Mitsubishi has issued a recall for more than 37,000 older Outlander vehicles, which suffer from a brake-light defect.
Affected vehicles can experience problems with the brake-light illumination due to a manufacturing error. Following vehicles are consequently left without warning when drivers apply the brakes.

The company already issued a recall for a similar problem in 2008, citing silicone-grease contamination on the brake-light switch contacts, however the first campaign did not fully address all defective batches.

The company traced initial reports of problems back to customer complaints from 2009, but the root cause could not be determined at the time. Similar reports were received in 2012, with a low occurrence rate, however another two years slipped by before the company realized it was dealing with the same issue as the 2008 recall.

The new campaign includes Outlander crossovers from the 2007 through 2009 model years. Affected vehicles will receive a replacement brake-light switch to resolve the problem.

General Motors’ Cadillac division is considering a product expansion that would include a convertible model and a compact sedan, a new report finds.

According to Automotive News, Cadillac revealed to dealers at a September meeting that a convertible model is under serious consideration. No further details were leaked, but it’s possible that Cadillac’s proposed convertible could be an open air version of the ATS sedan. Back in 2012, Mark Reuss, then-president of GM North America and now the company’s product chief, stated that an ATS convertible was “pretty much designed” but noted that management was holding back on a final decision.

An ATS convertible would give Cadillac an answer to the BMW 4-Series convertible and the Audi A5 convertible.

Also discussed at the dealer meeting was a new compact sedan that would slot beneath the current ATS. First rumored in August, the small Cadillac sedan would utilize rear-wheel drive and compete directly with the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA. A high-performance V-variant would be likely to take on the S3 and CLA45.

No timeframe was attached to either vehicle, but Cadillac will continue its product offensive with a V-version of the ATS at the Los Angele auto show followed by an unveiling of the company’s CT6 flagship at the 2015 Detroit auto show.

Nissan has delivered its first GT-R Nismo in the United States to a lucky customer in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Matt McCulloh, a die-hard GT-R fan who bought his first example of the supercar in 2009, took delivery of the first GT-R Nismo in the U.S. on Monday. The Nismo is the highest-spec GT-R available from the factory, boasting 600 horsepower from a twin-turbocharged V6 engine.

“It was like a surreal moment for me. I saw it, and it just took a second to register that this was finally my car. And that I was going to have the privilege to own the very first GT-R NISMO for the United States and be a part of the great 30-year history of the NISMO brand,” said McCulloh.

In addition to the new car, McCulloh also received a total garage makeover from Nissan. The gesture was intended as a thank you for McCulloh’s role in co-founding the North American GT-R Owners Club.

“When we realized his passion for the car, his involvement with the GT-R community, and his involvement with the brand, we wanted to do something a little extra special. First we wanted to be here, to shake his hand, see the smile on his face and just take pride in that moment with him,” said Jeff Simmons, Nissan Marketing. “Additionally we have a little something special for him. We have a crew at his house and they are giving his garage a makeover. That is going to be the home of his new NISMO, so we are giving it a little NISMO touch.”

Nissan has already sold out of the limited-edition GT-R Nismo for the 2015 model year.

General Motors has previewed the next-generation Voltec powertrain that will make its debut in the 2016 Chevrolet Volt.
The battery pack is approximately 30 pounds lighter than the module used in the current Volt and Cadillac ELR, with a lower center of gravity and 30-percent fewer individual cells.

Despite the reduction in the raw number of battery cells, storage capacity on a volume basis has been improved by 20 percent. The company suggests the revised system will provide even more electric range. Unconfirmed reports suggest electric-only distance could jump from 38 miles to 50-60 miles.

“It would have been simple for us to tweak our existing battery to provide nominally increased range, but that’s not what our customers want,” said Larry Nitz, director of GM Powertrain’s electrification engineering team. “So our team created a new battery system that will exceed the performance expectations of most of our owners.”

The system will also utilize a slightly larger 1.5-liter gasoline engine, which will automatically operate in more driving scenarios — both in EV and extended-range mode — to improve acceleration.

The company will release full details in January, when the 2016 Volt is officially unveiled at the Detroit auto show.

Audi has previewed its R8 competition, the company’s most powerful road-going production vehicle ever.
The competition edition is powered by the familiar Lamborghini-sourced 5.2-liter V10 engine, tweaked to produce 570 horsepower — 45 more ponies than the standard R8 V10 tune.

The extra oomph drops the zero-to-60 mph sprint time down to just 3.2 seconds, while top speed jumps to 199 mph.

“The limited-edition Audi R8 competition is the closest road car to our R8 LMS ultra race car that has won virtually every race around the world,” said Audi of America president Scott Keogh.

The special-edition run of 60 units will be offered exclusively with Audi’s seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The company has previously hinted that the next-generation model will drop the manual gearbox option, which is only selected by a small fraction of buyers.

Aside from the engine revision, the R8 competition is also distinguished by matte carbon exterior elements including the fixed rear spoiler, engine bay, mirror housings, side blades, front spoiler and rear diffuser. The matte components are contrasted against gloss-black wheels, ceramic brakes and red calipers.

Customers can begin ordering the competition model early next month after its formal debut at the Los Angeles show.

