Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Gs 2012 Convertible Red on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mitsubishi Mirage fuel economy challenge winner duct tapes his way to 74.1 MPG

There's a lesson to be learned from the Mitsubishi Motors' Extreme MPG Hypermiling Challenge: if you want to get your 2014 Mirage to get over 74 miles per gallon, apply duct tape. During the recent event, which ran from Las Vegas, NV to Cypress, CA (where Mitsubishi has its North American HQ), a number of journalists were "allowed to make very minor modifications to their cars from production form." Their solution was to put some colored duct tape over some of the gaps in the front fascia sheetmetal as a way to try and reduce aerodynamic drag. A combination of expertly applied sky blue tape on a Kiwi Green Mirage and careful driving allowed About.com's Aaron Gold to reach 74.1 mpg in the contest. That beat out Popular Mechanics' Mike Austin (driving a Plasma Purple Mirage) and Autobytel's Joni Gray (Sapphire Blue) who tied for second with an average mpg rating of 68.5. The $12,995 car's official EPA fuel economy ratings are 37 city/44 highway/40 combined (continuously-variable transmission model). You can read the Autoblog review of the '14 Mirage here, check out the press release below and keep an eye out for a 30-minute video version of the event on Cars.TV soon. About.com's Aaron Gold Crowned the Winner in Mitsubishi Motors' Extreme MPG Hypermiling Challenge by Achieving an Amazing 74.1 MPG in his 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage Cypress, California, March 13, 2014 – Aaron Gold of About.com, with an astounding fuel efficiency of 74.1 mpg driving his Kiwi Green 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage, finished today with the highest MPG in the Mitsubishi Motors Extreme MPG Hypermiling Challenge. Following Aaron in the 275-mile trek from Las Vegas, Nevada to the Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) headquarters in Cypress, California was Mike Austin from Popular Mechanics in his Plasma Purple Mirage and Joni Gray of Autobytel in her Sapphire Blue Mirage. Amazingly, both Mike and Joni tied with an average fuel economy rating of 68.5 mpg. "This was such an exciting event, to have such knowledgeable colleagues in our industry to push the limit to see how high of an MPG can be achieved in our 2014 Mirage," stated Don Swearingen, Executive Vice President of MMNA. "I never figured I'd come in over 70 MPG!" said winner Aaron Gold of About.com. "All three of us kept our speeds down; I think keeping my eyes way down the road, planning ahead and avoiding sudden changes of speed was what gave me the edge.

Mitsubishi looks to crossovers and EVs for US success

Say what you will about Mitsubishi, but the Japanese automaker is slowly seeing a resurgence here in the United States. December 2015 marked the company's twenty-second consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases, and looking at last year as a whole, Mitsubishi's sales were up 23 percent over 2014. Ken Konieczka, Mitsubishi's vice president of sales operations, says that in order to stay successful, the company will bet big on crossovers and electric vehicles in the coming years. And that means a relatively aggressive product plan here in the US. First up, a brand-new CUV will launch in early 2018, previewed by the eX Concept that debuted at last year's Tokyo Motor Show (pictured). Konieczka says Mitsubishi is making room for this new crossover in its lineup – the Outlander will slowly get bigger, and the Outlander Sport will get smaller. The production version of the eX will slot between those two. Speaking of the Outlander siblings, both will be replaced in the next five years. A new, larger Outlander will arrive in 2019, and the smaller Outlander Sport will arrive in 2020. To fulfill the electric side of the business, Konieczka confirms the next Outlander Sport will sprout an EV variant, and the Outlander plug-in hybrid will launch in the United States later in 2016, as a 2017 model. As for the rest of the company's portfolio, Mitsubishi will offer the updated Mirage hatchback and new G4 sedan later this year. The future for the Lancer, however, looks grim. Konieczka says Mitsubishi still can't find an OEM partner to help create and produce a new Lancer, and our gut says the compact sedan will be phased out in the very near future. "We made a lot of mistakes," Konieczka admits, saying Mitsubishi was "spread too thin [and] had too many models" in the past. This new, more focused approach on EVs and crossovers certainly sounds promising, and will hopefully help Mitsubishi continue its slow growth here in the US market. Still, we won't know for sure until the new products actually reach showrooms. But for now, at least, things are steadily on the rise.

Carlos Ghosn's new lawyer, 'the Razor,' starts slashing

TOKYO — Carlos Ghosn's new lawyer took aim at Nissan, prosecutors and courts on Wednesday, dismissing the charges against the ousted chairman as an internal company matter and saying Japan was out of step with international norms by keeping his client in jail. "This should have been dealt with as an internal matter," Junichiro Hironaka, nicknamed the Razor, said at his first press briefing. Ghosn, who was arrested in November over alleged financial misconduct and remains in detention in a Tokyo jail, picked a new team last week with long-time defense attorney Hironaka as a key member to replace Motonari Otsuru, a lawyer who once ran the prosecutor's office investigating him. Hironaka's combative style contrasts with the low-key approach adopted by media-shy Otsuru. Ghosn's switch to an aggressive legal strategy came after his attempts to win bail failed and just before lawyers were due to sit down with prosecutors and judges for the first time to hash out a schedule for pre-trial discovery meetings, where prosecutors will reveal evidence and submit a list of witnesses. Hironaka said he didn't know why Ghosn picked him, but added that Ghosn probably wanted an experienced criminal lawyer as the case moved toward trial. The 73-year-old defense attorney is reputed for winning high profile cases, including the acquittal of a senior lawmaker, Ichiro Ozawa, on financial misconduct charges. He also helped free a senior bureaucrat Atsuko Muraki who was jailed for four months on corruption charges fabricated by prosecutors. Yet, even with greater legal firepower the former Nissan Motor Co boss faces a criminal justice system where only three out of every 100 defendants pleading not guilty are acquitted. Neither does Japan have a plea-deal mechanism that would allow Ghosn to agree to lesser charges for a lighter sentence. "The change in lawyers means a change in style, but the legal strategy will still be the same. I don't think it increases Ghosn's chance of an acquittal," said Masashi Akita, a defense lawyer at Shin-Yu Law Office in Osaka, ahead of Wednesday's comments by Hironaka. Ghosn has lost his perch atop an automotive alliance trio of French carmaker Renault SA and Japanese automakers Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Attempts to win bail, including an offer to wear a GPS ankle bracelet and hire security guards to stop him trying to tamper with evidence, failed.