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Ghosn: Restoring Mitsubishi's reputation is biggest challenge

After news that Mitsubishi falsified its fuel economy data on every vehicle it has sold in Japan since 1991, and the tumble in the company's value that followed, the troubled carmaker has an unlikely savior. Nissan has confirmed it will purchase over one third of Mitsubishi's stock, or 34 percent. The stake is valued at $2.2 billion. Ghosn says making Mitsubishi a part of the Renault-Nissan alliance will save billions in development costs. But the merger certainly isn't without challenges. "The biggest challenge is to support Mitsubishi changing itself and growing and being profitable and restoring its reputation," said Ghosn. Nissan is a natural partner for Mitsubishi, and since the fuel economy scandal escalated from discrepancies in the data regarding Mitsubishi-manufactured, Nissan-badged Japan-market vehicles, it makes sense for the company to sweep in and save the day. Nissan itself is partially owned by Renault, and Nissan has a 15-percent stake in the French automaker. Mitsubishi's chairman, Osamu Masuko says that the merger was inevitable, that it "would have happened one day" anyway, according to the New York Times. Carlos Ghosn, chairman of both Nissan and Renault, is confident they will be able to turn Mitsubishi's fortunes around. "We have the track record to make it work", Ghosn said, referring to the Renault-funded rescue of Nissan in the early 2000s. Related Video:

Datsun expands low-cost revival with new Mi-Do in Moscow [w/video]

Those who were disappointed when Datsun changed its name to Nissan over three decades ago may have been pleased to see the marque revived last year, even as a budget brand. Nissan's counterpart to its ally Renault's Dacia budget brand, Datsun has been steadily expanding its lineup of low-cost transportation for developing markets with the debut of the Go hatchback in India, the Go+ minivan in Indonesia and the On-Do sedan in Russia. And now it has returned to Moscow to reveal its fourth model, the Mi-Do.
Based closely on the On-Do sedan (which itself is based on the Lada Granta) the Mi-Do takes on a five-door hatchback bodystyle but with no more frills. It uses the same front-drive chassis with the same wheelbase as the sedan, but its chopped tail makes it a good foot and a half shorter overall. Into that compact shape, Datsun has fitted dual airbags, ABS and... well, that's about it. It's got a 1.6-liter, eight-valve inline-four kicking out a grand total of 87 horsepower to either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. Bare bones, this is.
While delivery of the first On-Do sedans commences next month (with the first example going to an IT specialist in Omsk), the Mi-Do is set to begin delivery early next year. Scope out the video and press release below from the Mi-Do's reveal at the Moscow Motor Show.

Nissan to pursue FWD Nurburgring lap record with Pulsar Nismo

Europeans get very serious about their hot hatches. So do the Japanese. In fact there's been a whole back-and-forth lately over who makes the fastest one, and now Nissan looks set to throw its racing hat into the 'Ring.
That would be the Nürburgring, of course, where automakers trade bragging rights like baseball cards - only they don't give them up willingly. Renault set the front-drive lap record in 2008 with the previous Mégane R26.R then set the bar even higher with the Mégane RS 265 Trophy. That was before Seat stole the honors with its Leon Cupra 280, only for Renault to take them back again with the Mégane RS 275 Trophy-R. Seat is rumored to be considering a renewed assault, but it won't be the only one nipping at Renaultsport's heels in the coming years.
Honda, for its part, has made no secret of its ambition to set the record with the upcoming Civic Type R, and now word has it that Nissan is planning an assault of its own. Its weapon of choice would be an upcoming Nismo version of the new Pulsar hatchback which is just hitting the European market now as a rival to the Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, et al. There's no word on what its specs would be, but if it's going to challenge these players, it's going to need between 270 and 300 horsepower, a stiff suspension, big brakes and probably some sort of trick differential.