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Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross will be crossing over to the US sometime in the fall

Here it is, Mitsubishi's latest effort to take a piece of the CUV pie, the Eclipse Cross. The crossover makes its official debut at the Geneva Show, and it looks just aggressive enough to be unique, but not so strange that it will scare away the average buyer. Most interesting are the aggressive cues cribbed from the XR-PHEV II Concept, like the forward-raked rear hatch, chunky rear fenders, and deep crease along the side. However, the shape is still clearly crossover, and the nose isn't too radical. In fact, it may be the most attractive version of Mitsubishi's shield grille yet. Interestingly, the Eclipse Cross is within an inch or two size-wise compared with the existing Outlander Sport, though this should change down the road when a newer, smaller Outlander Sport is introduced. The interior follows a similar theme to the exterior. The most striking aspect is the center stack, which slants downward toward the shifter and juts out over the climate control buttons. But everything is finished in simple, inoffensive black and aluminum-look trim. The sliding and reclining rear seats should be useful for comfort and cargo space. Next to the shifter is a touch-pad that looks extremely similar to the pad Lexus uses for its systems. A couple of our editors find the Lexus version to be rather awful, so hopefully Mitsubishi has refined and improved it. As a back-up, you can simply use the touch screen perched atop the dash, which may be more handy for using the car's default user interface, or the supported Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Also on the dash is a pop-up heads-up display similar to that in current Mazdas. View 11 Photos One big selling point for the Eclipse Cross is its standard all-wheel drive. There is also just one engine and one transmission. Power comes from a turbocharged 1.5-liter gasoline inline-four, and it's channeled through a CVT with 8 ratios that can be manually shifted. Mitsubishi has yet to announce output for the four-pot. Other markets will have the option of a 2.2-liter turbocharged diesel four-cylinder with an 8-speed automatic, but it won't make the trip to the States. Europe will be the first to get the Eclipse Cross, where it will show up at dealers this fall. Afterward, it will arrive in other markets, including the US. So expect it to appear sometime at the end of this year, or possibly the start of next year. Pricing has not been announced yet. Related Video:

Carlos Ghosn's lawyers in Japan quit after client's flight to Lebanon

TOKYO — Japanese attorneys representing Carlos Ghosn, including lead lawyer Junichiro Hironaka, quit on Thursday following the former Nissan chiefÂ’s flight to Lebanon from Japan, where he had been fighting financial misconduct charges. Hironaka had been representing Ghosn in his defense against financial misconduct charges. His move, announced Thursday, was widely expected after Ghosn escaped to Lebanon late last month. A second lawyer in GhosnÂ’s three-person legal team, Takashi Takano, also quit on Thursday, according to an official at his office. A person who answered the telephone at the office of the third lawyer, Hiroshi Kawatsu, said she did not know if he still represented the former automotive executive. Hironaka said in a statement that the entire team working on the case at his office will quit but did not outline reasons. He has said before he felt some empathy for Ghosn's reasons for escape, while stressing he had hoped to win vindication in court. Hironaka is respected for winning high-profile cases in this nation where the conviction rate is higher than 99%. Among the cases he has handled is that of Atsuko Muraki, a Welfare Ministry official accused of falsely approving a group to qualify for mail discounts. She was acquitted in 2010. Also Thursday, Nissan released steps it was taking to prevent a recurrence of Ghosn's scandal, and reiterated its denouncement of Ghosn. The automaker said in a report submitted to the Tokyo Stock Exchange that Ghosn had the authority to “single-handedly” determine directors' compensation and such information was not shared with other departments at the company. The underreporting of his future compensation is among the allegations Ghosn faced in Tokyo. In a news conference last week in Beirut, Ghosn insisted again that he was innocent of the charges, which also included breach of trust in diverting Nissan money for his personal gain. He said he fled because he felt he could not expect a fair trial in Japan. Ghosn's flight while he was out on bail awaiting trial means his case will not go on in Japan. Interpol has issued a wanted notice but his extradition from Lebanon is unlikely. Ghosn has accused Nissan and Japanese officials of conspiring to bring him down to block a fuller integration of Nissan with its French alliance partner Renault SA of France. Ghosn, who has signed on an international team of lawyers, has expressed willingness to stand trial in Lebanon.

8 automakers, 15 utilities collaborate on open smart-charging for EVs

We're going to lead with General Motors here. GM is one of eight automakers working with 15 utilities and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) at developing a "smart" plug-in vehicle charging system. Why did we start with GM? Because it's the first automaker whose press release we read that mentioned the other seven automakers. Points for sharing. For the record, the collaboration also includes BMW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Chrysler, Mitsubishi and Ford. The utilities include DTE Energy, Duke Energy, Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric. The idea is to develop a so-called "demand charging" system in which an integrated system lets the plug-ins and utilities communicate with each other so that vehicle charging is cut back at peak hours, when energy is most expensive, and ramped up when the rates drop. Such entities say there's a sense of urgency to develop such a system because the number of plug-in vehicles on US roads totals more than 225,000 today and is climbing steadily. There's a lot of technology involved, obviously, but the goal is to have an open platform that's compatible with virtually any automaker's plug-in vehicle. No timeframe was disclosed for when such a system could go live but you can find a press release from EPRI below. EPRI, Utilities, Auto Manufacturers to Create an Open Grid Integration Platform for Plug-in Electric Vehicles PALO ALTO, Calif. (July 29, 2014) – The Electric Power Research Institute, 8 automakers and 15 utilities are working to develop and demonstrate an open platform that would integrate plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) with smart grid technologies enabling utilities to support PEV charging regardless of location. The platform will allow manufacturers to offer a customer-friendly interface through which PEV drivers can more easily participate in utility PEV programs, such as rates for off-peak or nighttime charging. The portal for the system would be a utility's communications system and an electric vehicle's telematics system. As the electric grid evolves with smarter functionality, electric vehicles can serve as a distributed energy resource to support grid reliability, stability and efficiency. With more than 225,000 plug-in vehicles on U.S. roads -- and their numbers growing -- they are likely to play a significant role in electricity demand side management.