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mitsubishi k car Related Articles

Mitsubishi Motors opens new showroom in Sitiawan, Perak

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM), the official distributor of Mitsubishi Motors vehicles in Malaysia,

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia brings your test drive car to your doorstep

Though all operations have returned to full capacity for Mitsubishi Motors showrooms, Mitsubishi Motors

All-new 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander teased! World debut on 16 February 2021

Looks like the all-new 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander is set to make its world debut on 16 February 2021!

Buying a 2021 Mitsubishi Triton? Here’s the minimum salary required

Just recently, Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) introduced the new 2021 Mitsubishi Triton Athlete.

In Brief: Mitsubishi Outlander 2019, families should look this way

(Mitsubishi Outlander 2019 |Gallery)It is a 7-seater SUV that first made its Malaysian debut in 2016.

More Mitsubishi hybrids planned for ASEAN, Xpander Hybrid by 2023

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is sees hybrid models in Southeast Asia as a key component of their electrification

Leaked: 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander looking futuristically thicc

The Mitsubishi Outlander is a pretty capable SUV but it is getting old as competition builds up with

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia donates Mitsubishi Triton to Insaf Malaysia

In an effort to contribute to a philanthropic movement, Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) has donated

Hate Malaysia’s high car taxes? Buy a Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton, Isuzu D-Max or Ford Ranger then.

It is no secret that Malaysia is known for having one of the world’s highest car prices, as elaborate

All-new 2021 Toyota Harrier, TNGA-K, 2.0L and 2.5L Hybrid, goodbye turbo

Underneath the sleek new body is Toyota’s tried-and-tested TNGA platform, specifically the GA-K

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Ratings: 2020 Mitsubishi Xpander - A better family car than the Honda BR-V?

Lets see.The Mitsubishi Xpander scores a total of 162.5 points2020 Mitsubishi Xpander: Driving Performance

Let’s look at this life-size Mitsubishi-powered Tamiya car & watch it go!

months to turn this Tamiya model from the pages of manga and anime screen into reality, complete with a Mitsubishi

View and order your newest Mitsubishi model all from the comfort of home!

In order to meet customers’ demands for a digitally enhanced experience in car purchasing, Mitsubishi

The Mitsubishi Xpander is the reason why MMM posted its highest sales ever

2021 is turning out pretty impressive for Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) as it recorded historical

Mitsubishi Malaysia kicks off year-end sales campaign

Although it is only October, Mitsubishi Malaysia has already kicked off their annual year-end sales campaign

Mitsubishi Motors Thailand's 6 millionth unit is this strikingly orange Triton

Mitsubishi Motors Thailand has a storied 60-year history in the country, and yesterday theyve hit another

All-new 2nd gen Lexus NX to debut in mid-2021 with TNGA-K platform

the previous generation Toyota Harrier, which has since been replaced by an all-new generation TNGA-K

All-new 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander spied, global debut soon?

The all-new 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander has been spied doing its development rounds.

9,300 bookings for Mitsubishi Xpander, pushes Mitsubishi ahead of Nissan

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) has collected over 9,300 bookings for the Mitsubishi Xpander since its

2020 Mitsubishi Xpander confirmed for Malaysia launch this year

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) has confirmed that the 2020 Mitsubishi Xpander will be launched in Malaysia

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia launches its official app called MITSUBISHI CONNECT

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) introduces its first-ever MITSUBISHI CONNECT mobile application for

Concept kei car from Mitsubishi teased

Along with the MI-Tech concept, Mitsubishi has also teased the Super Height K-Wagon, a concept kei car

Maintenance cost comparison: Proton X50, Honda City, Mitsubishi Xpander - Which car is the cheapest?

/100,000 km, the Honda City costs RM 3,669 to maintain, while the Proton X50 costs RM 4,326 and the Mitsubishi

Why we shouldn't mourn the death of the Mitsubishi Pajero?

If you’re a fan of Mitsubishi and 4x4s, you are probably saddened by news of Mitsubishi announcing

Naturally-aspirated Mitsubishi Outlander discontinued in Japan, stronger focus on PHEV

The regular petrol-powered variants Mitsubishi Outlander has been discontinued in Japan, according to

SUV or MPV? What kind of car is the 2020 Mitsubishi Xpander?

Bookings for the 2020 Mitsubishi Xpander is now open.

Mitsubishi Motors’ yearly Merdeka promo starts now

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) kicks off the Merdeka month with some special deals so interested buyers

Review: What does the Indonesian media think of the 2020 Mitsubishi Xpander?

