Subaru XV Crossover to Be Called XV Crosstrek in U.S.

November 17, 2011 at 11:01am by David Gluckman

Now that Subaru’s rear-wheel-drive sports car is just a couple of weeks from its debut—read our prototype drive here—the company has started talking about other new models. After introducing the BRZ Concept STI to journalists at the L.A. auto show, Subaru offered tidbits on a new crossover.

Last month, Subaru confirmed that a version of the Impreza-based XV would be coming to the U.S. to replace the Impreza Outback Sport, but that its name wasn’t yet decided. We’ve now learned that the U.S. version will carry the XV Crosstrek badge, allowing Subaru to better market the butched-up Impreza hatch as a crossover. (We say carrying over the Outback Sport name would have been OK, too.) It will sit below the Forester in the company’s lineup. We expect the same 2.0-liter boxer four and manual or CVT transmissions as are offered in the 2012 Impreza.

Tags: Subaru, Subaru WRX, Subaru WRX STI |

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Tokyo 2011: Mitsubishi Global Mirage Compact, PX-MiEV II Plug-In Hybrid Crossover

Down—particularly here in the U.S.—but not completely out, Mitsubishi is plowing ahead with plans to release vehicles that are either small or electrified (or both, as with the i minicar). To that end, Mitsubishi’s display at the 2011 Tokyo auto show will include these two world premieres.

Oh My God, It’s a Mirage

The most significant of Mitsubishi’s Tokyo debuts is the new Mirage subcompact, which replaces the Colt in some markets and was previewed back in Geneva earlier this year. Mitsubishi claims it has reduced mass in “almost every part of the car” compared to the Colt and also reduced rolling resistance and drag in order to achieve an estimated 70 mpg (on the Japanese cycle). Motivation comes from a 1.0-liter three-cylinder gas-engine/CVT combo with stop/start functionality. Mitsubishi considers the five-passenger Mirage a “global” car—it goes on sale first in Thailand in March of 2012—and says it will succeed in emerging markets on account of its affordability, as well as in “advanced” markets because of fuel-economy and C02-related mandates. Mitsubishi has not, however, confirmed that its interpretation of the word “global” includes our particular corner of the earth, although reports suggest the Mirage may arrive here in 2013. We’re sure U.S. Mitsubishi dealers would love to have it.

PX-MiEV II Concept: Second Verse, Almost the Same as the First

The other Mitsubishi debutant worthy of examination is the PX-MiEV-II crossover. (Don’t want to peep the sequel without seeing the original? Check out the PX-MiEV I here. We’ll wait.) Like the first one, this latest PX contains an extended-range electric-based powertrain; its looks may also preview how Mitsubishi plans to aesthetically update its Outlander crossover. That model is now in its seventh year without a major redesign.

Mitsubishi claims that the PX-MiEV-II’s high-capacity batteries are capable of storing enough energy to travel more than 30 miles on electricity alone before the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine fires up; it has a generator capacity of 70 kW/94 hp. Total range is a claimed to be just shy of 500 miles. “Depending on power consumption and remaining battery charge,” however, the engine may also kick in to drive the wheels “as necessary.” Two 81-hp electric motors drive Mitsu’s Super All-Wheel Control all-wheel drive system.

The driver has the ability to switch between all-electric motoring and “Battery Charge Mode” on the fly, so the engine can replenish the batteries even if they’re not close to dead. This is a handy feature that could, say, help avoid congestion charges for petrochemical-fueled cars in global city centers: Fully charge your batteries on the way downtown, pop it into EV mode when you get there, and potentially avoid a fee. Mitsubishi also suggests that one use the juice stored in the batteries to power electric appliances when camping (margarita blenders!) or in “other outdoor pursuits.”

Will we ever see an Outlander E-REV in the U.S.? We’re not sure if Mitsubishi has a future in the U.S. at this point, but a nice-looking and more capacious alternative to the Volt would be welcome, and the company has publicly emphasized alternative-powered vehicles in its U.S. product plans. So, yeah, it makes sense—if Mitsu survives.

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GM Pulls Plug on 9-4X Crossover Production as Saab Moves Toward Chinese Ownership

Saab’s second SUV, the 9-4X, has turned out to be even more of a collector’s item than the company’s first.

With Chinese firms Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile most likely taking total control of Saab, General Motors has announced that it will no longer sell the 9-4X crossover to the new entity—at least, until a new agreement can be reached.

General Motors designed the 9-4X when it still owned Saab, and builds the crossover alongside the closely related Cadillac SRX at a factory in Mexico. The current deal saw Saab then buying the finished 9-4Xs from GM. Through the end of October, Saab had sold just 194 9-4Xs in the U.S.

“Although General Motors is open to the continued supply of powertrains and other components to Saab under appropriate terms and conditions,” the company said in a statement released today, “GM will not agree to the continuation of the existing technology licenses or the continued supply of 9-4X vehicles to Saab following the proposed change in ownership as it would not be in the best interests of GM shareholders.”

In part, the decision is moot: Saab has no cash with which to pay for the 9-4X cars it buys from GM in fully assembled form. But the deeper issue here is that GM is still one of the largest automotive companies in China, and needs to be sure it won’t be giving away a complete product to a competitor there. GM also has concerns, we suspect, about making one of its modern platforms and engines available to a company from which it has no guarantees of secrecy.

A spokesperson at GM didn’t close off the possibility of the company selling the 9-4X to Saab’s future owners, but said a new deal would have to be worked out.

What this means for car fans, however, is entirely different. If it’s killed, the 9-4X won’t have survived for an entire model year, making it yet another extremely rare model in a bizarre history that includes the Saablazer (the Chevy Trailblazer-cum-9-7X) and the Saabaru (the Subaru Impreza-cum-9-2X).

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