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Mitsubishi profits in North America for first time in seven years

Well, this is a change of pace. Mitsubishi has actually made some money in North America. It's the company's first operating profit in seven years, and while it might only be $4.18 million – yes, Mitsubishi made less in 2014 than some professional athletes – it's definitely a start. Sales in the US were up 19 percent between January and March, to 32,000 units, while 2014's overall sales jumped 21 percent to 117,000 units, Automotive News reports. Perhaps more impressively, the company is predicting a bountiful 2015, with sales up to 128,000 units and operating profits climbing to $58.5 million. If Mitsubishi is doing this with cars like the ancient Lancer and the awful Mirage, we should probably expect some good things when newer, more competent vehicles like the new Outlander hit dealers.

Mitsubishi EV drivers returning for another crack at Pikes Peak

At the 2014 edition of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Mitsubishi will once again come to play with powerful electric vehicles. And by play, we mean take EV racing incredibly seriously. The 14,115-foot hill climb takes place June 29 and Mitsubishi is sending drivers Greg Tracy and Hiroshi Masuoka to challenge the podium. Tracy knows the course thanks to winning the challenge six times on a motorcycle. We don't know what kinds of vehicles Mitusbishi will race this year, and all the company is saying is that it will use technology founds in the i-MIEV. Last year, the duo raced a pair of MiEV Evolution II electric vehicles, which had four electric motors and a combined maximum output of 400 kilowatts (536 horsepower). They finished with times of 10:21.866 (Masuoka) and 10:23.649 (Tracy), well behing the winner of the Electric Division, Nobuhiro Tajima, who drove the Tajima Monster Sports Special E-Runner up the hill in just 9:46.530. Anyone want to hazard a guess what Tracy and Masuoka will get this year? Mitsubishi Motors At The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Tuesday, May. 13 2014 Greg Tracy and Hiroshi Masuoka Will Compete For Mitsubishi In Electric Modified Division at The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb On June 29 Colorado Springs, May 9----One of the top competitions at the 2014 The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb will be the quietest of them all. The talent-heavy Electric Modified Division already includes Nobuhiro Tajima, who won the Electric Division last year when he drove his Tajima Monster Sports Special E-Runner to a blazing time of 9:46.530, an Electric record and the seventh fastest time in the history of the race. Now, this exciting division has added two of the race's veteran stars to go head-to-head with Tajima for top honors in the world's most famous hill climb and America's second-oldest motorsport competition behind the famed Indianapolis 500. The powerful Mitsubishi Motors team will again field two factory teams on America's Mountain on June 29, driven by two of the most accomplished drivers in the history of the race. Greg Tracy, a six-time Pikes Peak motorcycle champion, will pilot one of the Mitsubishi Motors entries in the chase to the 14,115-foot summit of America's Mountain. Tracy, in his last ride on a bike, a Ducati, broke the ten-minute mark with a clocking of 9:58.262.

Mitsubishi previews diesel hybrid pickup concept, next-gen EV for Geneva

Mitsubishi has a long history of tidy little pickup trucks, and the Japanese automaker is apparently looking to extend that heritage in a bolder, bigger way with the Concept GR-HEV, a "sport utility hybrid truck."
The future-think show star, slated to be unveiled at next month's Geneva Motor Show, is actually tipped to be a much larger effort - Mitsubishi says it's applying its hybrid technology to a one-ton truck for the first time. The GR-HEV is powered by a complex powertrain composed of a diesel engine and electric motors, which the company believes is better suited to the sort of heavy-duty work required in the segment. The concept also employs full-time four-wheel drive and a development of Mitsubishi's Super All-Wheel Control system (which governs things like stability and brake force control along with an active center differential) as seen on the production Lancer Evolution.
In related news, Mitsubishi has also confirmed that it will show a next-generation electric showcar at Geneva dubbed Concept CA-MiEV. With this new concept (inset photo), the company says it is looking to build on the learnings of its i citycar and take EVs out of their limited urban roles. To that end, the CA-MiEV boasts "next generation EV systems and high density batteries" that give it a range of 186 miles.