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Junkyard Gem: 2006 Mitsubishi Raider DuroCross 4WD

Chrysler began selling Mitsubishi Triton pickups with Dodge D-50 and Plymouth Arrow badging in the 1979 model year, followed by the Mitsubishi Pajero aka Montero with Dodge Raider badges for 1987 through 1989. That Raider name sounded so good that Mitsubishi Motors decided to revive it when they began selling a new pickup based on the Dodge Dakota in the United States. Today's Junkyard Gem is a first-year Mitsubishi Raider, found in a Denver car graveyard recently. The Raider was mechanically identical to its same-year Dakota counterparts and it was built alongside the Dakota at Warren Truck Assembly, but it had its own body and interior designs. The Raider was built for the 2006 through 2009 model years, after which it was discontinued due to poor sales (just under 22,000 total). It wasn't as humiliating for Mitsubishi as the Ascender and I-Series (both thinly disguised Chevrolet models) were for once-proud Isuzu, but that isn't saying much. There's no need for us to bring up the puzzling Suzuki Equator here, is there? This one is a DuroCross, which came with lower suspension, black plastic wheel flares and a front bumper that looked skid-plate-like. It also has the most powerful engine available in the '06 Raider: a 4.7-liter V8 rated at 230 horsepower.  The 4.7 is a member of the Chrysler PowerTech engine family, which has an ancestry stretching all the way back to the American Motors Corporation. AMC began development of new overhead-cam V6 and V8 engines just before Chrysler purchased the company in 1987, and the 4.7-liter V8 made its debut in the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The 2009 Raider was the last new Mitsubishi pickup sold in the United States, though Mexican truck shoppers can still enjoy mas poder de aventura by buying a new Mitsubishi Triton with L200 badges. Who knows, if it's possible to find Mexican-market Peugeot 407s, Dacia Logans, Dacia Dusters and Opel Corsas in Colorado junkyards, I may yet find a discarded Mitsubishi L200. It was much more intimidating than an ordinary Dakota.

Mitsubishi turning Montero into crossover, Outlander Sport may get PHEV variant

Mitsubishi is getting more and more forthcoming about its plans for the US market. Among the tidbits revealed during a chat with Edmunds at the 2014 Chicago Auto Show, MMNA Executive Vice President Don Swearingen said that "We are committed to huge investments in capital as well as huge investments in R&D." The marquee product of that investment could be a new Montero for the 2017 or 2018 model year, suggestions of which were raised with the Concept GC-PHEV at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show and again at the end of last year. Swearingen said the proposed SUV is a little smaller than a Ford Explorer and that dealers have seen a picture of it. A decision on whether to bring it to the US will be made later this year.
Below that, incremental improvements will come to every model over the next couple of years. The Outlander will get a facelift next year before a major restyle in 2016, when the Outlander PHEV is also expected to finally make it here. In 2015 the Outlander Sport will be fitted with larger engine and a new, quieter CVT returning better acceleration and fuel economy. In 2016 it will also be redesigned, and it will be equipped with the company's new telematics system that goes into the Outlander the following year.
At the other end of the line-up, the Mirage will get a big dose of love in two years. Detail changes like better fabric inside and outside-mirror indicators are slated for 2015, and in 2016 the bargain hatchback gets "a sleek, aerodynamic" reskin. The Mirage G4 sedan could join the US range if the Canadians turn out to be fans of it. The Lancer gets only meager attentions, while the i-MiEV gets the cold shoulder and won't change at all. We get the cold shoulder as far as a next-generation Evo - Swearingen didn't say a word about that, apparently.

Toyota, Honda, Nissan and more collaborating to increase fuel efficiency

Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Daihatsu have announced an alliance that will see a push to improve fuel economy from both gas-powered and diesel-powered engines by as much as 30 percent before the end of the decade.
The newly assembled Research Association of Automotive Internal Combustion Engines put the roughly $20-million project together, with the Japanese government committing to half the cost while the eight manufacturers will chip in the rest.
According to Automotive News, the automakers will team up and share basic research on internal-combustion engines in a bid to cut costs. Eventually, the results of the research will find its way into a production vehicle, although it's unclear just when we'll see the fruits of this partnership on the road.