2003 Mitsubishi Montero Sport Ls Suv 4x4 4-speed Automatic on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Nissan, Renault break up the Ghosn-style almighty chairmanship

YOKOHAMA, Japan — Japan's Nissan Motor and France's Renault said they would retool the world's top car-making alliance to put themselves on more equal footing, breaking up the all-powerful chairmanship previously wielded by ousted boss Carlos Ghosn. The removal of Ghosn, credited for rescuing Nissan from near-bankruptcy in 1999, had caused much uncertainty about the future of the alliance and some speculation the partnership could even unravel. The companies, together with junior ally Mitsubishi Motors, on Tuesday said the chairman of Renault would serve as the head of the alliance but — in a critical sign of the rebalancing — not as chairman of Nissan. "This is a very special day for the alliance," Renault SA's chairman, Jean-Dominique Senard, told reporters after a meeting at Nissan's Yokohama headquarters. He spoke to reporters along with Renault's chief executive, Thierry Bollore; Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa; and Osamu Masuko, CEO of the smaller Japanese alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Those four executives will meet every month in Paris or Tokyo and oversee various projects, helping to make the companies' operations more efficient, they said. Nissan has said that Ghosn wielded too much power, creating a lack of oversight and corporate governance. It was not clear who would become Nissan's chairman, vacant since Ghosn was arrested in Japan in November. But the automakers gave no indication of any immediate change in their cross-shareholding agreement, one which has given smaller Renault SA more sway over Nissan. The alliance did not announce any changes in mutual stake holdings. The so-called Restated Alliance Master Agreement that has bound them together so far remains intact, they said. "We are fostering a new start of the alliance. There is nothing to do with the shareholdings and the cross-shareholdings that are still there and still in place," Renault Chairman Senard said. "Our future lies in the efficiency of this alliance," he told reporters at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama. Senard also said he would not seek to be chairman of Nissan, but instead was a "natural candidate" to be vice-chairman. Former Nissan chairman Ghosn was released on a $9 million bail last week after spending more than 100 days in a Tokyo detention center.

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.

2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Quick Spin Review | Deserving of a clean slate

The 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is named after a sport compact coupe, which was iconic to some and a sad reminder of its brand's slide into irrelevance to most others. That "Eclipse" is now attached to a compact SUV will likely cheese off the former and cause the latter to sarcastically mutter, "Yup, that seems about right." Mitsubishi's marketers would say it shares the old Eclipse's "reputation for driving dynamics and technology." Do with that what you will. For now, though, let's put aside what it's called. Well, beyond the fact it's comically long to say and difficult to type (I started calling it the Eagle Talon Cross for those reasons). Because really, the name straps a whole load of baggage to a mostly clean-slate vehicle that in concept is actually a smart move by a brand trying to climb back to relevance. In size, it straddles the line between B- and C-segment compact SUVs. In shape and style, it's set apart from the more utilitarian entries of both. Under the hood, it provides torque-rich turbocharged grunt in contrast to meek naturally aspirated rivals. The ample ground clearance and standard all-wheel drive (on most trims) take a page from the Subaru playbook that's been moving the chains so well. As we discovered when we compared its specs to those of vaguely similar SUVs, the Eclipse Cross is far more intriguing and potentially competitive than originally thought. Perhaps it's unfair to the car itself, but besides all that baggage attached to its name, it's also saddled with the expectations of recent Mitsubishi products that have been uncompetitive, dull or just plain bad. (The i-Miev is the worst and most embarrassing car I've ever driven, and I've driven a Yugo.) In short, the Eclipse Cross warrants a clean-slate appraisal. Sure, it shares its wheelbase with Mitsubishi's two Outlander SUVs and certainly other components as well, but in appearance, touch and driving feel, the Eclipse Cross is profoundly different. This is immediately obvious in the cabin that's far more contemporary in appearance. If you think it looks a bit like the Lexus NX interior, you certainly wouldn't be alone, right down to its touchpad tech interface (more on that later). Materials quality is also strong, and not just in comparison to its brand mates, but to the compact SUV segment as a whole.