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Mitsubishi CEO vows to stay in US on heels of Suzuki's departure

By now, you're surely aware that Suzuki is pulling out of the US market. It was a bit of a foregone conclusion to most who've been paying attention to the automotive realm, but it still sent a small shockwave through the industry. And one of the most oft-heard retorts goes something like this: "Next up: Mitsubishi."
It's easy to understand why many question Mitsubishi's existence in the States. After all, now that Suzuki is gone, Mitsubishi is the Japanese automaker with the fewest sales in America. Furthermore, the automaker's market share has dropped from .7 percent to just .4 percent after seeing sales fall 29 percent to 50,103 units through October.
In any case, Mitsubishi fans needn't worry. Speaking to Automotive News, Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko said, "We have no intention whatsoever of withdrawing from the US market." That's about as clear as clear can get. It's also worth mentioning that Gayu Uesugi was just named chairman of Mitsubishi Motors North America, and his main responsibility will be to revitalize the brand in the US.

Suzuki details 2019 Jimny engine and safety specs

Last month, we were able to publish official images of the upcoming new generation Suzuki Jimny SUV. Now, Suzuki has released a detailed mega-gallery of the boxy 2019 Jimny and some essential information on its powertrain and safety tech. The big news is that the Jimny's introductory engine choice will be bigger than anticipated, as it will be the 1.5-liter, 100-horsepower four-cylinder gasoline engine producing 96 pound-feet of torque. For the time being, no other powertrain options are available, and there's no word yet of a hybrid variant. The offered transmissions are a five-speed manual and a four-speed automatic, and 4WD mode is switchable from a separate gear lever with high and low range. Curb weight is mentioned to be as low as 2400 pounds. As for the Jimny's safety, there's now automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning combined with "Weaving Alert," and also traffic sign detection — certainly high tech for a very small SUV. But it's outside the reach of any road signage where the Jimny is designed to shine, as the image gallery shows with photos of the vehicle off-road. The Jimny's approach angle is 37 degrees, the ramp breakover angle is 28 degrees and the departure angle a nice 49 degrees. The minimum ground clearance is mentioned to be roughly 8.3 inches. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Suzuki Jimny View 16 Photos News Source: Suzuki Suzuki SUV Off-Road Vehicles suzuki jimny

Automotive Grade Linux will be the backbone of your connected car

Creating a backend for a secure, reliable, and expandable infotainment system is costly and time consuming. The Linux Foundation, a non-profit organization, has set out to promote and advance the Linux operating system in commercial products. Automotive Grade Linux, or AGL, is a group within the Foundation that seeks to apply a Linux backend to a number of automotive applications in a variety of vehicles from various suppliers and manufacturers. AGL's goal is to create a common, unifying framework that allows developers and manufacturers to easily implement applications across platforms. Currently, the focus is on infotainment systems, but AGL has plans for instrument clusters, heads-up displays, and eventually active safety software. At CES, a display from Panasonic showed a completely digital and customizable dashboard that allows information and apps to be moved from the gauge cluster to the infotainment screen and back, all through the use of gesture and touch controls. Although the organization has been around for five years, it's really only been in the past three that the group has been working hand in hand with automakers and suppliers. The first two OEMs to participate, Toyota and Jaguar Land Rover, have since been joined by Mazda, Suzuki, Ford, and, as of this week, Daimler. The latter is important as until now most of AGL's partner's have been based in Japan or the US. Other partners include suppliers Denso, Renesas, Continental, Qualcomm, and Intel. AGL want's to supply roughly 80 percent of the backend, allowing partners to then finish and refine the Linux system for each individual application. Think of how the Android operating system is refined and customized for individual smartphones from Samsung, LG, and Motorola. While the final product looks different, developers can have an application that will work across all AGL systems. Because it is open source, anyone can use and develop for AGL. You can even go onto the group's website and download a copy right now. There is also a software development kit available that helps facilitate app creation on the platform. Vehicle development cycles take roughly five years, so there currently are no cars that run an AGL backbone available for consumers. AGL Executive Director Dan Cauchy says products should be hitting the market later this year, with even more coming in 2018. Right now, the industry is relatively fragmented when it comes to infotainment and related systems.