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Mitsubishi and Renault-Nissan expand partnership, US will get new sedan

Mitsubishi and Renault-Nissan have just inked an alliance that might, hopefully, reverse the ailing fortunes of the Mitsubishi brand in the US market. The big chunk of news is that Mitsubishi will produce two Renualt-based models for sale in the US market, and that they'll be built at the Renault-Samsung factory in Busan, South Korea.
The plans call for a D-segment sedan to be followed by a C-segment offering. Based on the cars built at the Busan factory, that means Mitsubishi will be getting the SM5 and the SM3, a pair of handsome sedans that are based on Renault-Nissan's D and C platforms, respectively. These same platforms underpin a number of US market Nissans (not to mention a number of cars from Renault), namely the Pathfinder, Maxima, Quest and Murano for the D platform and the last-generation Rogue and Sentra for the C platform.
Besides the sedan production, Nissan and Mitsubishi will be expanding their joint-venture company, NMKV, which produces Kei cars for the Japanese market. A new, all-electric offering will be born from the partnership, likely based on a Kei car platform. The partnership between the three brands will also lead to increased sharing of technology, particularly relating to electric cars.

Infiniti moves to trademark Eau Rouge

With Formula One taking to Belgium and the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit this weekend - boasting a reputation as one of the most beautiful courses on the calendar - all eyes will likely be on the tricky Eau Rouge corner, which challenges drivers' high-speed car control over a rolling, tree-lined hill. Infiniti played on the turn's iconic legacy for its ruby red Q50 Eau Rouge concept, and now the brand hopes to trademark the famous racing name so it can keep using it for a potential production version.
In January, the company filed for a trademark on Eau Rouge for "Automobiles and their structural parts; Fuel cell automobiles and their structural parts; Concept cars" with the US Patent and Trademark Office. According to Bloomberg, the application is still under consideration and not yet a guarantee. It's possible that the track could attempt to block the automaker from earning rights to the name. Alternatively, a trademark lawyer tells Bloomberg that the two of them could also strike a deal where Infiniti would pay a small amount for each car sold bearing the title, which could give Spa a bit of extra money in the bank.
Regardless of the name, a vehicle like the Eau Rouge is something enthusiasts have been wanting for years. It combines a modified, 560-horsepower version of the engine from the Nissan GT-R into a four-door sedan covered in aggressive, carbon fiber aerodynamic parts.

2019 Hyundai Kona Electric First Drive Review | No compromises

The results of last week's United Nations climate study reveal that Earth's climate situation is much more dire than previously thought. Unless we do something drastic to stop pumping carbon emissions into our atmosphere, we'll do irreversible damage by 2030. It seems almost prophetic, then, that Hyundai is launching two vehicles — the hydrogen-powered Nexo FCV and an all-electric variant of the recently launched Kona crossover. The more compelling of the two is the Hyundai Kona Electric. It joins other purely battery-powered machines such as the Nissan Leaf, the Chevy Bolt and the Tesla Model 3, but the Korean automaker one-ups the competition by arriving in the form of a crossover. Americans can't get enough of them, and no other pure electric on the market offers it unless you're talking about the $83,000 Tesla Model X. The Kona EV's next closest competitor is the boxy electric Soul, and in case you didn't know, Kia's affiliate company is none other than Hyundai. In truth, the crossover moniker isn't entirely accurate. Like its internal-combustion-engined counterpart, the Kona EV doesn't really sit above regular car height. Rather than call it a compact crossover, it'd be more appropriate to label it a hatchback with some rugged-looking body cladding. The Kona Electric does, however, top nearly all of its EV rivals for cargo space, with 19.2 cubic feet. Only the Leaf tops it at 23.6 cubic feet, but the Kona's footprint is almost a foot shorter than the Nissan's. Visually, the Kona Electric is distinguished from its petrol-powered sibling by a grille-less face, replaced by an LCD readout grid pattern with the charging port neatly hidden beneath a panel on the left side. A new light bar spans the prow, connecting the upper driving lights in a digital wave pattern repeated in the lower front, side and rear skirts. It's meant to evoke the pathways in a circuit board, according to senior chief designer Chris Chapman. Inside, more differences serve to remind you that you're sitting not just at the helm of a crossover, but a shuttle to the future. An array of PRND buttons and an electronic parking brake await your instructions. Neither seemed necessary nor an improvement over the Kona classic's tried-and-true gear selector and handbrake, but there they were. The e-e-brake perhaps does permit the double-decker center console, though, the lower level meant for gadget recharging, whether via USB or Qi wireless.