Early in March Straightline reported that Toyota and Mitsubishi would team up on a new jet airplane (Toyota considering Mitsubishi jet invitation).

Now the latest word is that this is not going to be a small jet, like the HondaJet, but rather a large passenger jet capable of transporting 70 to 90 people. To help this project along, Toyota has announced that it would invest up to ¥10 billion ($96 million) to get this project off the ground (pun intended). It's hoped that this new jet will go on sale by 2013.

Full story here.

Back in early November I blogged about seeing more DSGs being used in the future, even on mainstream models (Dual-Clutch Transmissions to increase fivefold). Now we have news Mitsubishi has announced plans to offer their 6-speed automated manual Twin Clutch SST on Outlander SUV.

In fact Mitsubishi will also be offering this feature on other models in the not too distant future, as they see this as a way to offer both fuel savings and enhanced performance on their vehicles.

No word yet as to when (or if) this pairing will be sent Stateside.

Full story here.

Edmunds.com is conducting another consumer comparison test.

We want you to test-drive these 2008 economy sedans:

Honda Civic, Mazda MAZDA3, Mitsubishi Lancer, Toyota Corolla

Just like our last consumer test, we will send you to Willow Springs Raceway in California where you'll get to test the cars in a number of situations.

All you have to do is write an essay telling us why we should choose you. Make it good because competition will be stiff.

You must be at least 21 years old to be eligible to enter, have a clean driving record and be able to travel to Los Angeles between May 13 and 15.

Good luck.

Apply here for the Edmunds Consumer Comparison Test.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

 

Now before any of you off-roaders get all giddy about this new Mitsubishi—take a deep breath. This is for Brazil, not the USA. Which is really a shame, as this is far more interesting than the current Dodge Dakota-based Raider. Speaking of which, when was the last time you saw a Mitsubishi Raider on the road? I don't think I've ever seen one...

At any rate, this Brazilian Amazon swamp rat, er, L200 Savana is powered by a 2.5L SOHC turbodiesel, which is available in two states of tune. The power is then delivered to the ground via a 5-speed manual tranny, and the chassis has been beefed up to match the task at hand. It also has a really cool fender snorkel for those water crossings, and a really nasty looking set of off road rubber mounted on black steelies. There's even a small ladder mounted to the back of the cab for those times you need to get up on the roof rack to pick coconuts. We're talking about one serious straight-from-the-factory off-road pickup here——and I love it!



Full story here.

Fresh off several successful new model announcements, Mitsubishi has announced their midterm "Step Up 2010" business plan. In it is what we can expect over the next few years in terms of new product. In short, they are:

• A global sport coupe based off the Concept-RA

• More vehicles based off the Outlander/Lancer platform, one being a new medium-size premium sedan, to slot in between the Lancer and Galant

• Two small SUVs, presumably for Asia

• Their small 660cc cars will modified to be sold globally

• Their i-MiEV electric car will also be sold globally

• US-built Eclipse coupes will be exported to China, beginning later this year.

Not bad considering they were on the verge of bankruptcy just a few short years ago.

Here's AutoObserver's take: Mitsubishi Reveals Its Next Steps

"Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away..."

Interesting. Mitsubishi has invited Toyota to invest in a passenger jet plane project.

Toyota spokeswoman Kayo Doi said: "Mitsubishi Heavy has invited us to invest (in the venture) and we are considering it." To date no decision has been made by Toyota.

If Toyota decides to go forth with this, I wonder if FHI (Subaru) might also be involved, as they have a ton of aircraft experience, and are partially owned by Toyota? So might we see Toyota and Mitsubishi go head-to-head with Honda with their HondaJet?

Full story here.

After last week’s announcement that the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback will make it to the U.S., the debut of the Prototype S at this year’s Geneva auto show was a little more interesting. Normally we don’t get the hatchback version of anything, but this five-door Lancer should be in dealers by the end of the year.

This may be labeled a prototype, but it’s about 95 percent of what you’ll see in the production version. The Evolution hood won’t stay, and neither will those headlights or the 19-inch wheels and tires. And don’t expect to see Orange Metallic Flake on the color sheet either. What you can expect is the same lineup of engines currently offered on the standard Lancer sedan along with a little extra cargo room in back.

Will there be an Evolution version to take on the Subaru WRX STI hatch? Don’t count on it. –- Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, Inside Line





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First reports of about the Lancer Sportback indicated that this might be a Europe-only model. Now it's been confirmed that it will be coming to the United States as well. Pictured above is the Mitsubishi Prototype-S concept, which will debut at Geneva, and is very close to what we can expect to see in showrooms.

So this is good news for Mitsubishi fans. It's also bad news for Subaru fans as the two brands often butt heads going after customers, at least in terms of AWD sporting models.

Here's Inside Line's take: Confirmed: Mitsubishi To Bring Lancer Sportback to U.S

What you see here is the Mitsubishi Prototype S, with the "S" standing for "Sportback." If you remember, Mitsubishi showed a Sportback concept (middle picture) before.

Remember? How could you forget, as that concept was drop-dead gorgeous!

Unfortunately, as concepts move from "concept" to "production," often something gets lost in the translation, as is the case here. While still not a full-bore production model, the Prototype S shows where Mitsubishi is headed, which is a real letdown after seeing the original Sportback concept. Not saying this is ugly; but it's certainly not the jaw-dropper that they showed earlier. On the plus side, the cargo area looks to be very spacious, much more so than the Impreza 5-door.

As to running gear, it's equipped with the same 236 hp 2.0L turbo, and AWD that's to be found in their upcoming WRX-fighter, the Ralliart sedan.

Full story here.

Here's Inside Line's take: 2008 Geneva Auto Show Preview: Mitsubishi Prototype-S

As a nice break from all the new cars and concepts, here's a few semi-oldies that have been aged to perfection:

BMW 2002 Tii

Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3

Mitsubishi Galant GTO-R73X

New models and new concepts are fine but these three automakers obviously think there's something to be said for heritage. We agree. -- Brian Moody, Road Test Editor