2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Se on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Electric trucking, Mitsubishi plug-in sales boost

A company called Oakridge Global Energy Solutions is providing batteries to Minnesota's Freedom Trucking. Oakridge claims the electric freight trucks can haul nearly 40 tons of cargo almost 400 miles on a single charge. "The custom battery design for Freedom Trucking is an absolute game changer," says Oakridge CEO Steve Barber. The Melbourne, Florida-based startup also says it is providing lithium-ion batteries for Harley-Davidson, Indian, and Victory motorcycles. (Notably, Oakridge was accused last year of failing to pay its employees. Also, of note, Oakridge trades as OGES on OTCQX, the same over-the-counter market as Elio Motors.) Read more from Energy Matters. A new UK poll suggests that nearly a third of drivers would choose a plug-in vehicle for their company car. 23 percent of respondents said they'd choose a plug-in hybrid for their fleet car, while 8.2 percent would choose a battery electric vehicle. Another 7.1 would choose a conventional hybrid, and 47.2 percent still prefer diesel, while only 12.4 percent would choose gasoline (it is, after all, the UK). In all, the poll (with an admittedly small sampling of 282 respondents) shows that alternatively powered vehicles will make up 40.4 percent of future fleet orders will. A recent survey from KPMG shows that 79 percent of auto executives believe hybrids will be the go-to powertrain in 2030. Read more from Fleet News. A reduction in plug-in car subsidies has boosted Mitsubishi's UK sales in February. As the Plug-In Car Grant was set to reduce from GBP5,000 to GBP2,500 ( from about $7,117 to $3,559) on March 1, Mitsubishi saw a run on its Outlander PHEV by customers looking to take advantage of the larger subsidy. Outlander PHEV sales were up 41 percent compared to a year before. The launch of the L200 Series 5 also helped Mitsubishi's performance in February, as pickup truck sales were up 34 percent. Read more in the press release below. PLUG-IN CAR GRANT CHANGE DRIVES MITSUBISHI SALES IN FEBRUARY CIRENCESTER – Sales of Mitsubishi vehicles in February were up 28 per cent compared to the same month last year according to figures released by the SMMT. The rise was driven by a 41 per cent increase in sales of the Outlander PHEV, ahead of the reduction in the Plug-in Car Grant from GBP5,000 to GBP2,500 beginning March 1. The UK's favourite plug-in continues lead the hybrid and electric car sector in 2016.

Mitsubishi says 2016 Outlander PHEV for US 'will be completely different'

While attending the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with Mitsubishi we got a chance to speak to three Mitsubishi Motors North America (MMNA) executives about the Outlander PHEV, how the brand is strengthening its lineup and how it plans to promote that.
The Outlander PHEV that's quickly and quietly rolling off lots in Japan, Europe and Australia right now is not the same model we're going to get when it arrives in Fall 2015, with MMNA Executive Vice President Don Swearingen and US PR chief Alex Fedorak telling us that "it will be completely different." It can probably be viewed as the next-generation vehicle, part of the "major restyle in 2016" that will reskin the model in the new design language being applied to the brand's crossovers.
Its hybrid system is being tuned for more refinement, and the same work being done on the interior.

The worst rally driver you've ever seen

Fast cars and excellent driving skills might be the easy answers when asking how to succeed in rally racing, but after watching this video, a good teammate is obviously an important aspect of this sport, too. During the 2013 Rally of Coimbatore in India, driver Samir Thapar and his co-driver, Vivek Ponnusamy, didn't seem to be on the same page as the two attempted to navigate the course in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.
We'd probably hear drastically different stories if we talked to Thapar and Ponnusamy about this particular event, but you know things are bad when "stay on road" and "turn the wheel" are commands given by the co-driver (and yes, that's a man running for his life in the screen shot shown above). As it turned out, though, it seems like the Ponnusamy was justified in his concerns to take care of the racecar. Race results show that despite winning three of the seven stages, this team ultimately ended the race with a DNF.
Scroll down to watch the video, and even though it's been edited down from almost 40 minutes to less than four, we get the idea that it wasn't a pleasant experience for driver or co-driver.