Delica D:5 off-road van and 'concept' crossovers ahead of Tokyo Auto Salon

It's easy to forget Mitsubishi still makes some cool vehicles. If you look past the mirage however, you'll find vehicles like the Delica D:5 van. Mitsubishi is on its way to the Tokyo Auto Salon with a concept version of this Delica, alongside an Outlander PHEV and Eclipse Cross, with both SUVs claiming the name "Street Sport." We're all weird, so it stands to reason that the off-road-looking Delica D:5 excites us the most. While the normal Delica D:5 is now more of a van with SUV ride height, this one comes with a full suite of plastic body cladding for protection around the front and rear of the van. A heavy-duty roof rack and row of LED lights up top give it the roof of a true overlander. Some bars on the sides and bright red mud flaps hint even further that this should be taken off the pavement. What Mitsu doesn't talk about is an upgraded suspension. Granted, the Delica D:5 already looks lifted and ready for some moderate trail work, but a full-on rock crawler van would have been epic. The standard all-wheel drive system with four-wheel drive lock will have to do for now. For cars sold in the states, Mitsubishi brought some tarted-up versions of the Outlander PHEV and Eclipse Cross. Both SUVs feature similar design language, as they try to look sportier than their powertrains give away. Yellow accents along with blacked-out everything and some stickers are really the selling points here. Meaning, there isn't much, if anything, to get excited about with these "concepts." They're more sticker packages than anything, and don't give us much hope for anything fun coming stateside. For now, all we have are the individual pictures of each car. More will come once they officially break cover at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January. Related video:

Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes also under diesel emissions scrutiny

The controversy over Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal isn't limited to the US. In Europe, where diesel engines are far more popular, the issue is shining a harsh light on the NEDC emissions test. As already known, the evaluation does a poor job of reflecting real-world production of NOx, and it appears a significant number of automakers are affected. The Guardian in the UK has been reporting on real-world test results from a company called Emissions Analytics. After the latest round of checks, vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Mazda and Mitsubishi were found to generate far more NOx than they should. The newspaper also published similar results for Renault, Nissan, Hyundai, Fiat, Volvo, Jeep, Citroen, VW, and Audi. On average, the figures are about four times over the limit of producing the pollutant. Unlike VW and its defeat device, these automakers aren't actually breaking the rules. The vehicles perform up to the NEDC lab test for emissions, but those results simply aren't translated to the street. "The VW issue in the US was purely the trigger which threw light on a slightly different problem in the EU - widespread legal over-emissions," Nick Molden from Emissions Analytics said to The Guardian. A big fight to decide the future of this issue appears to be on the horizon. Automakers claim that they can't meet the next round of tightening emissions regulations and are asking for compromises. Although, spokespeople for Mercedes and Honda told The Guardian that the brands would be in favor of the stricter rules. Meanwhile, some European governments began backtracking their support of diesels well before this scandal came to light. The added scrutiny certain hasn't helped the future of the oil-burner. Related Video: