No Reserve Auction 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse Gs-t Turbo 5 Spd on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Subprime financing on the rise in new car sales, leasing too

We all remember the financial crisis that began several years back. At its core was a splurge of subprime lending for housing loans. The housing bubble burst, triggering a collapse of the mortgage-backed securities market. Apparently, those types of loans still exist in the automotive industry, and the market share for these types of "nonprime, subprime, and deep subprime," loans has grown 13.6 percent compared to the third quarter a year ago.
According to an Automotive News report, high-risk lending expanded to 24.8 percent of total loans in Q3, up from 21.9 percent for this time last year. As this level increased, average credit scores of borrowers dropped to 755, down from 763 a year ago. In that time, the average financing amount increased $90 per vehicle, to $25,963.
At 818, Volvo maintains the highest per-owner credit score, while Mitsubishi has the lowest, at 694. The highest rate of borrowers was at Toyota, with 14 percent of the market, followed by Ford with 13.1 percent and Chevrolet at 11.1.

Limited-edition Mitsubishi 311RS Evo X coming to Minneapolis Auto Show [w/video]

It's not terribly often that we have news to report coming out ahead of the Minneapolis Auto Show. We say that not to disparage the Twin Cities, which are lovely, but new product reveals are few and far between for the show. This year, however, it seems that event will play host to the debut of a rather special limited edition Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. Though not coming directly from the Mitsu factory, we think the 311RS shows loads of potential for Evo fanatics.
The 311RS is the brainchild of circuit racer Ryan Gates, who has apparently spent the last three years developing what he believes is an Evo perfect for both racing and road driving. Starting life as a bog-standard Evo X, the Gates team has swapped out the factory intake, intercooler and exhaust system for more potent AMS pieces; resulting in output figures of 353 horsepower and nearly 359 pound-feet of torque. A new suspension from JRZ, brakes from Girodisc and 18-inch custom Rays wheels shod with high-performance Nitto tires represent significant updates to the underpinnings, as well.
Of course, the 311RS is also rocking a full body kit, too, with a more aggressive front air dam and a subtle lip added on to the stock rear wing. The blue and white racing livery, with matching blue wheels, looks racy without being too childish, we think.

DoJ fines Japanese parts firms $740M in massive automotive price-fixing scandal

Nine Japanese suppliers have pleaded guilty in US court over charges of price fixing in the automotive parts industry, resulting in the Department of Justice doling out a total of $740 million of fines, according to a report from Bloomberg. The scandal, which has resulted in General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Chrysler spending up to $5 billion on inflated parts and driving up prices on 25 million vehicles has sent the DoJ hustling into investigations. "The conduct this investigation uncovered involved more than a dozen separate conspiracies aimed at the U.S. economy," Attorney General Eric Holder (pictured above) said during yesterday's press conference.
As the investigation stands, the DoJ has issued $1.6 billion in fines against 20 companies and 21 individual executives, with 17 of the execs headed to prison. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Scott Hammond said, "The breadth of the conspiracies brought to light today are as egregious as they are pervasive. They involve more than a dozen separate conspiracies operating independently but all sharing in common that they targeted US automotive manufacturers."
Big-name suppliers indicted in the investigation include Mitsubishi Electric, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Hitachi Automotive and Mitsuba Corporation. A list of fines and other corporations named in the investigation is available at Bloomberg.