Subaru has released several official teaser images showing the Forester STI tS concept that quietly appeared last month at Suzuka Circuit.
The latest shots fully reveal the sportier front fascia with vertical LED strips and obligatory red STI accents on the grille. Other images confirm brake and wheel upgrades, along with a lowered ride height.

Previous reports suggest the offering may be limited to aesthetic and suspension upgrades, rather than bringing any powertrain tweaks. The BRZ STI tS initially fueled speculation of a turbocharged edition, but hopes of a forced-induction package were doused when the production model arrived with the same powerplant as the basic BRZ.

The standard Forester can be purchased with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 250 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque, while the WRX STI squeezes 305 ponies and 290 lb-ft of twist out of a 2.5-liter mill.

The images appeared on Subaru’s Japanese STI website, suggesting it may not be bound for the US market, however the company has not yet confirmed any launch details or specs.

October is typically a slower month for new vehicle sales, but Kelley Blue Book is calling for sales to climb by a healthy 5.4 percent this month.

With just a few more selling days left in the month, KBB is predicting that new car sales will climb 5.4 percent to 1.27 million units in October. That total would net a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of about 16.3 million units, or the same level seen in September 2014.

Those results would be positive for the industry as a whole as October is typically one of the weakest selling months of the year, trailing on January in average sales volume. However, it appears as though mounting incentives could be fueling those higher sales, which could be bad for the industry over the longer term.

“One cause for concern is the rising levels of incentive spend in the industry, which in recent months has drifted close to an average of $3,000 per vehicle,” said Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book. “The ratio of incentive spend to average transaction prices is at its highest since 2010, but remains below pre-recession levels. Since inventory levels have remained consistent, this isn’t a red flag quite yet, but it does underline that the natural industry growth we’ve had in recent years is slowing.”

KBB expects most of the major automakers to post sales gains during the month of October, although Ford is penciled in for a 3.3 percent drop in volume. The compact SUV/Crossover segment will remain the hottest segment during the month, with October sales predicted to grow 13.6 percent to 159,000 units.

Toyota and its luxury brand Lexus have maintained the lead in Consumer Reports‘ latest quality survey.
The magazine credits Toyota’s habit of avoiding complete redesigns as a contributing factor, allowing new vehicles to provide “good reliability out of the box.” The most reliable new car is said to be the Scion xB, while the Tundra topped the pickup-truck quality list, however both models are said to be behind their segment rivals in terms of fuel efficiency, design and other features.

Notably, General Motors is now the most reliable domestic car company for the second year in a row. The Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Corvette and Impala have all earned high scores in their first year.

“Buick is the top domestic brand, with every one of their models being reliable,” the report notes.

Ford also wins praise for working out design bugs in many of its core products. Revisions to the MyFord Touch infotainment system also provided a significant boost to the latest quality ratings.

Chrysler brands hold the bottom positions on the list, with the Jeep Cherokee four-cylinder representing the least-reliable SUV. The Fiat 500L is said to be the least-reliable new car, and the smaller 500 is not much better.

Acura and Infiniti both received lower scores for the latest survey, mostly due to trouble with infotainment systems. The Mercedes-Benz CLA and S-Class also received relatively low scores in their respective segments.

“Just as a brain surgeon isn’t the best person to do a heart transplant, it turns out automakers aren’t the ideal source for sophisticated, cutting-edge infotainment electronics,” CR concluded. “As evidence, these systems remain the leading source of trouble among new cars, especially if it is a brand-new design.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened two separate investigations into Chrysler recalls.
One broad inquiry is focused on “slow execution” of recall campaigns and “poor communication” with the agency. The company allegedly ran into trouble supplying parts to fix a 2011 recall over tie-rod failure in Ram trucks, then mislead the government after the agency began receiving complaints from angry owners.

“The agency has received hundreds of complaints from owners reporting frustrations with obtaining service appointments and having their vehicles remedied under the safety recall,” the NHTSA wrote in a notice. “Many owners have complained of dealers informing them it would be many months before the dealership could secure a replacement part for their vehicle.”

Chrysler earlier this year faced similar criticism over its handling of a Jeep recall over fuel-tank fires. In both instances, the company only agreed to recall the vehicles after fighting with the NHTSA over the proposed remedies. After coming to a mutually agreeable solution, the automaker then secured only enough parts supply to fix a fraction of the recalled vehicles in a single year.

Under pressure from safety advocacy groups, the NHTSA is considering a second investigation into allegations of a power-module defect in nearly five million Chrysler vehicles spanning seven model years. The company last month issued a recall for 188,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango SUVs over the same problem, but critics point to hundreds of similar complaints — alleging stalling or no-start conditions — in a much broader range of vehicles that use a similar totally-integrated power module (TIPM).

“Consumers report frequent vehicle shutdowns with no restart capability on the highway, airbag non-deployment, random horn, headlight, taillight, door lock, instrument panel and windshield wiper activity, power windows going up and down on their own, failure of fuel pump shutoff resulting in unintended acceleration, and fires,” the Center for Auto Safety wrote in its August petition to the NHTSA. “The TIPM is in millions of 2007-2014 Chrysler vehicles and fails at such a high frequency that Chrysler has run out of replacement parts.”

Chrysler has been given a month to respond to the TIPM inquiry before the NHTSA makes a formal decision to move forward with a deeper investigation.