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2013 Mitsubishi Outlander GT

I'm not a gambling man, but if there were a pool for an automotive death watch, my money would be on Mitsubishi... Lincoln is a close second. To understand the plight of Mitsubishi, you only have to look at its current lineup; they all just look, feel and drive about 10 years older than they really are. With the departure of the Endeavor and merciful killing of the Eclipse (the Galant lives on, but is on hiatus for the 2013 model year), one of the worst remaining offenders is the Mitsubishi Outlander, which I recently drove in top-level GT trim for this Quick Spin.
If we had a time machine and took the 2013 Outlander GT back to 1998, it would be revolutionary. If we could take it back to 2004, it might be near the top of its class. But in the current highly competitive crossover segment of today, the Outlander just falls short. Yes, the all-new 2014 Outlander is on its way later this year, but from what we've seen both inside and out, the new design would look great in 2008. That being said, spending a week with any vehicle can point out surprising highs as well as lows, and there are still plenty of reasons to enjoy Mitsu's midsize CUV.
Driving Notes

2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross arrives in the U.S., pricing starts at $24,290

The first shipment of the 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross has arrived in the United States. Mitsubishi's new all-wheel drive compact crossover will go on sale in showrooms in early March with a starting price of $24,290, including a destination charge of $995. The Eclipse Cross debuted last year at the Geneva Motor Show with design cues borrowed from the XR-PHEV II Concept from 2015. The exterior design, which Mitsubishi says is inspired by a runner in the "Get set" position, includes a forward-raked rear window, wedge profile and deep side crease. Its starting price slots it just below competitors like the Honda CR-V and Hyundai Tucson, and it will come in four trim levels. Those include the base ES, which is the only trim available with front-wheel drive. Adding all-wheel drive, or S-AWC in Mitsubishi speak, adds only $600 to the base price. The LE S-AWC trim starts at $25,890 and the range-topping SE S-AWC starts at $27,390, though neither are eligible for options, so those are pretty much the prices customers will be dealing with. All trim levels are powered by a direct-injection turbocharged 1.5-liter inline-four that makes 152 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. The S-AWC acronym would stand for Super All-Wheel Control, Mitsubishi's system that manages torque supplied to each wheel for added straight-line stability and cornering performance. It offers three selectable driving modes — auto, snow and gravel — to enhance performance. Safety technology includes blind-spot warning and lane-change assist, forward collision mitigation and lane-departure warning, plus a system that automatically adjusts headlight brightness to the conditions. Interior features include an available 7-inch infotainment display with a touchpad controller, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus voice recognition via Google Assistant or Siri. There's also a full-color LCD head-up display available. A dual-pane sunroof and heated rear seats are some of the other niceties. The Eclipse Cross joins the brand's stable of crossovers, the Outlander and slightly smaller Outlander Sport, which helped Mitsubishi to a banner year in 2017, selling more than 100,000 vehicles for the first time in a decade. It also joins the Outlander PHEV, also new for 2018. Related Video:

EPA, CARB want Mitsubishi to retest US fuel economy figures

The Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board are the latest government bodies to request details from Mitsubishi in connection with the company's fuel economy cheating, Automotive News reports. The company will also have to reevaluate the mileage for some models here. "The agency will be directing the company to conduct additional coast down testing for vehicles sold in the US," an EPA spokesperson told Reuters. The EPA, 'will be directing the company to conduct additional coast down testing for vehicles sold in the US.' The EPA's coast down test requires vehicles to roll from 80 miles per hour to a stop. Automakers' engineers collect data on the model's drag, rolling resistance, and drivetrain friction. The information then goes into a dynamometer for the mandated fuel economy test. The EPA set stricter guidelines for the test in 2015 starting with 2017 model year vehicles, which might help avoid similar scandals here in the future. Japan has also used a coast down test since 1991, but Mitsubishi recently admitted that it hadn't been following the evaluation's mandated protocols there. Instead, the automaker came up with its own "high-speed coasting test." By selecting favorable values from the results, the company was able to artificially inflate the fuel economy of at least four Japanese minicars. In addition to inquiries from CARB and the EPA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also requested similar details from Mitsubishi. However, there is no evidence yet of any fuel economy irregularities for vehicles in the US. These agencies are just checking things out in reaction to the massive scandal in Japan. Mitsubishi execs are trying to weather the storm, though. Chief Operating Officer Tetsuro Aikawa and CEO Osamu Masuko have denied rumors about resigning over the scandal, according to Automotive News Europe citing a Reuters report. "It's my responsibility and my mission to put the company on track to recovery," Aikawa said. Their decision came despite the automaker's stock losing half of its value since the fiasco started, and vehicle orders in Japan have dropped significantly, too. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req., Reuters, Automotive News Europe - sub. req.Image Credit: Toru Hanai TPX / Reuters Government/Legal Green Mitsubishi Fuel Efficiency mpg vw diesel scandal