Mitsubishi Motors to launch electric light truck

Mitsubishi is making an aggressive move into electric vehicles. Pictured is the PX-MiEV II concept, which is powered by a combination of hybrid systems. The drivetrain is expected to be in the next-generation Outlander.

Mitsubishi has begun development of an electric light truck it hopes to launch by April 2013, according to report in the Nikkei Japanese business daily.

The electric truck will be targeted at farmers, contractors and others who use light trucks for their work, the paper said.

Plans for an electric light truck designed for work duties highlight the variety of electrified vehicles Mitsubishi hopes to launch globally by 2016. A plug-in hybrid crossover, widely expected to be based on its Outlander crossover, is slated for sale in global markets by April 2013.

Mitsubishi is scheduled to begin retail deliveries of its first electric vehicle, the i minicar, to American customers next month. The car has been on sale in Japan since 2009, where it is known as the i-MiEV.

The electrified vehicles are part of Mitsubishi's plan to refashion itself as a global EV leader by launching eight electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles around the world by 2016.

It's unclear whether Mitsubishi's electric light truck will be available in the U.S. market. Mitsubishi officials have said it's unlikely that the U.S. market will get all of the eight EVs or PHEVs the company plans to launch by 2016.

Mitsubishi Motors is looking to sell 42,000 electric vehicles worldwide in fiscal 2012, double the number projected for this fiscal year, the Nikkei said.

The company aims to keep the sales price of the electric truck after government subsidies at less than 1.5 million yen ($19,200), making it cheaper than its two existing electric vehicles, the newspaper said.

98 Grand Prix ABS light is on and my Trac light is off

My ABS light is on and my Trac light is off. Could it be a wheel bearing? Or just unplugged? Where would the plug be, so that I can check it? Thanks!

Response:
Probably a wheel bearing as the sensors are usually integrated in them.... if the sensor is not in the bearing it will be behind the wheel knuckle usually held in by 1 screw... check the wiring leading to the sensor/bearing and looking for any signs of damage, both front wheels(if I remember correctly they are integrated with the bearings in front and sensors in the rear)

I do know that on newer cars if your brakes get to warn it can trigger the brake light or abs light or both

I have a 1999 Chevrolet Malibu 2.4L. Ignition Key

The ignition key will not turn. The auto was running when I recently was working on it. I turn the auto off and removed key. Later when I went to start the auto again the ignition was locked and the key could not be turned. The transmission is fully locked in Park. I discovered that the steering wheel lock is not engaged. Tried turning wheel, etc., to engage lock without success.

Any suggestions on how to repair? Can I over ride the steering wheel lock?

Response:
Time for a new Ignition Lock Cykender. This usually happens when alot of keys are on the keyring as they are made of aluminum and plastic.

GM recalls 15,627 Chevrolet Captiva crossovers

General Motors is recalling 15,627 Chevrolet Captiva crossovers from the 2011-12 model years because the power steering fluid could overheat under certain conditions, leading to an engine compartment fire, the automaker said today.

The recall includes 3,150 vehicles sold to rental car fleets in the United States. No fires have been reported in the United States, where the Captiva is available only for fleet sale. The vehicle is built in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.

GM spokesman Alan Adler said if the vehicle is inadvertently driven with the transmission in manual mode and left in first gear for a prolonged period, the vehicle's power steering fluid may overheat. This could cause the fluid reservoir to leak and start a fire if an ignition source is present, the company said.

Dealers will replace the power steering fluid loop cooler with a more efficient cooler at no cost.

Malibu will get Eco and turbo options

General Motors is deploying an array of engine choices to help its next-generation Chevrolet Malibu stand out in the crowded market for mid-sized sedans.

The Eco version of the 2013 Malibu is scheduled to go on sale in February or March. It will have a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine and GM's mild hybrid system. That trim level will be sold alongside the 2012 Malibu for about six months.

At that point GM will begin offering more engine choices for the 2013 Malibu, and the old car will be phased out.

By late summer GM will offer a new 2.5-liter Ecotec four-cylinder as the base engine for the 2013 Malibu. And last week GM said it eventually will offer a new 2.0-liter turbo engine.

GM wouldn't discuss the specifications or timing for the turbo. But the engine is expected to be available as an option by the end of 2012.

The turbo engine will offer a more powerful option to Malibu buyers who might miss the six banger, which is offered in the current Malibu but is being phased out for the redesign.

The Malibu will join the Hyundai Sonata as the only other entry among top-selling mid-sized sedans to offer a turbo.