The MPV segment is king over there with the Xpander reportedly being the second best-selling car in Indonesia

Mitsubishi Motors teases new Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

In a blink of an eye, it has been 3 years since Mitsubishi dusted off an old sports car name and plastered

New Japan-Malaysia Mitsubishi JV for a higher quality CKD 2020 Mitsubishi Xpander

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) have taken the covers off the 7-seater 2020 Mitsubishi Xpander.

mitsubishi k car Post Review

Return the to Streets In #NeedforSpeedHeat Pre-orders start at £5 for the standard Edition. K.S Edition Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X as a starter car with all preorders too https://t.co/1zRq9PgxSc

our second hand car, keeps breakin down, the mitsubishi computer guy cant find any problems, our mechanic has worked tirelessly on it and has found nothing, ended up talking to the engine, coaxing it to work. tonight we are going to pray in the car to appease its machine spirit https://t.co/Ynx8JrtLK0

Need for Speed Heat pre-order customers will receive a K.S Edition Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X starter car: https://t.co/6uWIreS3qz https://t.co/2s9eV4eGAj

All Major Brands For UK & European Cars. Delivery in 1 -3 Day in Europe & U.K. Car, Motorcycle & Truck Parts & Accessories. https://t.co/sxOBKyzrCR #mini #Mitsubishi #Peugeot3008 #Peugeot #Renault #renaultkiger #renaultarkana #Seat #skoda #SkodaKushaq #Suzuki https://t.co/L8GSlVFWQQ

Four years ago today we announced the final ever edition of the #Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution in the U.K. - the FQ-440. Forty cars were available, each with 440bhp. All forty sold in less than 45 minutes. https://t.co/Go5gxCodaW

New car for the first time in my liiiiife!!! Been driving the same Mitsubishi Mirage since high school. It can now, after 21 years, retire. Rainbow happened to cosmically thumbs up our purchase! https://t.co/hEdcMuUl0F

Customers ❤Dog k! He sure does make Delray Mitsubishi a fun and friendly car buying environment. 🐶 . . . #selfie #dogselfie #delraymitsubishi https://t.co/CAfLy0pMFd

It was four years ago today that we launched the #Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. It turned out to be the car that kick started the electric vehicle market in the U.K. https://t.co/n5UGIgR169

🔥💨💨💨🔥 #NeedforSpeedHeat is coming 🔥💨💨💨🔥 Releasing 08/11/19 there are 3 Editions ready to preorder... 🥉Standard 🥈Steelbook Edition 🥇Collectors Edition All Preorders will receive the K.S Edition Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X as a starter car‼️ 😎 https://t.co/p7UPZ7AFym

Good morning all. Today we will acknowledge yesterday’s announcement by @MitsubishiUK of the company’s withdrawal from Europe and the U.K. with the 83-87 Colt and Lancer. The car that went on to live as Proton. RIP. @newmacdroitwich #mitsubishi #retro #oldskool #classiccars https://t.co/ATiArNklWG

mitsubishi k car Q&A Review

What happened to Plymouth motors?

DaimlerChrysler Corporation, created in 1998 when Mercedes acquired Chrysler, made the decision to cancel the brand in late 1999 and discontinued the last model at the end of the 2001 model year. Plymouth (automobile) - Wikipedia The Chrysler Corporation has always been the weakest of the Big 3 US auto makers, and as another Quora discussion noted, Chrysler’s ability to remain financially viable has been questioned every decade or so from its dawn in 1925 to today as the firm would swing from success to near bankruptcy. In the late 1970s, Chrysler ran into financial difficulties (again) with a portfolio overly reliant on large, gas-guzzling cars; in 1979, the Chrysler Corporation was bailed out by the US government with a $1.5 billion loan, and the company restructured operations to become financially viable by having its major brands - Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth - share automobile platform designs. Chrysler brand was the top of the line, and that brand retained a few unique designs not found in the other brands. Dodge was the mainstream brand, while Plymouth became the entry-price brand, simply badge-engineering Dodge or Mitsubishi designs with minimal value-add features. (Ram trucks remained uniquely Dodge products, and the Jeep brand, the remnant of acquiring AMC Motors, focused on SUV designs. AMC’s Eagle brand did not last long either.). The 1980s and 1990s designs, especially K-cars and minivans, helped the Chrysler Corporation regain profitability, but buyers would frequently look at both Plymouth and Dodge offerings at the same time. By the late 1990s, the Plymouth portfolio consisted of four cars: Voyager/Grand Voyager minivan (entry-level version compared to Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan or Chrysler Town & Country) Breeze midsize sedan (same as base model Dodge Stratus, same platform as Chrysler Cirrus) Neon compact car (same as Dodge Neon, sold as Chrysler Neon in non-US markets) Prowler, a retro hotrod design, produced for the 1997 and 1999–2000 model years as Plymouth; rebadged Chrysler for 2001–2 Only three of the 2957 Plymouth dealers in 1999 were not also Chrysler dealers, so very few dealers were impacted by the decision to streamline the portfolio. And many of these 2957 also sold Dodge, so they could easily show the Dodge versions to interested buyers who did not want the Chrysler trim levels. When Mercedes evaluated Chrysler after the acquisition in 1998, the Plymouth brand was a logical sacrifice to save money and give the remaining brands unique attraction. Unit sales had been low for over a decade, less than half the equivalent Dodge model volumes, and the corporate executives calculated some level of network efficiencies to be had from canceling the Plymouth brand and streamlining the portfolios. After a year of internal discussions, the decision to end Plymouth was announced in November 1999. The last Plymouth brand Neon vehicles were produced in June 2001. The remaining brands had distinctive positions: Dodge (standard, performance), Jeep (SUV, fun), Chrysler (American luxury), and Mercedes (specialized European luxury), plus the super-luxury Maybach brand. Will DaimlerChrysler Allow Plymouth to Waste Away?, (NY Times, September 12, 1999) Plymouth brand bites the dust, (CNN, Nov 3, 1999)

