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Question of the Day: Most heinous act of badge engineering?

Badge engineering, in which one company slaps its emblems on another company's product and sells it, has a long history in the automotive industry. When Sears wanted to sell cars, a deal was made with Kaiser-Frazer and the Sears Allstate was born. Iranians wanted new cars in the 1960s, and the Rootes Group was happy to offer Hillman Hunters for sale as Iran Khodro Paykans. Sometimes, though, certain badge-engineered vehicles made sense only in the 26th hour of negotiations between companies. The Suzuki Equator, say, which was a puzzling rebadge job of the Nissan Frontier. How did that happen? My personal favorite what-the-heck-were-they-thinking example of badge engineering is the 1971-1973 Plymouth Cricket. Chrysler Europe, through its ownership of the Rootes Group, was able to ship over Hillman Avanger subcompacts for sale in the US market. This would have made sense... if Chrysler hadn't already been selling rebadged Mitsubishi Colt Galants (as Dodge Colts) and Simca 1100s as (Simca 1204s) in its American showrooms. Few bought the Cricket, despite its cheery ad campaign. So, what's the badge-engineered car you find most confounding? Chrysler Dodge Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Suzuki Automotive History question of the day badge engineering question

2017 Mitsubishi Mirage gets updated styling and equipment

There's a brand-new Mirage, you guys. For the 2017 model year, the budget-friendly little hatchback features updated styling and equipment inside and out. And it still promises to be one of the cheapest cars on the market. The changes start on the outside, where the 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage greets the world with a new hood, grille, bumpers, lighting, wheels, and rear spoiler. The updates continue inside, where you'll find new fabrics, instruments, and controls. New options include a Rockford-Fosgate audio system and – for the first time in a Mitsu – Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. The 1.2-liter inline-three carries over, but with a new camshaft to produce 78 horsepower and 74 pound-feet of torque. Modest as those figures are, power is up by four horses for the new model year. The front brake discs are larger, as are the rear drums. And the suspension has been retuned as well. Mitsubishi hasn't announced pricing for the updated Mirage. We'd expect a small bump in price to accompany the upgrades, but the Japanese automaker would be wise not to veer to far north of the current model's $12,995 sticker price. Because while it may be one of the cheapest new cars available, alternatives like the Nissan Versa, Chevy Spark, and Kia Rio all hover in the same territory. THE 2017 MITSUBISHI MIRAGE: NEW EXTERIOR DESIGN AND ADDED PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS - The new Mitsubishi Mirage continues to deliver outstanding fuel economy - 2017 Mirage will feature Android Auto™ and Apple CarPlay™ - Attractive pricing and 10-year warranty distances the competition CYPRESS, Calif. Nov. 18, 2015 – Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) today announced details for the fuel-efficient 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage featuring a new exterior design, improved performance and enhanced interior appeal. Despite all that is new for Mirage in 2017, a few things didn't change at all—Mirage still offers impressive fuel economy, attractive pricing and industry leading new vehicle and powertrain warranties. The Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback will be available at dealers in spring 2016. "Mirage has gained popularity with its affordable and practical appeal," said Don Swearingen, executive vice president, MNNA. "Mirage owners are looking for a vehicle that does its job well and is reliable.

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV sales reach 33,000 worldwide

It can be difficult to see from the US, where the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid is not yet available, but the all-wheel drive SUV is a big hit in Europe and Japan. In fact, we learned at the Plug In 2014 Conference in San Jose, CA this week that Mitsubishi has sold over 33,000 copies of the PHEV around the world. The breakdown is that Mitsubishi has delivered 15,000 units in Japan and 18,000 in Europe. Fuminori Kojima, Mitsubishi Motors North America's senior manager of incentives, told AutoblogGreen that the country with the highest sales rate in Europe is Holland, with about 6,000 units sold that thanks in part to generous incentives for plug-in hybrids there. The Euro-spec version on hand in San Jose has three regen levels (the normal D mode, plus B1 and B2). We got to take a spin around the block, but the battery was mostly depleted (it was a popular attraction in the Ride & Drive) and so we were driving on gas. In the gallery from Plug In 2014, you'll note that the Outlander PHEV requires at least 95 octane (RON) unleaded fuel, which is 91 octane (AKI) premium fuel in the US. We don't know what the US version will need, but we've heard it will be "completely different." The Outlander has a 12-kWh battery and should have an EV range of around 30 miles. Whether or not it will have a CHAdeMO fast-charging port in the US is still undecided, as is the question of whether it will have a 3.3 or 6.6 kW onboard charger. The timeline Kojima gave for the Outlander's US arrival was October or November of 2015, since the SUV still needs to be tested and homologated for the US, Kojima said, but the real problem is that Mitsubishi can't build enough. "The battery production capacity is limited," he said. "So that's why, [the] first [focus is the] domestic market and Europe showed more demand." As as an example, he mentioned not only the incentives but also said that the charging infrastructure is more built up in Europe. "We'd like to have it [in the US ] as soon as possible, of course," he said. According to numbers from the European group Transport And Environment (see press release and sales chart below), overall plug-in vehicle sales have been doubling each year since the new breed was introduced in 2010. Last year, almost 50,000 plug-in vehicles were sold in the EU, with the Renault Zoe EV, Outlander PHEV and Volvo V60 Plug-in at the top of the pack.