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Ghosn: Restoring Mitsubishi's reputation is biggest challenge

After news that Mitsubishi falsified its fuel economy data on every vehicle it has sold in Japan since 1991, and the tumble in the company's value that followed, the troubled carmaker has an unlikely savior. Nissan has confirmed it will purchase over one third of Mitsubishi's stock, or 34 percent. The stake is valued at $2.2 billion. Ghosn says making Mitsubishi a part of the Renault-Nissan alliance will save billions in development costs. But the merger certainly isn't without challenges. "The biggest challenge is to support Mitsubishi changing itself and growing and being profitable and restoring its reputation," said Ghosn. Nissan is a natural partner for Mitsubishi, and since the fuel economy scandal escalated from discrepancies in the data regarding Mitsubishi-manufactured, Nissan-badged Japan-market vehicles, it makes sense for the company to sweep in and save the day. Nissan itself is partially owned by Renault, and Nissan has a 15-percent stake in the French automaker. Mitsubishi's chairman, Osamu Masuko says that the merger was inevitable, that it "would have happened one day" anyway, according to the New York Times. Carlos Ghosn, chairman of both Nissan and Renault, is confident they will be able to turn Mitsubishi's fortunes around. "We have the track record to make it work", Ghosn said, referring to the Renault-funded rescue of Nissan in the early 2000s. Related Video:

Mitsubishi Mirage will launch in US with three-cylinder engine [w/video]

We have a date with Mitsubishi Mirage (again). The Japanese subcompact is slated to arrive on our shores in September 2013, and it's one of the product offerings meant to help Mitsubishi's US arm raise sales in its next financial year from 55,000 to 80,000. If next year were 1989, we'd say there's no reason that couldn't happen, but from what we've seen, the Mirage is so magnificently meek (have you seen the interior?) that we aren't sure how it will manage that kind of US sales aggression in the 21st century.
Continuing that theme, Car and Driver reports that the Mitsu will launch here with a 1.2-liter, three-cylinder engine. Make no mistake, this is a very popular engine in the Mirage and responsible for its excellent fuel economy. The hatch is doing so well in other markets with its two naturally aspirated tri-cylinders that the Thailand facility that builds the Mirage will have its capacity increased by 33 percent to try and meet demand. In European spec, the 845-kilogram (1,859 pounds) subcompact with the more powerful engine offering 79 horsepower and 78 pound-feet of torque gets 57.3 miles per US gallon and takes 11.7 seconds to get from zero to 62 miles per hour. The question is whether Mitsubishi will boost the output of that engine for our market. If not, only the 70-hp Smart ForTwo will have less horsepower - but the Mirage, interestingly enough, weighs about the same as the microcar.
On its UK site, Mitsubishi said the reveal of the Mirage in back 2011 meant "redefining the standards by which to judge a compact passenger car." We can't wait to find out if that's still true and what that means when it gets here. To prepare yourself, there's video of the Mirage in action below.

2016 Mitsubishi i-MiEV coming in March

For the next incarnation of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric vehicle, the Japanese automaker is looking to give a bit more for the sake of selling a few more. It's a simple concept for a pretty simple car. The re-trial run starts next month. The EV's 2016 model-year version will go on sale in the US in March, Inside EVs says. On the face of it, not a lot will change with the four-seater. The car will still deliver 66 horsepower and will still provide a single-charge range of 62 miles. When reached by AutoblogGreen, Mitsubishi confirmed these numbers as well as its MSRP of $22,995, same as the 2014 model (there was no 2015 model-year version). That's the cost before the $7,500 federal tax break kicks in. Still, there is news. The 2016 version will have an optional navigation package that will include a seven-inch touchscreen display as well as real-time traffic data and 3D mapping. Folks can also pay a little more for touches such as a Bluetooth hands-free phone system, rear-view camera and USB port, according to Mitsubishi. The company hopes these changes will spur near-dormant sales of the model, which made its US debut in 2011. Last year, Mitsubishi sold just 196 units of the i, down from 1,029 in 2013. Related Video: Featured Gallery Mitsubishi i-MiEV News Source: Inside EVs via Green Car Reports Green Mitsubishi Electric i-miev