The staggered launch comes at the urging of GM CEO Dan Akerson, who pressed product developers to accelerate the introduction of the redesigned Malibu. The engine in the Eco version was ready for production earlier than the others.

The first-quarter launch of the Eco trim level allows GM to debut the sedan ahead of a few key rivals. Redesigns of the Ford Fusion, Honda Accord and Nissan Altima are scheduled to be introduced later in 2012. New generations of the top-selling Toyota Camry and the Volkswagen Passat debuted this fall.

"It gives us the opportunity to launch the car in a little bit of clear space as a technology and fuel economy story," said Russ Clark, Chevy's director of marketing for mid-sized and performance cars and compact crossovers, during a Chevy event here.

The Malibu Eco uses a small electric motor, a lithium ion battery and a stop-start system to boost fuel economy by about 12 percent, to 25 mpg in city driv-ing and 37 mpg on the highway, GM estimates. It's priced at $25,995, including a $760 destination charge.

The current Chevy Malibu, launched in 2007, played a major role in the comeback of the brand's sedan lineup. The next-generation Malibu has a bolder, more muscular design that GM executives hope will set it apart from rivals in the segment.

GM sold 191,774 Malibus through the first 11 months of this year, up 2 percent from the same period a year earlier.

After nearly 3 decades, Ranger waves the white flag

Production of Ford's little workhorse is coming to an end.

The Ranger pickup, a popular U.S. compact truck for decades, will end production Friday morning.

The pickup debuted in 1982. At times, it was the top-selling U.S. compact pickup. Ford says 6,657,881 Rangers have been sold.

Ranger's best year was 1999, when 348,358 were sold. Sales this year through November tallied 64,114, a 26 percent increase over the first 11 months of 2010 and good enough to place No. 2 overall in compact truck sales. Mazda even had a version of the Ranger, known as the B series.

Over its history, the Ranger became a popular pickup with America's youth, handymen and some tradesmen. But as the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado and the former Dodge Ram battled for sales with big rebates and generous lease deals, compact intenders discovered they could easily afford a full-sized pickup.

The result? Ranger sales suffered.

In more recent years, Ford focused engineering and technology updates on the F-150. The Ranger's improvements essentially amounted to cosmetic changes. Ford pretty much gave up on the compact pickup market.

Meanwhile, the competition intensified. Rivals made improvements and their models grew in size and capability. Today the Toyota Tacoma is No. 1, holding 37 percent of the small pickup market. The Ranger is No. 2 with 24 percent, followed by the Nissan Frontier, 17 percent, according to the Automotive News Data Center. The Chevrolet Colorado is a distant fourth with a 10 percent share.

As for Ranger, Friday it will wave the white flag and surrender. The last Ranger will roll off the assembly line at Ford's Twin Cities plant in St. Paul, Minn.

While the Ranger name will die here, it continues around the globe, specifically on Ford's new mid-sized pickup. But Ford says there are no plans to sell the mid-sized Ranger here.

So for now, at least in the United States, the Ranger name will be filed away with such Ford nameplates as Falcon, Fairlane, Pinto, Maverick, Granada, Ranchero, Crown Victoria and Thunderbird.

China to impose duties on imported cars from U.S.

China said today it would impose anti-subsidy and anti-dumping duties on imported cars made in the United States, the latest in a series of trade spats between the world's two largest economies.

The duties, to affect the Detroit 3 and some U.S.-based foreign automakers, will begin tomorrow and last two years, the Commerce Ministry said on its Web site. Cars that have engine capacity at or above 2.5 liters will be hit with duties ranging from 2 percent to 21.5 percent.

General Motors Co. will face anti-dumping and countervailing duties ranging from 8.9 percent to 12.9 percent. Chrysler Group's will range from 6.2 percent to 8.8 percent, while the U.S. units of BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz will face duties of 2 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.

The ministry's statement said U.S.-made cars and SUVs benefited from subsidies and had been dumped into the China market, causing "substantial damage to China's domestic industry".

U.S.-China trade tensions have been mounting in recent months, particularly in the solar industry, where tit-for-tat trade probes have underscored leaders' warnings of a rising tide of protectionism amid gloomy global economic forecasts.

Ten years after China joined the World Trade Organization, experts say it is likely to become more deeply enmeshed in trade disputes.

More problems for Beijing at the trade governing body will be partly due to its ever-expanding trade footprint, but also because many of its trading partners have growing concerns over what they see as state support for strategic industries.

The United States has filed trade 12 cases against China since it joined the WTO, five since U.S. President Barack Obama took office.

China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming said in late November the country is likely to fight back if other countries resort to trade protectionism.

