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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.

Mitsubishi, Nissan will build mini EV together

That minicar project that erstwhile competitors Nissan and Mitsubishi launched about four years ago is about to go a little more maxi. NMKV Co., the joint venture established in June 2011 by the two Japanese automakers to make minicars, is going to get more resources specifically to ease a move into the electric-vehicle sector. Specifically, Nissan, which makes the all-electric Leaf, is going to have a bigger role in the testing, design, and development of the partnership's mini EVs. A memorandum of understand between Nissan and Mitsubishi, maker of the i-MiEV, is in the works. So far, the joint-venture has sold about 500,000 gas-powered three-cylinder compact vehicles under the two automotive brands, so it must be doing something right. The first Nissan Dayz and the Mitsubishi eK Wagon models started production in 2013. Sales of the Nissan Dayz Roox and Mitsubishi eK Space, which went the higher-roof route, began early last year. Nissan and Mitsubishi started making noise about this last summer, when word came out that the little EV may be priced at less than $15,000 in Japan, quite a bit cheaper than either the Leaf or the i-MiEV over there. As with the current models, the future minicar variants will be produced at Mitsubishi's Mizushima factory in Japan. So far, the partnership would only say that details about NMKV's next-generation mini EV will be released "at a later time," so specifics like range and other performance measures will have to wait. Until then, you can take a look at NMKV's press release below. Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors and NMKV reach agreement on planning and development of next-generation minicars Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, and their joint venture NMKV Co., Ltd. today reached an agreement to continue their joint project regarding development of the next generation of current minicar models. The three companies will soon sign a memorandum of understanding. The companies aim to develop more competitive products by optimizing resource allocation and their respective roles and responsibilities. Nissan will be more deeply involved in development operations, such as design development and testing. In addition to its product planning and project development roles, NMKV will strengthen its management capabilities by adding a new department to enhance collaboration with engineering and manufacturing functions. Vehicle production is planned to continue at Mitsubishi's Mizushima Plant.

This Mitsubishi dealer's rap ad is so bad it's awesome

Sometimes you stumble upon something online that is so incredibly, bad that there is actually something great about. With that in mind, Southside Mitsubishi in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, might have created one of the worst/best automotive raps we've ever seen.
While there is no way the dealership went into this video thinking it would actually be good, it's hard to imagine it could have ended up so incredibly cheesy. Whether it's the frontman who looks like Vladimir Putin on his worst day ever, the extras who clearly don't want to be there or the inexplicable reference to that Baha Men classic, "Who Let The Dogs Out?" this video is a black hole of suffering - there is no escape. We knew things were bad at Mitsubishi, and man, this isn't helping.
Scroll down to inflict this awful awesomeness on yourself, and remind yourself of the infamous Swagger Wagon from Toyota to see that not all ironic automotive rapping has to be painful.