Why is CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) used sometimes instead of petrol?

Ignitability in cold weather, and scarcity of gasoline are 2 of the biggest reasons. Back in the 70’s Arab oil embargo, America was caught with our pants down, domestic cars being sold had to be downsized quickly. Chrysler’s relationship with Mitsubishi and the K-Car were the only reasons they survived. Chevrolet scraped by with relationships with Toyota and Isuzu. When the embargo happened, Americans quickly reached out in every direction for gasoline alternatives and CNG was one viable alternative. Used in cold weather, CNG was used in conjunction with gasoline to move snow plows and garbage trucks near the Canadian border. It increased the total vehicle MPG. Some utility vehicles do use CNG- Like police cars, Fire trucks, Garbage trucks and public transit busses. Atlanta, Georgia’s transit system uses CNG from local landfills to propel the busses. This has saved a lot of money. But the main reason is cost. How far can you travel on a tank of CNG versus Gasoline? Just like ethanol is a great idea, it doesn’t offer the same performance per unit as gasoline does. I read somewhere that a tablespoon of gasoline has the equivalent of 16,000 calories. How true this is, I don’t know. But looking at the people pumping gas in their cars, I’d be much more worried if these people were trying to fill up with CNG! That’s a scary thought for me!

Why doesn't Kia sell in Japan (seen on Wikipedia)?

At this point, relatively well sold foreign brand in Japan are, Mercedes, BMW and VW/Audi. Kia does not have such brand recognition in Japan. 40% of Japanese passenger car market is held by K-car(660cc engine car). All foreign auto maker does not enter K-car market. Remaining 60% are competed by Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda,Mitsubishi,Subaru ,Daihatsu, Suzuki and foreign auto makers. So competition is extremely fierce. Kia and Ford fled way. Probably GM will follow this trend.

When did the automobile industry begin making fuel-efficient vehicles?

Successful fuel-efficient cars weren’t coming out of Detroit until ~1981. One of the first group was Chrysler’s K-car, which had a 4 cyl engine whose block was based on the slant six w/ 2 cylinders chopped off, and used the same factory tooling. It had a single overhead camshaft. Indeed, Chrysler showed their plans to Congress in a secret session to obtain bailout money. Chevy tried earlier in the 1970’s with the Vega, using an advanced 4 cyl aluminum block engine which was “a bridge too far” and suffered massive failures. GM later corrected that with the “iron duke”, which was successful, using a regular cast-iron block. My 1982 Chevy S-10 pickup (1st year) had an Isuzu 4 cyl engine. Not sure about Ford. Prior to that, there was much re-badging of foreign vehicles as U.S. Some I know were the Chrysler Omni/Horizon (VW engine), Dodge Colt (Mitsubishi, same as Hyundai Excel), and the Ford mini trucks (Japanese). Of course, the Japanese and Europe manufacturers were always making fuel-efficient 4 cyl cars. It took the 2nd gas crisis after the Iranian Revolution to prompt people in the U.S. to switch to small cars. Most chose the Honda Accord and Toyota Corolla, which caused sales to tank for U.S. cars. Detroit’s first response was to advertise, “buy our beasts out of patriotism”.

Why were American carmaker so slow to adapt to fuel-efficient engines during the oil crisis of the 1970s?

It took time for manufacturers to re-tool to produce 4 cyl engines and smaller transmissions for them. My 1982 Chevy S-10 had a 4 cyl Isuzu engine, likely because Chevy couldn’t produce enough. As I recall, GM followed up the horrid 4 cyl aluminum engine in the Vega with their “Iron Duke” 4 cylinder which proved good. I don’t think Chrysler made a 4 cylinder until 1981 with the 2.5L in the new K-car platform, which saved them from bankruptcy via federal loans and powered their later minivan which was a great success. Even then, they shipped many cars with a Mitsubishi 4 cylinder. Their 2.5L was basically a slant-six engine with 2 cylinders lopped off, so they could use existing machining tools. Thru the 1970’s, Ford had the Pinto and its derivatives, one called “Mustang 2”, using a Euro 4 cylinder engine. In the interim, The Big Three tried to shame Americans into buying full-size V-8 cars as a show of patriotism. Meanwhile, they also sold re-badged Japanese cars, such as the Dodge Colt was just a Hyundai Excel, both being a Mitsubishi design.

