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With just 75 i-MiEVs sold this year, Mitsubishi introduces 2014 model

Late last year, Mitsubishi said the Mitsubishi i-MiEV would get a solid price drop down to $22,995 (before destination and fees). Along with the lower digits, the car is getting a bit of a content bump to make the cheapest EV in the US an even better deal. After skipping the 2013 model year, new 2014 model year vehicles are now rolling out to Mitsubishi dealers in the US. We'll see if the new model helps increase sales. In 2013, Mitsubishi sold 1,029 copies of the i which was almost twice as much as it did in 2012 (588). So far in 2014, just 75 i-MiEVs have been sold, 35 of which were in May. So far in 2014, just 75 i-MiEVs have been sold, 35 in May. There is only one trim line for the new i-MiEV and it now comes with heaps more standard equipment than it used to. Things like a CHAdeMO DC quick charge port, heated front seats and a leather steering wheel came with the announcement of a $6,130 price drop last December. Read more about the new standard equipment here. New optional equipment includes a LED Illumination Package and a USB iPod adapter kit. Some things remain the same, like the 16-kWh lithium-ion battery that offers an official range of 62 miles. Mitsubishi takes pains to also include the EPA LA4 cycle range of 98 miles, just to show that 62 miles is not all you're going to get from the electric jellybean. Who wants one?

Lexus tops JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study again, Buick bests Toyota

It shouldn't surprise anyone, but Lexus has once again taken the top spot in JD Power's Vehicle Dependability Study. That'd be the Japanese luxury brand's fourth straight year at the top of table. The big news, though, is the rise of Buick. General Motor's near-premium brand beat out Toyota to take second place, with 110 problems per 100 vehicles compared to Toyota's 111 problems. Lexus owners only reported 89 problems per 100 vehicles. Besides Buick's three-position jump, Scion enjoyed a major improvement, jumping 13 positions from 2014. Ram and Mitsubishi made big gains, as well, moving up 11 and 10 positions, respectively. In terms of individual segments, GM and Toyota both excelled, taking home seven segment awards each. The study wasn't good news for all involved, though. A number of popular automakers finished below the industry average of 147 problems per 100 vehicles, including Subaru, (157PP100), Volkswagen (165PP100), Ford/Hyundai (188PP100 each) and Mini (193PP100). The biggest losers (by a tremendous margin, we might add) were Land Rover and Fiat, recording 258 and 273 problems per 100 vehicles. The next closest brand was Jeep, with 197PP100. While the Vehicle Dependability Study uses the same measurement system as the Initial Quality Survey, the two metrics analyze very different things. The VDS looks at problems experienced by original owners of model year 2012 vehicles over the past 12 months, while the oft-quoted IQS focuses on problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership. Like the IQS, though, the VDS has a rather broad definition of what a problem is. Because of that, a low score from JD Power is no guarantee of extreme unreliability, so much as just poor design. In this most recent study, the two most reported problems focused on Bluetooth connectivity and the voice-command systems. The former leaves plenty of room for user error due to poor design (particularly true of the Bluetooth systems on the low-scoring Fords, Volkswagens and Subarus), while the second is something JD Power has already confirmed as being universally terrible. That makes means that while these studies are important, they shouldn't be taken as gospel when it comes to automotive reliability. News Source: JD PowerImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Buick Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Jeep Land Rover Lexus MINI Mitsubishi RAM Scion Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Auto Repair Ownership study

1,400 Mitsubishi vehicles lost in shipping tragedy

A cargo ship carrying 1,400 Mitsubishi vehicles from Japan and Thailand collided with another vessel off the coast of Belgium and the Netherlands yesterday. The 485-foot Baltic Ace was carrying cars from Zeebrugge, Belgium to Kotka, Finland when it collided with the 439-foot Corvus J. While the Corvus J sustained damage during the incident, it is not in danger of sinking, and its 12-man crew is currently still on board.
The Baltic Ace, meanwhile, went under. Three ships from the Royal Dutch Sea Rescue Organization, two navy vessels, four helicopters and one coastguard aircraft spent the evening searching for survivors, but rough seas and high winds hampered the effort. Eighteen of the Baltic Ace's crew, including the captain, were rescued after being found in life rafts, but six remain missing. The search for survivors has officially been called off.
The collision occurred in one of the busiest shipping lanes in the North Sea, and the managers behind the Baltic Ace said they believed human error was to blame for the incident. Dutch police are currently looking into whether or not they can investigate the sinking despite the fact that the collision took place outside of the country's territorial waters.