2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X on 2040-cars

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2014 Mitsubishi Outlander

A Good Start On Halting The Slide
We'd like to say that Mitsubishi has had a tough time of it lately, but "lately" isn't exactly the proper descriptor since the brand's troubles have slowly built over the past decade or so. It cut back on its marketing and it cut model lines while leaving what remained in the equivalent of a product cryo-freeze. Then there was the financial crash and replacement models that didn't possess the same edge we expected from the house of the triple diamond. There was the lack of a North American chairman to fight for market-specific initiatives, and hence, models that lacked some of the details that US customers desired and that could sway buying choices in close races. True, that's a battle with an overseas headquarters that you'll hear from the US reps for almost every foreign automaker, but as you pile on the obstacles they multiply exponentially, not additionally. Or there's this: For more than a year, while its competition has been trumpeting new product, Mitsubishi hasn't had any new models. Like, at all.
That changes with the arrival of the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander, an SUV that we're told will begin a new-product offensive over the next 18 months that - along with a much larger marketing budget - should begin to turn things around. This is the third generation of Mitsubishi's volume model, one that hasn't really been changed since it arrived in 2006 and wasn't just showing its age, but practically crowing about it.

Mitsubishi developing new standalone hybrid Evo successor

Mention the name Mitsubishi to different people and you'll likely get two startling different images. Environmentalists will focus on the company's strides in developing EVs, while performance enthusiasts will point you toward the Lancer Evolution. The prevailing wisdom was that Mitsubishi would cancel the latter to concentrate on the former, but the latest intel suggests that the two will be reconciled with a new Evo around the corner.
Although Mitsubishi is reportedly working to streamline its lineup from 23 models on 12 different platforms to 13 models on 7 by 2016, the next Evo will stand as an exception. Like Subaru did with the formerly Impreza-based WRX (or for that matter Nissan with the formerly Skyline-based GT-R), the new Evo won't have anything to do with the next Lancer, which itself will be based on a Renault-Nissan platform.
On that unique platform, Mitsubishi is likely to install a small direct-injection turbo engine (potentially a diesel) that could be based on the 1.1-liter, three-cylinder turbo engine in the XR-PHEV concept we saw in Tokyo, supplemented by small electric motors with lightweight batteries and driving all four wheels through an enhanced version of the company's Super All-Wheel Control system. As to whether the Evo name will carry over, that remains to be seen, but if these reports prove accurate, its spirit could very much live on.

Ever wonder how to really pronounce Japanese automaker names?

People tend to get very set in their ways when it comes to the pronunciation of words. Just look at the endless debates over whether or not to say the final 'e' in Porsche (which you should in terms of correct German enunciation). Or the argument about whether to follow the British convention and give the 'u' in Jaguar a special delivery or to say the 'ua' diphthong as more of a 'w' sound, as usually happens in the US.
This short video doesn't answer either of those automotive questions, but it does allow a native Japanese speaker to demonstrate the accepted pronunciations for several, major automakers from the country. One benefit is that it clears up the occasional debate over whether Nissan should be said with a long or short 'i' sound. Also, listen closely to how the female host says Mazda as Matsuda, the way it's actually said in the language. Even if this doesn't change the way you enunciate these brands, at least now you know the accurate way in Japanese.