2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Es Sedan 4-door 2.0l, Like New, 26700 Miles,red Color on 2040-cars

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Mitsubishi struggling to sell doomed plant due to union workers

Mitsubishi is about to end vehicle production in the US, but the company is having serious problems finding a buyer for its Normal, IL, factory that currently assembles the Outlander Sport. A major sticking point, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, is the plant's workforce of over 900 United Auto Workers members. The automaker has been trying to find another company to take over the site for months and has set November as the point to stop manufacturing there. The Normal, IL, factory is unique because it's the only plant in the country that's run by a Japanese automaker with a UAW-represented workforce, after starting as a joint venture with Chrysler. That makes Ford, General Motors, and FCA the preferred buyers because they could conceivably take over the union contract. However, the Blue Oval and the General likely aren't interested. According to plant officials speaking to The Wall Street Journal, FCA and some unnamed car companies are potential buyers, but there's absolutely nothing final, yet. Proponents argue that buying the location is cheaper than building a new one. Making matters harder is that the UAW and Mitsubishi are currently negotiating a new union contract, and the factory's next owner might have to take over the deal, according to the WSJ. The workers were ready to vote whether to strike recently, but that was averted when an announcement on the local's webpage said a tentative agreement was expected Sunday. Of course, the Big Three have been experiencing their own, similar issues with crafting deals, too. Related Video:

Mitsubishi leaving US? No, it's doubling its marketing budget

We rarely hear any major news coming out of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) annual meeting in Orlando, FL, but Mitsubishi executives found this a fitting place to announce a big push for increased advertising here in the US. A report in Automotive News states that the struggling Japanese automaker is returning to advertising in prime time television for the first time since 2005, with the push slated to begin in June and July for the launch of the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander shown above.
Despite dwindling sales and a shrinking lineup, Mitsubishi's new North American chairman, Gayu Uesugi, has said on multiple occasions that the automaker has no plans to abandon the US market. Spending extra money on marketing and advertising should be a good start to help improve sales, but a lack of fresh and competitive products is also keeping showrooms empty. Aside from the new Outlander, the AN report says that Mitsubishi spokesman Roger Yasukawa said that a "yet-to-be-named subcompact" will arrive this year, which suggests the unnamed hatchback shown below (known elsewhere as the Mirage), could be heading to the US after its North American introduction at the Montreal Auto Show last month.

NHTSA releases updated Takata airbag recalled cars list, but it still has errors

Unfortunately, the government's list still contains errors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued an updated list of vehicle models that it's urging owners to repair under the mushrooming Takata airbag inflator recall. The latest version adds vehicles from new automakers like Subaru and Ford that are missing from the original announcement, and it also removes erroneous entries from General Motors, leaving only the 2005 Saab 9-2X (a reskinned Subaru WRX), and the 2003-2005 Pontiac Vibe, a joint project with Toyota.