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Mitsubishi planning to bring back Lancer as hybrid crossover

It looks like the Mitsubishi Lancer is about to undertake a daring transformation from a ten-year-old sedan to a crossover. The Eclipse has already shed its coupe roots and become the Eclipse Cross, and now it's the Lancer's turn to become a high-rider. The carmaker already teased its future plans with the e-Evolution concept last year (pictured above), again combining a previously successful Mitsubishi nameplate with new crossover intentions. Now, talking to AutoExpress, Mitsubishi's chief operating officer and chief designer both hint of the Lancer taking the shape of the e-Evolution. For Mitsubishi, the Lancer's segment still looks very viable in the next decade, but it doesn't necessarily want to fight the Ford Focus and the VW Golf with a conventional hatchback, let alone a three-box saloon. "We believe we have a solution that could fit the segment", said COO Trevor Mann. "[The segment's] numbers are still expanding in China, so there's appeal. And I think because the segment is so large globally, we've got to take a look at it." The chief designer, Tsunehiro Kunimoto said, "Just because it's C-segment, it doesn't mean it has to be a very conventional hatchback. Maybe we can create a new type of hatchback vehicle. We're thinking quite radically." It is also likely that the Lancer's eventual replacement will use hybrid technology and a Renault-Nissan Alliance platform — and an all-wheel-drive option would still be a nod to the Lancer Evo's heritage, at least partially justifying any use of the Evolution brand. Trevor Mann says the product timeline is largely set until 2025, and the existing crossovers in the portfolio, the Outlander and the Outlander Sport (known elsewhere as the ASX) will get replacements. The company is now directing its attention to the Lancer and the Montero, both of which have last had a major update over ten years ago. The Lancer was phased out in the U.S. last fall after a very long run. Related Video:

Carlos Ghosn's new lawyer, 'the Razor,' starts slashing

TOKYO — Carlos Ghosn's new lawyer took aim at Nissan, prosecutors and courts on Wednesday, dismissing the charges against the ousted chairman as an internal company matter and saying Japan was out of step with international norms by keeping his client in jail. "This should have been dealt with as an internal matter," Junichiro Hironaka, nicknamed the Razor, said at his first press briefing. Ghosn, who was arrested in November over alleged financial misconduct and remains in detention in a Tokyo jail, picked a new team last week with long-time defense attorney Hironaka as a key member to replace Motonari Otsuru, a lawyer who once ran the prosecutor's office investigating him. Hironaka's combative style contrasts with the low-key approach adopted by media-shy Otsuru. Ghosn's switch to an aggressive legal strategy came after his attempts to win bail failed and just before lawyers were due to sit down with prosecutors and judges for the first time to hash out a schedule for pre-trial discovery meetings, where prosecutors will reveal evidence and submit a list of witnesses. Hironaka said he didn't know why Ghosn picked him, but added that Ghosn probably wanted an experienced criminal lawyer as the case moved toward trial. The 73-year-old defense attorney is reputed for winning high profile cases, including the acquittal of a senior lawmaker, Ichiro Ozawa, on financial misconduct charges. He also helped free a senior bureaucrat Atsuko Muraki who was jailed for four months on corruption charges fabricated by prosecutors. Yet, even with greater legal firepower the former Nissan Motor Co boss faces a criminal justice system where only three out of every 100 defendants pleading not guilty are acquitted. Neither does Japan have a plea-deal mechanism that would allow Ghosn to agree to lesser charges for a lighter sentence. "The change in lawyers means a change in style, but the legal strategy will still be the same. I don't think it increases Ghosn's chance of an acquittal," said Masashi Akita, a defense lawyer at Shin-Yu Law Office in Osaka, ahead of Wednesday's comments by Hironaka. Ghosn has lost his perch atop an automotive alliance trio of French carmaker Renault SA and Japanese automakers Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Attempts to win bail, including an offer to wear a GPS ankle bracelet and hire security guards to stop him trying to tamper with evidence, failed.

No one wants to buy Mitsubishi's only US plant

Mitsubishi Motors will very likely close its factory in Normal, IL, later this year after failing to find another company in the auto market to take over its only manufacturing site in the US. "We have given up looking for an automaker to buy the plant, but we are looking for possible buyers from other industries," a Mitsubishi spokesperson told Reuters. Mitsubishi announced plans to leave the site in 2015 to shift its business strategy toward Asia. The factory started as a joint venture with Chrysler in 1988 and was the only plant from a Japanese automaker in the US with a UAW-represented workforce. This was allegedly a sticking point when finding a buyer because other companies in the industry didn't want to take on the union employees' contract. The Normal factory ended assembly of the Outlander Sport in November 2015 and laid off 1,000 workers at that time. The site will continue to make car parts until May, and then Mitsubishi will let go of the remaining 250 employees. The costs of shutting down the factory could be as high as 30 billion yen ($255 million), but a company spokesperson wouldn't confirm that figure to Reuters. Mitsubishi's fortunes seem on the upswing in the US as of late. The company's deliveries jumped 22.8 percent in 2015 to a total of 95,342 vehicles, and the last fiscal year brought the automaker's first operating profit in this region in seven years. Related Video: