1995 Mitsubishi 3000gt Spyder Vr-4 Convertible 2-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Mitsubishi admits it lied about MPG ratings for all vehicles in Japan

Like the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal, news about Mitsubishi's lies over fuel-economy ratings for its Japanese market vehicles is going from bad to worse. First, it was just a few kei cars. Then it was vehicles made as far back as 1991. Now Mitsubishi has admitted deceptive mileage test data could affect every vehicle it has sold in Japan, but not vehicles sold elsewhere. We suspect that this will not cause the EPA to relax its request for more information from the Japanese automaker to see if any vehicles sold in the US are affected. Mitsubishi Motors North America has said its US numbers are legit. In a letter to the Japanese government, Mitsubishi said that even though its managers knew getting good fuel economy ratings was a difficult task, they didn't ask too many questions of the engineers actually doing the tests. That allowed those employees to fake some of the numbers. Exactly what the repercussions will be in Japan is not known, CBS News says, both in terms of fines or penalties and how to compensate people who bought these vehicles. Reports are also just coming in that the fuel scandal might lead to Nissan taking control of Mitsubishi. More on this as it develops. Related Video: News Source: CBS Government/Legal Green Mitsubishi Fuel Efficiency vw diesel scandal kei car scandal

Carlos Ghosn video: 'This is about conspiracy. This is about backstabbing'

TOKYO — Nissan's former Chairman Carlos Ghosn maintained his innocence in a video released by his legal team Tuesday and accused some executives at the Japanese automaker of a "conspiracy" that led to his arrest on financial misconduct allegations. "The first message is that I'm innocent," said Ghosn, wearing a white shirt and dark jacket and speaking calmly in the nearly 10-minute video shown at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Tokyo. "This is a conspiracy," he said. "This is not about specific events, this is not about, again, greed, this is not about dictatorship. This is about a plot. This is about conspiracy. This is about backstabbing." His lawyer Junichiro Hironaka said the video was prepared in case Ghosn was not able to speak at a news conference planned for Thursday. Ghosn was arrested last week while out on bail and remains at the Tokyo Detention Center. Ghosn said the executives behind the conspiracy were motivated by what he called "selfish fears," including what they saw as a merger with French alliance partner Renault SA. They mistook his leadership for greed and dictatorship, when he was the biggest defender of Nissan's autonomy, Ghosn said. He also said he was worried about Nissan, wondering whether those executives were really watching out for the company. Hironaka said a section of the video in which Ghosn mentioned names was removed on his legal advice. Nissan Motor Co., while declining to comment on the criminal case, has said an internal investigation has found that Ghosn falsified financial documents to under-report compensation, and that he used Nissan money for personal gain. "Nissan's internal investigation has uncovered substantial evidence of blatantly unethical conduct," company spokesman Nicholas Maxfield said when asked for comment on Ghosn's video. "The company's focus remains on addressing weaknesses in governance that enabled this misconduct." Ghosn's fourth arrest was on a fresh breach of trust allegation based on suspicion that payments from a Nissan subsidiary to an Oman dealership were diverted to a company effectively run by Ghosn. On Monday, Nissan Motor Co. shareholders voted to oust Ghosn from its board and to approve the appointment of French alliance partner Renault SA's Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard as Ghosn's replacement. Renault owns 43 percent of Nissan.

Junkyard Gem: 1999 Mitsubishi Galant GTZ-V6

The Mitsubishi Galant first appeared on American streets as the 1971 Dodge Colt and then a bit later with Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Sapporo badges. Mitsubishi Motors finally began selling Galants from its own U.S. showrooms for the 1985 model year, and Galant sales continued here through four more generations before getting the axe in 2012. We saw some interesting and/or quick Galants along the way, including the Sigma, VR-4, GS-X and Ralliart; today's Junkyard Gem is a rare example of the sporty eighth-generation Galant GTZ sedan, found in a North Carolina self-service wrecking yard recently. The final year for the hot-rod all-wheel-drive VR-4 and GS-X Galants in the United States was 1992. By 1998, there were just three levels of new Galant here, all with 141-horse four-cylinder engines driving the front wheels. Then the 1999 model year arrived, and so did the 6G72 V6 engine under Galant hoods. This SOHC (yet still 24-valve) engine was rated at 161 horsepower and 205 pound-feet. It was available in the U.S.-market ES-V6, GTZ-V6 and LS-V6 Galants for the '99. The GTZ was sporty-looking, but not as loaded with luxury features as the LS. 1999 was the first model year for the eighth-generation Galant in North America, and it had finally become big and powerful enough to be considered a genuine rival for the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord (both of which had been available with V6 power for quite a few years). The 1999 Galant got a grille that resembled the one on its upscale Diamante big brother, which had five years to live at the time. The MSRP for this car was $24,300, which comes to about $46,374 in 2024 dollars. The base 1999 Galant DE started at just $16,999, or $32,441 in today's money. Those prices were in the ballpark with the Galant's Camry and Accord rivals; the Camry LE V6 with automatic started at $22,748 ($43,412 now) with automatic transmission, while the Accord LX V6 with automatic was $21,700 ($41,412 today). Both those cars had a lot more power than the Mitsubishi, though: 194 horsepower for the Toyota and 200 for the Honda. The 1999 Galant sold in the United States was not available with a manual transmission, which made the El Cheapo DE trim level a steal compared to the cost of two-pedal base Accords and Camrys. The Galant DE even came with air conditioning at no extra cost. The factory wing on the GT-Z is serious. Collectible today? Hardly, but an interesting bit of automotive history. This content is hosted by a third party.