Archive for Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Is The First Vehicle To Offer what3words Support – With No Data Or Connectivity Required

Posted in Commentary with tags , on August 19, 2021 by itnerd

Getting to the world’s most remote places just got easier with the restyled 2022 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross. Its navigation system features what3words location technology, enabling drivers to input and get directions to any 3 metre square in the world using just three words. And in a world first, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is the first car company to offer what3words offline through its built-in TomTom navigation system.

what3words is a very simple way to identify exact locations. Every 3 metre square in the world has been given a unique combination of three random words. For example, ///boom.manuals.trample points you to the head office of Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada, and ///undermines.honestly.douses is an awe-inspiring remote location in the interior of BC.

Mitsubishi Motors is renowned for its adventurous vehicles, built for exploring the world in comfort and safety. However many adventurous places, including beaches, parks and rural locations don’t have street addresses, and postal codes often cover large areas. Even in modern cities, street addresses are surprisingly unreliable to enter into a navigation system. Street names are often duplicated; there are 2,022 Second Streets in Canada, and 1,914 First Streets, making input errors common. Accuracy is also an issue, with street address searches typically dropping pins in the centre of buildings. This causes navigation frustrations when trying to find a specific entrance, especially for large malls, stadiums and warehouses with multiple entrances. 

In the true spirit of adventure and innovation, Mitsubishi Motors has teamed up with what3words to introduce the unique location technology to the refreshed Eclipse Cross in 17 languages, from English and French to Finnish and Thai. what3words gives drivers the ability to navigate to off-the-beaten track places without an address, and to pinpoint precise locations such as specific entrances and parking spots. what3words’ AutoSuggest technology helps drivers to identify and correct any input mistakes, so they can drive off feeling reassured they’re heading to the correct destination. And in a world first, what3words works offline in the Eclipse Cross. No app, data or cellular connection is required to input or navigate to a what3words address.

what3words is used by businesses all around the world from ride-hailing apps, delivery companies, hotels, sports stadiums and emergency services. National partners include over 40 communication centres across Canada, Ontario Parks, and the Manitoba Forestry. Individuals are also using the free what3words app to navigate the world more easily and to meet friends in places without addresses such as parks and beaches.

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Mitsubishi Exec Walks The Plank Over Fuel Economy Scandal

Posted in Commentary with tags on May 18, 2016 by itnerd

Heads are rolling over at Mitsubishi because of the the fuel economy scandal that a the attention of quite a few people, and got worse as people learned that this has been going on for a while. Media outlets including the CBC are reporting that the guy at the top of the food chain no longer has his job because of this fiasco:

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. President Tetsuro Aikawa said Wednesday that he will step down to take responsibility for the mileage cheating scandal unfolding at the Japanese automaker.

Aikawa has denied personal involvement in wrongdoing, but it is common for executives at major Japanese companies to resign to show remorse. His resignation is expected to become final on June 24, upon shareholders’ approval. A successor was not announced.

I’m guessing that his successor is coming from Nissan who is buying a stake in the troubled automaker. Presumably at bargain basement prices. But the fun isn’t over. This news also came out today:

Just a couple of hours before Aikawa’s news conference, Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corp. apologized Wednesday for improper road tests, but denied reports it illegally falsified mileage numbers.

Suzuki’s dubious tests did not affect models sold abroad. The government had instructed all automakers to check on mileage tests after the Mitsubishi scandal surfaced.

Suzuki shares fell in Tokyo trading Wednesday on Japanese media reports the company might have cheated on mileage, but recovered to close down 9 percent.

Hmmm…. Suzuki doesn’t sell cars in Canada and the US anymore. So this doesn’t really affect North America. Still it’s not good news for them. One wonders if there are other car companies who could be hit by something like this?

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Mitsubishi To Planet: We’ve Lied About Fuel Economy For 25 Years

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 28, 2016 by itnerd

Well this has to suck for Mitsubishi. That fuel economy scandal that popped up is getting worse for the company. On top of the US poking around for more info, it now turns out that they’ve been lying about fuel economy for a very long time according to the CBC:

Mitsubishi Motors Corp., the Japanese automaker that acknowledged last week that it had intentionally lied about fuel economy data for some of its models, said an internal investigation found such tampering dated back to 1991.

President Tetsuro Aikawa told reporters Tuesday the probe was ongoing, suggesting that more irregularities might be found.

“We don’t know the whole picture and we are in the process of trying to determine that,” he said at a news conference at the transport ministry. “I feel a great responsibility.”

Well, that would approach the scale of dieselgate. Which isn’t good for a company that is fighting to be a player in North America. I am keeping an eye on this story as it is sure to evolve with new revelations that will sure merit updates to you.

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Mitsubishi Motors Fuel Economy Scandal Gets Worse

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 23, 2016 by itnerd

It appears that the fuel economy scandal that I reported on a few days ago has gotten worse. U.S. auto safety authorities said they were seeking information on this gong show. That likely means that they think that this is more involved that Mitsubishi is admitting:

An official at the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Reuters the regulator had asked Mitsubishi Motors for information on vehicles sold in the United States.

He declined to comment on which models it had requested information on, or whether it had requested data from other automakers.

That’s a huge problem for a company that has been trying to gain market share in the US as the feds would only be looking for information if they think there is something to find. You can bet that somewhere in Japan a bunch of Mitsubishi Motors executives are really, really worried. You can also bet that this story is only beginning.

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Mitsubishi Fingered For False Fuel Economy Numbers

Posted in Commentary with tags on April 20, 2016 by itnerd

First there was VW with DieselGate. Now Mitsubishi has been caught doing something nefarious with its cars. In their case, they were caught falsifying fuel economy numbers:

The inaccurate tests by the Tokyo-based automaker involved 157,000 of its own-brand eK wagon and eK Space light passenger cars, and 468,000 Dayz and Dayz Roox vehicles produced for Nissan Motor Co.

The models are all so-called “minicars” with tiny engines whose main attraction is generally great mileage. They were produced from March 2013.

The problem surfaced after Nissan pointed out inconsistencies in data, the company said. Mitsubishi conducted an internal probe and found that tire pressure data was falsified to make mileage appear better than it actually was.

“The wrongdoing was intentional. It is clear the falsification was done to make the mileage look better. But why they would resort to fraud to do this is still unclear,” company president Tetsuro Aikawa told reporters.

He and other company executives bowed in apology.

While the scale is smaller than what VW is dealing with, it’s no less embarrassing. Because of the DieselGate scandal, any car company that does anything that could be considered as being “sketchy” is going to get a bad rap. It does look like Mitsubishi is trying to address this, but given that it has had issues in the past, it may be a bit of an uphill climb for them to make this go away.

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