No Reserve - Needs Transmission Repair - Leather, V6, Automatic, Sunroof, Cd on 2040-cars

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Nissan and Renault shelve merger plans, will repair their alliance

Renault and Nissan have shelved plans to push towards the full merger former leader Carlos Ghosn craved and will instead fix their troubled alliance to try to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, five senior sources told Reuters. Nissan has long resisted Renault's proposals for a full-blown merger as executives felt the French carmaker was not paying its fair share for the engineering work it did in Japan, sowing discord that some feared could wreck the partnership. Now, with carmakers around the world reeling from the pandemic, the partners are planning to overhaul an alliance that largely failed to convert its global scale into a competitive advantage beyond the joint procurement of parts. Both struggling carmakers are set to announce mid-term restructuring plans this week that will serve as a peace treaty designed to resolve the long-standing tensions, five people familiar with the overhaul told Reuters. "After the rain, the earth hardens," said one senior Nissan source, citing a popular Japanese proverb that means relationships become stronger after a period of strife. All five sources within the alliance, which also includes Mitsubishi, declined to be named because they are not authorized to speak with media. Nissan and Renault are each planning substantial restructuring and cost cuts that could affect tens of thousands of jobs, with the Japanese company to announce its measures on May 28 and its French partner likely to follow the next day. Before that, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault are holding a joint news conference on May 27 during which they are expected to outline the philosophy behind their new "leader-follower" approach to the alliance. The sources said the companies were unlikely to disclose many details at the events this week of how the new approach will be used to share costs as the companies were still working on specific projects. However, the crisis at both carmakers has accelerated efforts to resolve the disagreements that have stymied collaboration and cost-sharing in technology and product development for five years, the sources said. Mitsubishi, Nissan and Renault all declined to comment officially about alliance plans. 'Leader-follower' The alliance has steadily ramped up output over the years, delivering over 10 million vehicles for the first time in 2017, the first full year after Mitsubishi joined the partnership.

Say Hello to the Kitty edition Mitsubishi Mirage

Japan is the country that gave us the GT-R, the LFA and the STI. But it's also the home of Hello Kitty. We try our best to ignore the commonality, but now Mitsubishi is putting it right in our faces with the new Hello Kitty edition Mirage.
Decked out in pink, the special Mirage arrives on the occasion of the character's 40th anniversary. It comes decked out with Hello Kitty decals on the outside, special hubcaps and unique upholstery. It's even got a Hello Kitty pillow inside, for crying out loud.
Fortunately, only 400 examples will be made, hopefully only for domestic consumption, wearing a sticker price of 116,970 yen (equivalent to about $12k). Now we wish we could say this was a first, but sadly it's not - not even for Mitsubishi.

2022 Mitsubishi Outlander pricing, fuel economy announced

Mitsubishi has announced pricing on what is probably the most compelling — and important to the company's future — product in a decade, the 2022 Outlander. As we learned at the reveal, the base ES trim will start at $25,795, or $26,990 when the destination charge is factored in. Fuel economy figures are also in, giving the Outlander a rating of 24 miles per gallon in the city, 31 on the highway and 27 combined for the front-wheel-drive model. Mitsubishi's S-AWC all-wheel-drive system, which is available on any trim for $1,800, drops one mpg highway and combined. By way of comparison, the base 2021 Nissan Roque, which uses a similar engine and platform, gets 27 city, 35 highway and 30 combined in front-wheel drive guise. That combined figure matches that of the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. It's worth noting that the Mitsubishi Outlander comes standard with a third row for seven-passenger seating, so a direct comparison with the Rogue isn't exactly fair. The ES comes with what is now an obligatory suite of tech, like automatic braking forward and rear, blind spot warnings, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. 18-inch alloy wheels are standard, but a $1,000 convenience package adds 20-inchers and the Mitsubishi Connect remote services smartphone link (which comes with 24 months free). That places the three-row ES below the Toyota RAV4 but above the Honda CR-V. Next up is the SE trim, ringing in at $28,845 with everything the ES offers and adding 20-inch wheels, heated front seats and side mirrors, proximity unlocking, and a leather steering wheel. Here, the tech content is boosted quite a bit, with the bird's-eye multi-view camera system, parking sensors, and wireless phone charging. You no longer need an upgrade package to get Mitsubishi Connect, and it also has MiPilot Assist which adds adaptive cruise with stop and go in traffic, lane keeping assist, and traffic sign recognition. The touchscreen gets bumped from 8 to 9 inches, and USB charging ports become available for rear passengers as well. A $2,300 SE Tech Package adds a 12.3-inch LCD instrument panel, premium sound system by Bose, and panoramic sunroof.  The top-spec SEL stickers at $31,945, building upon the other trims while adding the aforementioned 12.3-inch multi-function display, leather seats, 4-way power seats key-linked to memory, three-zone climate control, roof rails, and heated rear seats.