2010 Mitsubishi Lancer on 2040-cars

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Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross will be crossing over to the US sometime in the fall

Here it is, Mitsubishi's latest effort to take a piece of the CUV pie, the Eclipse Cross. The crossover makes its official debut at the Geneva Show, and it looks just aggressive enough to be unique, but not so strange that it will scare away the average buyer. Most interesting are the aggressive cues cribbed from the XR-PHEV II Concept, like the forward-raked rear hatch, chunky rear fenders, and deep crease along the side. However, the shape is still clearly crossover, and the nose isn't too radical. In fact, it may be the most attractive version of Mitsubishi's shield grille yet. Interestingly, the Eclipse Cross is within an inch or two size-wise compared with the existing Outlander Sport, though this should change down the road when a newer, smaller Outlander Sport is introduced. The interior follows a similar theme to the exterior. The most striking aspect is the center stack, which slants downward toward the shifter and juts out over the climate control buttons. But everything is finished in simple, inoffensive black and aluminum-look trim. The sliding and reclining rear seats should be useful for comfort and cargo space. Next to the shifter is a touch-pad that looks extremely similar to the pad Lexus uses for its systems. A couple of our editors find the Lexus version to be rather awful, so hopefully Mitsubishi has refined and improved it. As a back-up, you can simply use the touch screen perched atop the dash, which may be more handy for using the car's default user interface, or the supported Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Also on the dash is a pop-up heads-up display similar to that in current Mazdas. View 11 Photos One big selling point for the Eclipse Cross is its standard all-wheel drive. There is also just one engine and one transmission. Power comes from a turbocharged 1.5-liter gasoline inline-four, and it's channeled through a CVT with 8 ratios that can be manually shifted. Mitsubishi has yet to announce output for the four-pot. Other markets will have the option of a 2.2-liter turbocharged diesel four-cylinder with an 8-speed automatic, but it won't make the trip to the States. Europe will be the first to get the Eclipse Cross, where it will show up at dealers this fall. Afterward, it will arrive in other markets, including the US. So expect it to appear sometime at the end of this year, or possibly the start of next year. Pricing has not been announced yet. Related Video:

Mitsubishi Evo successor on hold?

Just take one look at Mitsubishi's latest vehicles, both concept and production, and it's obvious that fuel economy - not performance - reigns supreme. With this in mind, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that Caradvice.com.au is suggesting that Mitsubishi is putting development of future performance models (like the 2013 Lancer Evolution GSR shown above) on hold as the company focuses on electric and plug-in vehicles.
In speaking with Mitsubishi managing director of product projects Ryugo Nakao at the Tokyo Motor Show, the publication says that the entire Lancer redesign is on hold, meaning that the aging Lancer Evo and Ralliart will have to contend with fresh performance models like the Volkswagen GTI and Subaru WRX. That being said, the article doesn't completely shut the door on another Evo - in fact, it goes on to indicate that when a new generation does hit the streets, it will almost certainly do so with some sort of electric-assisted powertrain, an oft-repeated rumor that got its legs as early as 2010.

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.