Mitsubishi L200 – A Bit of an Animal?
The humble pick-up truck has evolved from its agricultural roots into an altogether different beast. There was a time when ownership of a pick-up usually went hand in hand with displaying a confederate flag and wearing a lot of denim. When I visited the states a few years ago it appeared as if every other car on the road was an enormous pick-up of some description, a few of which found their way to the UK. The rather incongruous Dodge Ram started to appear on British roads a few years ago (the ones it could actually fit on) but the sharp rise in fuel prices and following credit crisis soon killed them off.
Elsewhere the pick-up is the vehicle of choice in a lot of Middle Eastern and African countries usually transporting about thirty heavily armed blokes in the back. The Japanese manufacturers seem to have the market pretty sewn-up with Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi leading the way. Not all pick-ups have four wheel drive but like their SUV cousin’s, pick-ups have come in for a certain amount of criticism recently especially as manufacturers have discovered that if you stick a cab on the back you end up with a cheap SUV.
Tags: agricultural roots, back lash, british roads, cheap suv, credit crisis, genuine buyers, lifestyle market, lifestyle vehicle, mitsubishi l200, pick upsRelated posts
The Mitsubishi Evo will live on
There have been a lot of rumours doing the rounds that Mitsubishi has no plans for a new generation Lancer Evolution or put the Mitsubishi for sale. These rumours were further reinforced when Mitsubishi’s global product director, Gayu Eusegi, revealed to Autocar at the recent Geneva show that although there was still a demand for the Evo, “we must stop” as there had been a “policy change” towards EV technology. Much was made of Eusegi’s comment both online and offline, Mitusbishi received a lot of negative publicity and some went as far as created online petitions to save the Lancer Evolution. Osamu Masuko the president and CEO of Mitsubishi Motor Company had to step in, he announced, “Production of the current Lancer Evolution X continues as planned. As for its successor, regulations and market feedback will dictate its engineering package and architecture. MMC has kept the Lancer Evolution sedan evolving as the brand’s highest performing model in the global market. He added, “However, as the markets needs and demands change, MMC is considering not advancing the Lancer Evolution concept in the same way as before, but to find a different direction for the Lancer Evolution model to evolve. The new direction, the technologies involved, and corresponding products will be disclosed in due course.” According to Autocar the next generation Evo, the Evo XI will switch to a diesel-electric hybrid power train, designed to save the car from tightening economy and emissions regulations, while preserving its trademark mid-range shove. The mix of clean-diesel torque and electric motor assistance will allow the Evo XI to deliver a 0-62mph time of less than five seconds, yet cut CO2 emissions to well below 200g/km.The new direction, the technologies involved, and corresponding products will be disclosed in due course.” According to Autocar the next generation Evo, the Evo XI will switch to a diesel-electric hybrid power train, designed to save the car from tightening economy and emissions regulations, while preserving its trademark mid-range shove. The mix of clean-diesel torque and electric motor assistance will allow the Evo XI to deliver a 0-62mph time of less than five seconds, yet cut CO2 emissions to well below 200g/km.
Tags: evolution concept, evolution model, lancer evolution x, market feedback, masuko, mitsubishi evo, mitsubishi motor, mitusbishi, motor assistance, negative publicity