1997 Mitsubishi 3000gt Base Coupe 2-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Ghosn's legacy: one of the auto industry's most effective execs

"Bob Lutz ... estimated that carrying out the Nissan operation would be the equivalent, for Renault, of putting $5 billion in a container ship and sinking it in the middle of the ocean." So wrote Carlos Ghosn in "SHIFT: Inside Nissan's Historic Revival," which was published in the U.S. in late 2004. Two points about that observation: It is in keeping with Lutz's "Often wrong but never in doubt." It shows that Ghosn is a remarkable executive, given that he was able to take Nissan from the edge of financial oblivion to one of the foremost automotive companies (although with alliance partners Renault and, more recently, Mitsubishi). In 1999, Ghosn created what was named the "Nissan Revival Plan." It could have just as well been called the "Nissan Resuscitation Plan." Things were that bad. Now Ghosn is in the midst of legal trouble, accused of financial improprieties of some sort. There is no indication that this is at anything near the scale of what happened at Volkswagen Group. There's malfeasance. And then there's malfeasance. It is likely that this is going to be the end of Ghosn's career, but at age 64, and as a man who has spent nearly the past quarter-century essentially on airplanes, it is probably a good time to leave the stage. What his next act will be — to court or even prison — is an open question. But arguably, Ghosn's performance in the transformation of Nissan and Renault, which also needed some strong medicine to keep it from collapse in the early '00s (although one suspects that the French government would have done its damnedest to keep it propped up), makes him one of the all-time most-notable executives in the auto industry. Ghosn closed plants in both France and Japan and he worked to dismantle the Nissan keiretsu network of interlocked companies, things that were absolutely unthinkable. He established plans with stretch goals in their titles, like the "20 Billion Franc Cost-Reduction Plan," and worked with his people to achieve them, despite the pushback that seemed to come along with the announcement of the plan. As in, as he recalled in SHIFT, "Some people said, 'He's off the deep end. He's raving mad. Doesn't he know that at Renault you set the most conservative goals possible so you can be certain to reach them?' My answer to that sort of thinking was 'You're going to get what you ask for. If you set the bar too low, you'll be a low-level performance.

2016 Mitsubishi Lancer adds features, loses Ralliart

The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution may be going away, but the base car is sticking around for the foreseeable future, as evidenced by a host of changes for the 2016 model year. The same basic look has been updated with a bolder front bumper that features vertical LED accents. The rear end, though, looks totally free of any significant changes. The profile gets some small updates, including mirrors with integrated turn signals and a flashy (optional) set of 18-inch wheels. The Lancer's cabin gets a similarly modest array of upgrades, including standard USB connectivity in a redesigned center console, standard display audio, and a redesigned, optional infotainment system. In addition to the new standard features Mitsu will offer a color LCD display in the instrument cluster, the LED running lights, and automatic air conditioning on the base ES trim. Mechanically, Mitsubishi has expanded the availability of its snappy All-Wheel Control all-wheel-drive system. Not only will it be offered on as standard on the carried-over SE and new SEL trim, but it can be snagged as an option on the base ES trim. All AWD-equipped cars will feature the same CVT8 offered on the Outlander Sport and Outlander, although front-drive trims, the base ES, and the more aggressively styled GT, will offer a five-speed manual as standard. Despite the new CVT, the engine lineup is unchanged for 2016, with the base ES using a 2.0-liter, 148-hp four-cylinder, while all other trims get a more robust, 168-hp, 2.4-liter mill. And now, the bad news. Just as there will be no more Lancer Evolution, Mitsubishi has dropped the lukewarm Lancer Ralliart. Slotting in between the Evo and the Lancer GT, the Ralliart offered all-wheel-drive, turbocharged power, and the Evo's dual-clutch transmission, along with a dose of its big brother's style. Prices get a tiny bump for 2016, with the Lancer's base price jumping up $200, to $18,405. Adding a CVT increases the price by $1,000, while all-wheel drive requires another $400. The AWD-only SE starts at $21,805, while the SEL demands another $1,000. Finally, the top-end GT starts at $23,305 for a five-speed stick, or $24,305 for the CVT model. Read on for the official press release from Mitsubishi, and be sure to check out the updated Lancer in the gallery, up top.

Mitsubishi Mirage will launch in US with three-cylinder engine [w/video]

We have a date with Mitsubishi Mirage (again). The Japanese subcompact is slated to arrive on our shores in September 2013, and it's one of the product offerings meant to help Mitsubishi's US arm raise sales in its next financial year from 55,000 to 80,000. If next year were 1989, we'd say there's no reason that couldn't happen, but from what we've seen, the Mirage is so magnificently meek (have you seen the interior?) that we aren't sure how it will manage that kind of US sales aggression in the 21st century.
Continuing that theme, Car and Driver reports that the Mitsu will launch here with a 1.2-liter, three-cylinder engine. Make no mistake, this is a very popular engine in the Mirage and responsible for its excellent fuel economy. The hatch is doing so well in other markets with its two naturally aspirated tri-cylinders that the Thailand facility that builds the Mirage will have its capacity increased by 33 percent to try and meet demand. In European spec, the 845-kilogram (1,859 pounds) subcompact with the more powerful engine offering 79 horsepower and 78 pound-feet of torque gets 57.3 miles per US gallon and takes 11.7 seconds to get from zero to 62 miles per hour. The question is whether Mitsubishi will boost the output of that engine for our market. If not, only the 70-hp Smart ForTwo will have less horsepower - but the Mirage, interestingly enough, weighs about the same as the microcar.
On its UK site, Mitsubishi said the reveal of the Mirage in back 2011 meant "redefining the standards by which to judge a compact passenger car." We can't wait to find out if that's still true and what that means when it gets here. To prepare yourself, there's video of the Mirage in action below.