1993 Mitsubishi 3000gt Base Coupe 2-door 3.0l Only 55,000 Miles! on 2040-cars

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10 automakers shack up in Detroit hotel to talk Takata airbags

Since Takata has decided not to take the lead concerning potential issues with its airbag inflators, the automakers have. Perhaps that's unsurprising, since it's the automakers, not Takata, that will take a beating on the dealership floor if consumers decide its models are a health hazards. The Detroit News reports that Toyota, Honda, General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Subaru met in a hotel conference room near the Detroit Metropolitan Airport last week to sort out a way to understand the technical issues involved. So far, faulty airbag inflators have been ruled the cause of five deaths and 50 injuries around the world, but neither Takata nor investigators understands exactly why the inflators are malfunctioning. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently asked Takata to issue a national recall, Takata declined, citing a minuscule failure rate and the fact that it's still investigating the issue. Toyota and Honda then made an industry-wide appeal for "a coordinated, comprehensive testing program" that would pinpoint the problem inflators and get them replaced, and that's what the Detroit meeting was about. Numerous issues, however, will make this a long row to hoe: simply getting the parts to replace the nearly 20 million inflators in cars recalled around the world so far - even working with other suppliers - will take a years, but more importantly, no one knows if the replacement inflators currently being installed will suffer the same issue. Answers will hopefully come quickly with Takata, the ten automakers and NHTSA all independently investigating the problem.

2016 Mitsubishi i-MiEV coming in March

For the next incarnation of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric vehicle, the Japanese automaker is looking to give a bit more for the sake of selling a few more. It's a simple concept for a pretty simple car. The re-trial run starts next month. The EV's 2016 model-year version will go on sale in the US in March, Inside EVs says. On the face of it, not a lot will change with the four-seater. The car will still deliver 66 horsepower and will still provide a single-charge range of 62 miles. When reached by AutoblogGreen, Mitsubishi confirmed these numbers as well as its MSRP of $22,995, same as the 2014 model (there was no 2015 model-year version). That's the cost before the $7,500 federal tax break kicks in. Still, there is news. The 2016 version will have an optional navigation package that will include a seven-inch touchscreen display as well as real-time traffic data and 3D mapping. Folks can also pay a little more for touches such as a Bluetooth hands-free phone system, rear-view camera and USB port, according to Mitsubishi. The company hopes these changes will spur near-dormant sales of the model, which made its US debut in 2011. Last year, Mitsubishi sold just 196 units of the i, down from 1,029 in 2013. Related Video: Featured Gallery Mitsubishi i-MiEV News Source: Inside EVs via Green Car Reports Green Mitsubishi Electric i-miev

Nissan's plan to supply US Mitsubishi dealers with family sedan stalls

Mitsubishi has quietly had some big success recently. The Japanese brand sold 77,643 vehicles in the US for all of 2014, a 24.8 percent jump over 2013. While still relatively small overall (Ford sold 74,355 F-Series trucks just in December, for example), it shows definite growth for the sometimes forgotten automaker. Unfortunately, the latest news might not help the company's future expansion. The proposed partnership of Mitsubishi and the Renault-Nissan Alliance on at least one midsize sedan for the US market is off the table, according to Automotive News. The company informed sellers that the collaboration had fallen through during a National Automobile Dealers Association meeting. "I told them that the plan has stalled," said Don Swearingen, executive vice president of Mitsubishi Motors North America, to Automotive News. "And I said that's really all I can tell you at this time." Under the original partnership, Mitsubishi was supposed to get a D-segment sedan that would have been built at the Renault-Samsung factory in Busan, South Korea. The automakers were also negotiating for Mitsu to get a C-segment four-door as a global model and developing an electric kei car for Japan together, due in 2016. While the sedan is gone, Mitsubishi isn't completely bereft of improved products in the pipeline. The Mirage Sedan is being launched in the US, and the Outlander is supposed to get a redesign for the 2016 model year. According to Automotive News, the Outlander Sport and Lancer are also due for refreshes in 2016, and a new Mirage is on the way.