1 Owner Clean Carfax Turbo Evo Navigation Rockford Fosgate Punch Premium Sound on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2014 Mitsubishi Lancer to shrink

The aging, oft-forgotten Mitsubishi Lancer won't get a replacement until sometime in 2014, but a new report states that the next-generation model could be a relatively drastic departure from the car you see here. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation President Osamu Masuko told Australian site The Motor Report that the new Lancer will be smaller than the current car, going in a different direction than the vast majority of other automakers.
"The new Lancer will be a very new car, and will be sized somewhere between the current model and its predecessor," Masuko-san told The Motor Report.
There are both pros and cons to this decision. On the plus side, a smaller car means the Lancer will likely have a weight advantage over other vehicles in its class. That said, Mitsubishi will need to find ways to maximize interior space and create efficient packaging in order to still have its compact sedan remain competitive with strong offerings like the Hyundai Elantra, Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus and so on.

Mitsubishi Outlander, Evo to keep things safe at Pikes Peak

Mitsubishi has already announced that it will be returning as a competitor to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with a pair of all-electric MiEV Evolution II racecars. In addition to these entrants, the automaker will also be the presenting sponsor of the race as well as providing the official safety vehicles to the event using specially prepped versions of the 2014 Outlander and Lancer Evolution.
While it isn't clear what exactly will be demanded of the safety vehicles, this isn't going to your run-of-the-mill pace car duty. To get the Outlander and Evo ready for the 156-turn, 12.42-mile course, Mitsubishi teamed up with companies such as BBS, Cobb Tuning, AEM and Muellerized Suspension Systems as well as DC Sports and Kenwood to create these one-off safety cars. These vehicles, and all the racecars, will be at Pikes Peak later this month for the 91st running of America's second-oldest racing event. Scroll down for the official press release.

Mitsubishi and Renault-Nissan expand partnership, US will get new sedan

Mitsubishi and Renault-Nissan have just inked an alliance that might, hopefully, reverse the ailing fortunes of the Mitsubishi brand in the US market. The big chunk of news is that Mitsubishi will produce two Renualt-based models for sale in the US market, and that they'll be built at the Renault-Samsung factory in Busan, South Korea.
The plans call for a D-segment sedan to be followed by a C-segment offering. Based on the cars built at the Busan factory, that means Mitsubishi will be getting the SM5 and the SM3, a pair of handsome sedans that are based on Renault-Nissan's D and C platforms, respectively. These same platforms underpin a number of US market Nissans (not to mention a number of cars from Renault), namely the Pathfinder, Maxima, Quest and Murano for the D platform and the last-generation Rogue and Sentra for the C platform.
Besides the sedan production, Nissan and Mitsubishi will be expanding their joint-venture company, NMKV, which produces Kei cars for the Japanese market. A new, all-electric offering will be born from the partnership, likely based on a Kei car platform. The partnership between the three brands will also lead to increased sharing of technology, particularly relating to electric cars.