Steering wandering or pulling to one side. Excessive u-joint wear and vibration.

Subject: Caster Wedge Uses

Vehicle Involved: Trucks with solid front axles and lifted vehicles with leaf springs.

Condition: Steering wandering or pulling to one side. Excessive u-joint wear and vibration.

Repair Procedure: Caster wedges are used to maintain factory caster specs on vehicles with solid axles and leaf springs. If caster is not in specs, vehicle may wander or pull to one side.

The wedges come in different alloys to match the application and are stepped at ½ degree increments. Various widths are also available to match leaf springs.

These same wedges can be used on the front or rear of a lifted vehicle to maintain proper driveshaft angles. Example: pick-up truck lifted using blocks between axle and spring. Now the transfer case is 4 inches higher than differential. To reduce angle, use wedges to tilt differential up. Be aware that too much angle will keep pinion bearing from proper lubrication. Installation should be done by a qualified technician. Use caution when installing parts and torque all bolts to specifications.

Wedge types and applications can be found in the Alignment Product Catalog under Truck Alignment Solutions.

Ford recalls Fusion, Milan to fix wheels that may fall off

The recall covers certain 2010 and 2011 Fusions and Milans.

Ford Motor Co. is recalling 128,616 Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans to fix defective wheels that may fall off, the U.S. Transportation Department said today.

The cars' wheel studs may fracture while driving, leading to "vibration and/or wheel separation, increasing the risk of a crash," the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a notice on its Web site. The recall covers certain 2010 and 2011 models, the notice said.

The vehicles were built from April 1, 2009 through April 30, 2009 and from Dec. 1, 2009 through Nov. 13, 2010.

Dealers will replace lug nuts on all four wheels and inspect rear-wheel disc brake surfaces and replace them as necessary, the agency said.

"Affected customers can continue to drive their vehicles," said Susan Krusel, a spokeswoman for Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford. "We are not aware of any accidents or injuries."

Ford plans to notify owners beginning the week of Jan. 24, Krusel said. Customers can ask their dealers to inspect the lug nuts to make sure they're properly attached, she said.

The recall covers cars originally equipped with 17-inch steel wheels built at a plant in Hermosillo, Mexico, NHTSA said in a letter to Ford. The wheels were supplied by Hayes Lemmerz International Inc. in Northville, Mich., and the brakes were supplied by Brembo North America Inc. in Plymouth, Mich., the agency said.

NHTSA began investigating Jan. 21, according to agency documents. The agency at the time was aware of 29 owner complaints, including four instances in which wheels had fallen off, and 128 warranty claims Ford had paid for fractured wheel studs.

Dodge resurrects Dart name for Fiat-based compact

Dodge will resurrect the Dart name with its new compact, the first Chrysler Group product for North America to be built on a Fiat platform.

The 2013 Dart, which will be assembled in the first half of 2012 at Chrysler's Belvidere, Ill., plant, will have a variety of four-cylinder engine options, including a new, improved version of the 2.0-liter and 2.4-liter World Gas Engine known as Tigershark.

The Dart will debut with a Fiat-derived 6-speed dual-clutch front-wheel-drive transmission but will be available later with a new 9-speed transmission coming from ZF Group. The latter will be built in South Carolina.

Chrysler announced the vehicle's name in a statement today. Back to the '60s The Dart debuted in 1960 as a smaller car for the brand, and sold more than 622,000 units in its first three years of production, according to the Chrysler-centric site Allpar.com. Available with a variety of engines, including Chrysler's popular "slant six," the car sold well throughout its 16-year run, and was one of Chrysler's first unibody vehicles. Dodge last used the name in the 1976 model year in the United States, though sales of international versions of the Dart continued until 1981. The historic Dart came in a wide variety of configurations, from an economy version to high-performance versions called "Swinger" and "Demon" in the early 1970s that featured a 340-cubic-inch V8. The 2013 Dart is the first of at least eight upcoming Chrysler Group vehicles that will be built on Fiat's CUSW platform, including the replacement for the Jeep Liberty. The Dart will make its official debut at the 2012 Detroit auto show in January.

An early look at the Dodge Caliber replacement. Chrysler said today it will carry the Dart name. Photo credit: KGP PHOTOGRAPHY The 2013 Dart will compete against such fuel-efficient vehicles as the Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus, and will ultimately come in an "eco" model that achieves at least 40 mpg. Once that version becomes available, Fiat will receive the final 5 percent of Chrysler Group stock under the agreement that allowed the company to emerge from bankruptcy in 2009.