2005 Evolution Awd 5spd Silver/blk Recaro 1-owner Dlr Maint Only 63k All Stock ~ on 2040-cars

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Nissan slashes profit forecast as Ghosn arrest hurts brand appeal

TOKYO — Nissan cut its profit forecast for the fiscal year through March on Wednesday to reflect slowing sales, higher costs and the fallout from a criminal investigation of its former chairman, Carlos Ghosn. Nissan Motor Co. expects to post a 319 billion yen ($2.9 billion) profit for the fiscal year, marking a 22% drop from its earlier 410 billion yen ($3.7 billion) forecast. Nissan said the downgrade reflects higher costs in the U.S. from a warranty extension campaign for some vehicles and falling sales due to "corporate issues," alluding to the Ghosn scandal. Ghosn was arrested in November and is facing charges of underreporting his income and breach of trust. He says he is innocent. He was released on bail in March and is awaiting another court decision on bail after his re-arrest on April 4. Nissan, which is allied with Renault SA of France, has seen sales lag in France and Japan, where Ghosn is widely known. In the U.S. and China, buyers aren't as affected by the scandal, but the markets there overall have slowed. Other factors contributed to the revision, such as production not keeping up with demand for the Note, an extremely popular model in Japan. But the high-profile scandal has weakened the brand appeal of the maker of the Leaf electric car, Infiniti luxury model and X-trail sports utility vehicle. Nissan said it expects to sell 5.5 million vehicles in this fiscal year. Earlier it predicted it would sell 5.6 million. The company sold nearly 5.8 million vehicles in the fiscal year that ended in March 2018. The automaker reduced its sales outlook by 0.2% for the fiscal year through March 2019 to 11.5 trillion yen ($103 billion), compared to its previous forecast. It was Nissan's second downgrade for its outlook following one in February that cited faltering sales in China and the U.S. At that time, Nissan also logged costs about 9.2 billion yen ($83 million) related to the alleged underreporting of Ghosn's compensation. Nissan has promised to strengthen its corporate governance to prevent a recurrence of what it says is serious wrongdoing by Ghosn. Ghosn was sent by Nissan's French alliance partner, Renault SA, to help turn the Japanese automaker around when it was near bankruptcy 20 years ago. The future of the alliance is one of many questions clouding Nissan's future following Ghosn's ouster since he was the main liaison for the alliance, which includes smaller Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors.

Mitsubishi ready to pull Evo's plug

We have all manner of unofficial metrics in the auto industry. No doubt you've heard some of them, like the butt dyno. Another popular measure is the smiles-per-dollar index - how entertaining is a car versus its price. Cars like the Mazda MX-5 Miata, Scion FR-S and Mini Cooper S, for example, score quite highly, while vehicles like the BMW M5 or Audi RS7 are great to drive, but score lower because of their much higher price tags. For a long time, the king of the smiles-per-dollar index was arguably the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, which blended hair-raising thrills for the price of a well-equipped Ford Fusion Titanium.
Now, it looks like the Evo will need to hand over its title, as this generation of the rally-derived rocket is likely to be Mitsubishi's last - at least for a while. There's been no mention of just when production of the current car will end, so if you're in the market, we'd suggest trying to find a dealer with inventory ASAP. The news comes from the automaker's Japanese mothership, which says the brand will instead focus on utility vehicles and EVs. While there are no direct plans for a successor, an Evo XI as it were, the door remains open for a different kind of beast, according to Mitsubishi.
"Mitsubishi Motors does not have any plans to design a successor with the current concept, as a high-performance four-wheel drive gasoline-powered sedan," said Namie Koketsu, a spokesperson for Mitsubishi, according to Automotive News. "Mitsubishi Motors will explore the possibilities of high-performance models that incorporate electric vehicle technology."

2017 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport | Affordable outlier

The $10,000 new car, truck or SUV is long dead, and the $15,000 price point is nearly so. To purchase a new vehicle and enjoy everything buying "new" implies (warranty, reasonably new tech, a long life and affordable financing), you have to spend $20,000, probably more like $25,000. We'll take a look at spending that $20K at a Mitsubishi store. If you've forgotten Mitsubishi, don't blame yourself. A generation ago, Mitsubishi's American arm had a financial meltdown, precipitated by a consumer financing plan offering zero interest and zero payments for way-too-many-months. When it was time to make payments customers simply returned the cars, leaving Mitsubishi holding a very expensive inventory worth substantially less than what was owed. Later, of course, the economy had its own meltdown, from which most of America's automotive industry rebounded. But Mitsubishi, with a sparse lineup and little marketing, is still working on that. A recent infusion of Nissan capital will help, as should Nissan's managerial oversight. Despite Mitsubishi's aging lineup, the Outlander Sport stands out - Mitsubishi continued to build it while other manufacturers were belatedly awakening to the subcompact crossover segment. And while its platform is old and its menu of standard and optional equipment dated, if you're on a tight budget you might find it attractive. Dimensionally, the Outlander Sport is a plus-size relative to Mazda's CX-3 and Honda's HR-V. For a detailed comparison of all three entries, visit Autoblog's comparison tool here. The CX-3 boasts the shortest wheelbase (101.2 inches), while the Honda sits at 102.8 inches and the compact Outlander Sport stretches to 105.1. In overall length the Mitsu is close to both the CX-3 (168 inches for the Mazda, 171.5 for the Outlander Sport and 169.1 inches for the HR-V). Finally, the Outlander Sport's 3,000-pound weight is within a belt notch of the Mazda's 2,900 and the Honda's 2,900 (front-wheel drive/manual). The Mitsubishi sheetmetal and stance is reminiscent of Audi's Q5, and while the similarity is coincidental, it's fun to have an upmarket look in a $20,000 car. Of course, once the Outlander Sport is turned on, that upmarket vibe is gone. For your $20K you'll get a 2.0-liter engine offering 148 horsepower, just north of Mazda's 146 and Honda' s 141.