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Japanese government chides Mitsubishi over recall delays

An official with the transport ministry in Japan has some stern words for Mitsubishi, taking the carmaker to task for not being more proactive and honest about its recalls. An investigation into The Tri-Star last December found Mitsubishi was tardy investigating problems and didn't explain itself forthrightly to the transport ministry about the issues. None of Mitsubishi's actions were illegal, and we should stress that this is a dialogue with Mitsubishi in Japan, not Mitsubishi Motors North America.
The official advised the automaker to, "Come up with plans for improvement, implement them and report them to the ministry." It looks like the company will get more practice than it wants in that department, having to announce another recall for the Outlander PHEV over software and hardware glitches. Those recalls come just after Mitsu finally figured out the problem with overheating lithium-ion batteries that caused a production halt of the plug-in hybrid SUV.

Mitsubishi boss confirms new Mirage for US; i EV enduring dismal sales

By March, Mitsubishi expects to have sold just 55,000 cars in the US this fiscal year. That's a tiny sum - by comparison, Honda has sold over 276,000 Civic models thus far this year - and that's just one vehicle, not an entire brand. Mitsubishi president Osamu Masuko recognizes this is not a tenable position, and he's hoping the company will shift 80,000 units next fiscal year. Warding off speculation, Masuko has repeatedly stated that his company will not retreat from the US market like competitor Suzuki.
We reported on one part of Masuko's plan, the updated Outlander, and now he has confirmed that the small Mirage will be sold in the US beginning next September. The cut-price hatchback is selling well enough that Mitsu's Thailand plant is at its full capacity of 150,000 cars. "And even at that level it's not keeping up with orders," Masuko tells Automotive News. Masuko went on to say the plant would be expanded next year to handle an extra 50,000 units. We can also expect the Outlander plug-in early 2014.

Junkyard Gem: 1991 Mitsubishi Mighty Max Super Max

While the Montero SUV sold well enough in the United States, Mitsubishi-badged pickup sales didn't quite measure up to those of their Toyota, Nissan, and Mazda rivals. Second-generation Mighty Maxes are hard to find, so this '91 in Colorado was worthy of inclusion in the Junkyard Gem canon. The ADX Florence Supermax federal prison is just 100 miles to the south of this self-service wrecking yard, but it opened several years after this truck was built. The garish lettering and striping has the look of a dealer-installed option package. Chrysler sold rebadged Mitsubishi pickups for decades, as the Plymouth Arrow and Dodge D-50/Ram 50. When Mitsubishi began selling vehicles under their own brand in the United States in 1982, the Triton pickup got the Mighty Max name. The Dodge Ram 50 always outsold its near-identical Mighty Max twin, but the debut of the all-Detroit Dakota in 1987 cut into Ram 50 sales; by 1995, truck shoppers who wanted a Mitsubishi pickup had no choice but the Mighty Max. After 1996, the Mighty Max was mighty gone. This one is quite solid and doesn't appear to have been wrecked, and the odometer shows a surprisingly low mileage figure for a 26-year-old Japanese pickup. The 2.4-liter 4G54 four-cylinder engine is gone, purchased by a junkyard shopper. This engine family went into everything from the Mitsubishi Galant to the Hyundai Sonata, not to mention the Chery V5. The sunroof has an aftermarket look, which fits with the SUPER MAX dealer-option theory. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Mitsubishi trucks were pitched as cheap, cheap, cheap in the United States.