Mitsubishi to Phase Out Most of its U.S.-made Models by 2014

Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko today announced that the automaker will kill most of its current lineup of U.S.-made vehicles by 2014, as part of the company's “Jump 2013” mid-term business plan. The decision affects the Eclipse and Eclipse Spyder sports cars, Endeavor crossover and Galant sedan, which are going to be replaced with global vehicles built at the manufacturer’s Illinois plant. The Outlander crossover, Outlander Sport small crossover and Lancer sedan will provide the underpinnings for the new models.

According to Mr. Masuko, these changes won’t affect U.S. sales. In fact, he predicted that sales and production numbers will increase, albeit no target has been specified.

“Our sales in North America will increase”, Masuko said. “We'll still be selling cars brought in from Japan, and we'll be adding the global small car as well”.

When it comes to combined sales, Mitsubishi expects the Japanese, North American and European markets to register a jump of 90,000 units over the next three years.

Furthermore, the company is exploring other possibilities to gain much needed market share as well.

One plan of action will see Mitsubishi rolling out no less than eight electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles by early 2016, including a small commercial truck version of the i-MIEV and plug-in hybrid SUV based on the Px-MiEV concept car shown at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show.

Mitsubishi also wants to bring its new global small car to the U.S. and target emerging markets with new models, such as a 1-ton pickup truck that could be jointly developed with Nissan.

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Mitsubishi Registers Outlander Facelift Design

It's no secret that Mitsubishi is planning to apply its angry 'EVO' shark snout on the forthcoming facelift version of its compact-sized SUV as previewed on the Outlander GT concept at the New York Auto Show in April. But now we've learned that the Japanese firm has registered the design of the Outlander GT with the European Union Trademark Office. Apparently Mitsubishi wants to protect its intellectual property and ensure that the new design won't find its way on some random Chinese clone (eg. the Landwind X8) of the Outlander GT well before the automaker introduces the facelift version of the SUV into the market.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

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Shanghai Clone Wars: Landwind X8 vs Mitsubishi Outlander

There are clones and there are clones. While some come pretty close such as Lifan Motors' effort to give birth to a five-door MINI Cooper, other like Jiangling Motors's Landwind X8 that made its debut at the Shanghai Show this week, is a dead ringer for Mitsubishi's Outlander. For those of you with a weak memory, China's Landwind became known for being the first Chinese automaker to enter the European market with the SUV that spectacularly failed a crash test carried out by the ADAC, Germany's largest auto club.

And it's not only the exterior design of the Outlander that has been copied, it's also the interior as the X8 gets the same exact dashboard styling with the deep set instrument panel featuring the two circular tube-like structures.

But you still haven't heard the best part of the story; according to the Landwind, the X8 will be offered with two engines: a common-rail turbo diesel from Italy's VM Motori that develops 140HP and 350Nm of torque and -get this- a Mitshubishi sourced, 2.4-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine with 150HP!

Sales of the Landwind X8 are to start in China during the second half of the year.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

Mitsubishi Outlander SUV

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Landwind X8 SUV

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Mitsubishi Outlander GT Shows its EVO-Inspired Fascia in New York

Pride and joy of Mitsubishi's stand at the New York Auto Show is the new Outlander GT Prototype which essentially provides us with the first look of the stylistic updates that the Japanese firm is readying for its compact crossover. And by this we basically mean the Lancer EVO cloned inspired front end design that gives the Outlander a much more aggressive appearance than the current model.

Aside from the EVO's signature 'Jet Fighter' grille and the reshaped Bi-Xenon headlamps, the Outlander Prototype also sports several other new design elements, such as a reshaped front bumper, side mirrors, fenders and hood, a new rear bumper and side sills, plus a new polished finish on the aluminum roof panel.

Complementing the exterior changes, the GT's cabin has been refreshed with the addition of grained synthetic leather with contrasting double stitching, new chrome accents plus a few EVO-inspired design cues like the aluminum sport pedals and the new three-spoke steering wheel.

The New York Show Outlander GT prototype also features a series of upgrades under the hood with the 3.0-liter V6 engine benefiting from improvements that include a reduction in intake restriction plus optimized camshaft timing and compression ratio. The changes result to a 10 horsepower bump for a total of 230HP while Mitsubishi claims that the V6's torque curve has also been improved. The prototype model features an upgraded shifting program and Idle Neutral Logic for the automatic transmission.

However, the most significant change concerns the adoption of the Lancer EVO X's 'Super All Wheel Control (S-AWC) system that uses an active front limited-slip differential and an electronically contorlled 4WD coupling for improved handling, traction and stability. Furthermore, Mitshubishi has upgraded the Outlander with shorter and stiffer suspension, larger Brembo brakes and a set of 19-inch O.Z. racing wheels.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

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