2004 Mitsubishi Diamante Vr-x Sedan 4-door 3.5l Low Miles on 2040-cars

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Mitsubishi EVs manage 1-2 division win at Pikes Peak *UPDATE

*UPDATE: Monster's time has now officially been posted as 9:43.9. Looks like coming back for a third crack at the mountain was the right move for Mitsubishi. At the 2014 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb this past weekend, the two all-electric Mitsubishis, one piloted by Greg Tracy, the other by Hiroshi Masuoka came in first and second, respectively, in the Electric Vehicle division. The EVs were the third iteration of the MiEV Evolution prototype racer, which until now has had a tough time getting to the top of the podium. The first version crashed in 2012 and came in second and third – behind Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima – last year. This year, Monster suffered a transponder glitch and his final time could only be estimated at 9:46 was 9:43.9. That's pretty much the same as last year, when he finished with a 9:46.530. Last year, the Mitsubishi duo finished with times of 10:21.866 (Masuoka) and 10:23.649 (Tracy), So, if Monster equaled his time from last year, then the Mistubishi drivers must have improved their times up the hill to beat him. They did more than that, though, dramatically lowering their times to 9:08.188 (Tracy) and 9:12.204 (Masuoka). What's most impressive is that Tracy's low time was just 2.4 seconds behind overall winner Romain Dumas, who drove a gasoline-powered Le Mans sports car prototype up the hill. Find more details below. MITSUBISHI MOTORS SCORES AN IMPRESSIVE 1-2 FINISH IN THE 2014 PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILL CLIMB Drivers Greg Tracy and Hiroshi Masuoka dominate the Electric Vehicle division in the innovative Mitsubishi MiEV Evolution III racing prototype Mon, Jun 30, 2014 - Colorado Springs, Colorado - A pair of Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) technologically advanced MiEV Evolution III all-electric prototype racecars placed first and second within the Electric Vehicle division in the 92st running of the famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) on Sunday, June 29th in the skillful hands of six-time PPIHC motorcycle champion Greg Tracy and two-time Dakar Rally winner Hiroshi Masuoka, respectively. Finishing a mere 2.4 seconds behind overall 2014 Pikes Peak race winner Romain Dumas and his gasoline-powered Le Mans sports car prototype, the stage has been set for highly energy-efficient and sustainable electric-powered vehicles like the Mitsubishi MiEV Evolution III to soon become the dominant force in this challenging one-of-a-kind motorsport competition.

Subprime financing on the rise in new car sales, leasing too

We all remember the financial crisis that began several years back. At its core was a splurge of subprime lending for housing loans. The housing bubble burst, triggering a collapse of the mortgage-backed securities market. Apparently, those types of loans still exist in the automotive industry, and the market share for these types of "nonprime, subprime, and deep subprime," loans has grown 13.6 percent compared to the third quarter a year ago.
According to an Automotive News report, high-risk lending expanded to 24.8 percent of total loans in Q3, up from 21.9 percent for this time last year. As this level increased, average credit scores of borrowers dropped to 755, down from 763 a year ago. In that time, the average financing amount increased $90 per vehicle, to $25,963.
At 818, Volvo maintains the highest per-owner credit score, while Mitsubishi has the lowest, at 694. The highest rate of borrowers was at Toyota, with 14 percent of the market, followed by Ford with 13.1 percent and Chevrolet at 11.1.

Mitsubishi boss labels French minister a "retard" for "ruining the lives of motorists" [UPDATE]

Arnaud Montebourg (pictured), French Minister of Industrial Recovery, was recently the target of a rather despicable slur at the hands of Mitsubishi France's leader, Jean-Claude Debard.
Frustrated by Montebourg's attempts to encourage the purchase of lower emitting vehicles and discourage use of high-emission vehicles - by way of tax breaks and tax hikes, respectively - Debard reportedly used the occasion of a new product launch to call the minister "stupid," a "mental case" and a "retard" before members of the media. Here's the full quote, as reported by the French newspaper La Provence by way of The Telegraph:
"This mental case, this retard, increases ecological taxes, reduces the speed motorists can go on Paris' ring road and ruins the life of motorists from all social origins all suffer as a result of him. He is stupid and understands nothing, you can quote me on that."