2004 Mitsubishi Montero Limited 4x4 on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 1990 Mitsubishi Montero

Americans had been buying Mitsubishi-made pickups (badged as Plymouth Arrows and Dodge Ram 50s) for the better part of a decade when the Americanized version of the Pajero SUV appeared in American Mitsubishi showrooms. Naturally, there was a Dodge-badged version as well (known as the Raider), but finally Americans could buy a bouncy, off-road-capable SUV with big Mitsubishi badges all over it. The first-generation (1985-1991) Monteros have become quite rare, but I found this high-mile example in a Denver yard a few weeks back. You won't often see a late-1980s/early-1990s Mitsubishi with more than 200,000 miles on the clock, but Monteros held their value longer than Mighty Maxes and Mirages. I couldn't find any meaningful rust on this one, but the interior looked pretty tired. Under the hood we find the ubiquitous 3.0-liter 6G72 V6 engine, which found its way into everything including Chrysler minivans, Mitsubishi Diamante luxury sedans and even 1990s Hyundai Sonatas. Mitsubishi got its money's worth out of this engine, which stayed in production from 1986 through 2011 (in China). Most of the early Raiders and Monteros I've found in junkyards had manual transmissions, but this one shows the direction American SUV buyers were headed in 1990: two pedals, no shifting. It still lacks the dozen cupholders of later US-market trucks, of course. The Montero name went on Pajeros sold in North and South America, while UK-market trucks got Shogun badging. This beefy grab bar for the front-seat passenger suggests the kind of rugged driving environments not much like the highway commutes now used by SUVs in North America. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Just the vehicle for contemplating the ocean... or racing. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Mitsubishi: Suddenly, the obvious choice.

Mitsubishi Outlander, Evo to keep things safe at Pikes Peak

Mitsubishi has already announced that it will be returning as a competitor to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with a pair of all-electric MiEV Evolution II racecars. In addition to these entrants, the automaker will also be the presenting sponsor of the race as well as providing the official safety vehicles to the event using specially prepped versions of the 2014 Outlander and Lancer Evolution.
While it isn't clear what exactly will be demanded of the safety vehicles, this isn't going to your run-of-the-mill pace car duty. To get the Outlander and Evo ready for the 156-turn, 12.42-mile course, Mitsubishi teamed up with companies such as BBS, Cobb Tuning, AEM and Muellerized Suspension Systems as well as DC Sports and Kenwood to create these one-off safety cars. These vehicles, and all the racecars, will be at Pikes Peak later this month for the 91st running of America's second-oldest racing event. Scroll down for the official press release.

Japan calls Ghosn's escape inexcusable and vows tighter immigration checks

TOKYO — Japan's justice minister on Sunday called the flight of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn as he awaited trial on financial misconduct charges inexcusable and vowed to beef up immigration checks. Justice Minister Masako Mori said she had ordered an investigation after Ghosn issued a statement a few days ago saying he was in Lebanon. She said there were no records of Ghosn's departure from Tokyo. She said his bail has been revoked, and Interpol had issued a wanted notice. Departure checks needed to be strengthened to prevent a recurrence, Mori said. While expressing deep regret over what had happened, Mori stopped short of outlining any specific action Japan might take to get Ghosn back. Japan does not have an extradition treaty with Lebanon. “Our nationÂ’s criminal justice system protects the basic human rights of an individual and properly carries out appropriate procedures to disclose the truth of various cases, and the flight of a suspect while out on bail is never justified,” she said in a statement. MoriÂ’s statement was the first public comment by a Japanese government official after the stunning escape of Ghosn, once a superstar of the auto industry. Tokyo prosecutors issued a similar statement Sunday. They had opposed Ghosn's release on bail, arguing he was a flight risk. First arrested in November 2018, Ghosn was out on bail over the last several months, and more recently had moved into a home in an upscale part of Tokyo. He has repeatedly said he was innocent. His statement from Beirut said he was escaping injustice. Japan's justice system has come under fire from human rights advocates for its long detentions, the reliance on confessions and prolonged trials. The conviction rate is higher than 99%. Even if Ghosn had been found innocent, the prosecutors could have appealed, and the appeals process could have lasted years. Ghosn's trial was not expected to start until April at the earliest. During that time, he had been prohibited from seeing his wife, and was only allowed a couple of video calls in the presence of a lawyer. Ghosn had been charged with underreporting his future compensation and breach of trust in diverting Nissan money for his personal gain. Although the details of his escape are not yet clear, Turkish airline company MNG Jet has said two of its planes were used illegally, first flying him from Osaka, Japan, to Istanbul, and then on to Beirut, where he arrived Monday and has not been seen since.