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Junkyard Gem: 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback GTS

The Mitsubishi Lancer was available in the United States from the 2002 through 2017 model years, and nearly all of those cars were four-door sedans. The exception was the Lancer Sportback, a name first applied to a 2004-only wagon version and then to a hatchback Lancer sold for the 2010-2014 model years. I'm always looking for unusual Mitsubishis during my junkyard travels, be they obscure examples of badge engineering, long-forgotten marketplace failures or confusing special editions. Here's a 2010 Lancer Sportback, found in a Denver self-service yard recently. The Lancer name has a lengthy history in the United States, but all of it during the 20th century involved Dodge models. For 1955 through 1959, the Lancer name was applied to hardtop versions of Dodge's Royal, Custom and Coronet. Then it was used for the Dodge-badged version of the Plymouth Valiant for 1961 and 1962, with the Dart name gradually squeezing the Lancer name to the side during that second year. Lancers returned to American Dodge showrooms as members of the extended K-Car family, with rebadged Chrysler LeBaron GTSs sold here for the 1985 through 1989 model years. Mitsubishi began building its own Lancers all the way back in 1973, and some of those cars were sold here during the 1970s and 1980s as Dodge Colts, Dodge Challengers, Plymouth Sapporos and Plymouth Arrows. Plenty of manufacturers have used variations of the "Sportback" designation over the decades, with one of the earliest being the Nissan Pulsar NX Sportbak. Buick sold Regal Sportbacks as recently as 2020, and Audi still uses the term here today. The "Liftback" name enjoyed prominence for quite a while but has faded from mainstream use in recent years, while the "Wagonback" appellation never caught on despite Geo's best efforts. The 2010 Lancer Sportback was available in two trim levels: GTS and Ralliart. The Ralliart got a turbocharged engine, all-wheel-drive and a six-speed dual-clutch automatic shared with the Evo; the GTS had front-wheel-drive and a five-speed manual as base equipment (this car has the optional CVT with paddle shifters). The engine is a 2.4-liter straight-four rated at 168 horsepower and 167 pound-feet of torque; the Ralliart had 237 horses and 253 pound-feet. The MSRP for the 2010 Lancer Sportback GTS was $19,190, or about $27,193 in 2023 dollars. This one appears to have endured some lean times during its final months or years on the road, with several field-expedient repairs performed with tape.

2023 Mitsubishi Triton detailed with new frame, new diesel engine

The new 2023 Mitsubishi Triton is around the corner, and the Japanese company has outlined some of the many changes it's making to the truck. The more rugged-looking exterior design hides a new ladder frame, and the pickup will be powered by a new turbodiesel engine. Sold as the L200 in some parts of the world, the Triton needs to be a lot of things to a lot of different people; it can be seen towing cattle in Australia, performing rescue operations in the Alps and being used as a daily driver in rural Chile. Catering to these different audiences isn't easy, but Mitsubishi has largely retained the tried-and-true formula that has made the current-generation truck relatively popular. Mitsubishi kept the outgoing truck's tough body-on-frame construction, though it designed a new frame rather than making updates to the old one. It developed a new double-wishbone front suspension system but kept the rear leaf springs as a compromise between ruggedness and on-road comfort. And power for the next-generation Triton will come from a new turbodiesel engine designed to deliver "a higher output." 2023 Mitsubishi Triton View 3 Photos We'll need to be patient to find out what effect these changes will have on the Triton's ride quality, off-road capacity and towing figures, and technical specifications haven't been released yet. For context, the current-generation Triton's base engine on the Australian market is a 2.4-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder rated at 178 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. Buyers can choose between rear- and four-wheel drive and between a manual and an automatic transmission. Single-cab, club-cab and double-cab models are part of the range in Australia. The 2023 Mitsubishi Triton will make its global debut in Thailand on July 26 at 10 a.m. local time, which is 11:00 p.m. on July 25 in New York and 8:00 p.m. on the same day in California. The truck will be sold in numerous global markets, but the United States isn't one of them. Elsewhere, the Triton will compete in the same hotly-contested segment as the new Ford Ranger and the perennially popular Toyota Hilux. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Mitsubishi denies plans for Toyota/Subaru rival sports coupe

Forgive us for being wistful, but there was a time when Mitsubishi coupes and sports cars were the downright awesome. The 1990s brought us the all-wheel drive, turbocharged Eclipse GSX and the twin-turbocharged 3000GT VR-4 (seen here). The times, they were good.
Fast-forward to today, and the Lancer Evolution exists as Mitsubishi's sole, true performance offering. Mitsubishi killed off the Eclipse last year, by which time it had lost much the luster of its predecessors. With an affordable Japanese sports car fomenting underway thanks to Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ, one may think that it's an ideal time for a brand like Mitsubishi to jump back into the performance coupe game. A rear-drive Mitsubishi sports car to take on the Toyobaru twins could be just what the brand needs to gain some mindshare among consumers.
Not so, says Osamu Masuko. The president and executive director of Mitsubishi told reporters at the Sydney Motor Show, "Our engineers are very prominent to investigate new technologies, but to use that technology they are not that good to bring the revenue to make that money." Read: the engineers want to do it, but the company does not find it to be financially responsible.