http://www.team-2g.com/mitsubishi-eclipse Latest news about the Mitsubishi Eclipse and other Mitsubishi automobiles. en Tue, 07 Sep 2010 01:10:41 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.team-2g.com/mitsubishi-eclipse/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.team-2g.com/mitsubishi-eclipse http://www.team-2g.com/mitsubishi-eclipse/mitsubishi-news/29825-x-games-16-preview-autoblog-rides-shotgun-stars-rally-car-w-video.html Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:00:09 GMT Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, Hatchback, Ford, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Celebrities, Racing

X Games 16 Subaru Practice Session - Click above for high-res image gallery

It was just a short time ago - five years, to be exact - that rallying was introduced as a competition in the X Games. The first event started out in spectacular fashion, with Travis Pastrana beating out the late Colin McRae after the former World Rally Championship winner rolled his car with just a few turns to go.

Since then, the competition has become stronger and car manufacturers have increased their involvement as interest in the sport has increased thanks to ESPN's mainstream audience. This year looks to be one of the most exciting events yet with a host of new cars, new drivers, new rules and even a new event. Follow the jump to learn about what to expect for this year's X Games 16 and what it's like to ride shotgun in a 500-horsepower rally car.


Gallery: X Games 16 Rally Preview - Subaru



Gallery: X Games 16 Rally Preview - ACP Racing



Photos copyright (C)2010 Drew Phillips / AOLContinue reading X Games 16 Preview: Autoblog rides shotgun with the stars of Rally Car [w/video]

X Games 16 Preview: Autoblog rides shotgun with the stars of Rally Car [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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More... ]]> Mitsubishi News Joeychgo http://www.team-2g.com/mitsubishi-eclipse/mitsubishi-news/29825-x-games-16-preview-autoblog-rides-shotgun-stars-rally-car-w-video.html http://www.team-2g.com/mitsubishi-eclipse/mitsubishi-news/29824-review-2010-mitsubishi-lancer-sportback-ralliart-takes-aim-competition.html Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:10:33 GMT Filed under: Performance, Hatchback, Mitsubishi, Reviews

2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart - Click above for high-res image gallery

There has always been a glaringly obvious gap in Mitsubishi's current Lancer lineup. On the bottom is the... Lancer, a biggish-for-its-class economy car that no one particularly likes - at least that's what the sales charts would indicate. It's slow, filled with cheap plastics and dull. It hasn't even proven to be all that reliable by Japanese small-car standards, but at least it looks good. At the top of the heap and on a wholly different plane sits the Lancer Evolution. It's the giant-slayer, David, the little car that humbles supercars. It's also the hottest of the rally-inspired all-wheel-drive turbocharged pocket rockets. The Evo's only real competition is the Subaru WRX STI and, let's be honest, the Evo has been the better car for years now (Subaru has just updated its warrior for 2011, so a new comparison is in order). Its handling is more precise, yet at the same time more insane. The Mitsu is rawer, rougher, tougher and most importantly faster, even though it's down half a liter on the WRX STI in terms of displacement. Don't read this wrong, the STI is a fine backroad killer. But the EVO is more homicidal.

It looks like a toned down Evo, which is exactly what Mitsubishi wants you to think.

Back to that gap. In the middle of its arch rival's portfolio has long lived the WRX, Subaru's Goldie Loxian sportster, which is very fast, very nimble, but very well priced (it still starts at under $25,000). The WRX has long threaded the needle between excellent all-around performance and the customer not being able to afford a higher monthly payment. Subaru, therefore, has sold a ton of them, for not only does the WRX offer all that power and rally-bred oomph at a low price, it can be had as a wagon. Mitsubishi had nothing until this year, when the Japanese industrial powerhouse brought over two new flavors of its hopped-up Lancer, the Ralliart and the Ralliart Sportback.

Today we're taking a look at the supposedly more practical of those two additions, the five-door Sportback. When the pictures of the Lancer Sportback Ralliart started spilling onto this here internet, Yours Truly was especially excited. The main reason being that for the past eight years, I've owned a WRX wagon in one form or another. Biased? You could say that, but at that same time, I've been driving Evos against STIs and have remained aware (perhaps painfully aware) that the Evo is the sharper blade. Perhaps, then, the Sportback Ralliart could be my next fast and furious wagon, or at least go wheel-to-wheel with its competition from Fuji Heavy Industries? Hop the jump to find out.


Gallery: Review: 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart



Photos copyright (C)2010 Drew Phillips / AOLContinue reading Review: 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart takes aim at the competition

Review: 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart takes aim at the competition originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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More... ]]> Mitsubishi News Joeychgo http://www.team-2g.com/mitsubishi-eclipse/mitsubishi-news/29824-review-2010-mitsubishi-lancer-sportback-ralliart-takes-aim-competition.html http://www.team-2g.com/mitsubishi-eclipse/mitsubishi-news/29820-mitsubishi-lancer-earns-top-safety-pick-award-first-small-car-pass-new-rollover-t.html Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:04:03 GMT Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Safety, Mitsubishi

2008 Mitsubishi Lancer ES - Click above for high-res image gallery

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has named the Mitsubishi Lancer one of its top safety picks. The four-door sedan managed to be the first small car the Institute has tested to pass the new roll-over test with a "good" rating. As much as we like entertaining ourselves by thinking about the researchers flipping a bevy of cars and SUVs from 9-to-5, that isn't quite how the institute tests for rollover strength.

Instead, a large metal plate exerts a steady force on the roof of a vehicle until the crash structure deflects by five inches. At that point, the boffins measure the amount of force it took to bend the roof and compare it to the overall weight of the vehicle. From there, a strength-to-weight ratio can be established. Currently, the federal government requires a vehicle's roof to be able to withstand 1.5 times the weight of the car, and in order for a vehicle to earn a "good" rollover rating from the IIHS, the roof needs to be able to stand up to four times the weight of the vehicle.


Gallery: Review: 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer ES



[Source: IIHS]
Photos by Damon Lavrinc / Copyright (C)2009Mitsubishi Lancer earns Top Safety Pick award, first small car to pass new rollover test originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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More... ]]> Mitsubishi News Joeychgo http://www.team-2g.com/mitsubishi-eclipse/mitsubishi-news/29820-mitsubishi-lancer-earns-top-safety-pick-award-first-small-car-pass-new-rollover-t.html