What are the worst names and/or designs for cars in the last 100 years?

Hello there, Oh goodness there are some ,choice, bad ones - some intentional, and some not … I’ll go through my favourite examples. Fiat Ritmo, - this is the go-(slightly)-faster Abarth version. Not a success in the United States or Canada thanks to sharing its name with a then-well-selling brand of ,Toilet Paper,! Not the first example of toilet humour, as we will see… Renault Manager, - a,.,k,.,a. Renault 21. A freak of a name, as the initial idea for marketing it over the pond (i.e. USA and Canada) was to call it a ‘Chamade’ - this was found not to work because the Yanks and Canadians would either promptly call it a ‘Chemise’ and all its Victoria’s Secret connotations (remember kids, Americans are public prudes - and unhinged in private!) - or , else, be confused with the small economic Daihatsu Charade, which was already in the market. Which is difficult, but, there you go. The 21 was freaky for being produced as ,two, distinct platforms! One was FWD and very up to the minute, and the high powered versions were a completely RWD - but both featured the same auto slushbox which was, by all accounts, the reason for their insipid glacial acceleration … and the manual box was, well, woolly would be a nice description. Freaky name for a freaky car… Mitsubishi Carisma, - famous for having none. Nissan Cedric, - A strange name for a ,series, of cars, some of which have made it overseas under the names of Maxima (which is better, I suppose) or others. Nissan Gloria, - Another series of smaller four door cars over the years. Cedric’s girlfriend, perhaps? Mohs Ostentatienne Opera Sedan, - for a car that had ,no, ostentation, ,no, opera (though the larger ladies might have appreciated its sheer bulk in terms of interior space which was a redeeming feature), and ,no, sedan - its sole door was a rear hatch, making this behemoth probably one of the world’s largest hatchbacks (Jeremy Clarkson’s Fiat Giant Panda limo being the current world record holder - and funnier). Ford Probe, - Actually quite a sophisticated beast, it is a re-body of the best bits of the Mazda MX-6 sportscar. Its name, however, is iffy - I always associated it with a space probe (e.g. Pioneer 10, Voyager 1 & 2), however the majority of people tend to think more - ,medically,. In truth , though, Ford had made a number of ‘Ford Probe’ experimental cars in the late 1970s and early 1980s, one of which became (with a few mods) a production car - the Ford Probe IV, which then became the best-selling Ford Sierra from Ford Europe. Great Wall Wingle, - From China, and made there - shudder - and with a name like that I think it should be given a miss. Mazda Titan Dump,. More epic toilet humour from Japan. The truck, however, it a neat idea for tight spaces (wicked, ,wicked, grin - there’s just so much ,mileage, from this running gag…) Chevrolet Celebrity, - I suppose famous for being the last gasp of the much-reviled 1980’s K-cars trailing off into the 1990s. Not an actual celebrity, btw. Austin Princess, An oddly named car - this one’s clearly 1970’s, as it is brown and browner. Not a bad car… Then it had a transition and became the ,Austin Ambassador.,. The mind boggles. Audi Q8., What’s weird about this one ? Audi has sold millions of these Panzer tanks, and they are really popular everywhere. Say the name out loud … Kuuu. Aight. OK - this is a car the United States believes in liberating from the late Saddam Hussein, as long as they have a UN resolution to do so. And it's best if the car is liberated in the Persian Gulf (seeing as there are lots of them sold there, this isn’t a steep pitch). They’ll even have a war about it too… Toyota Urban Cruiser, - sadly a ,very, dodgy name for an otherwise competently engineered car. Mazda LaPuta, … sigh … named after Johnathan Swift’s flying city in ,Gulliver’s Travels, (which I have always found pleasantly bawdy - and do you know, there is a real Lilliput in Ireland?) which could fly with ,no visible means of support,. Spanish for ‘a fallen woman of ill repute’ and other fruitier names e.g. tart. Japanese oddness for sure. Toyota Toyopet, - which is the ancestor of the Corona and the Carina. Its name was literally a ,near miss. ,They wanted to initially call it - wait for it - the ,Toyolet. ,Can you imagine the witty repartee - ‘Hello, I drive a Toyolet.’ ‘You sure do buddy - you sure ,do.’ There are lots of others. James May picked up that the last Ferrari supercar has an odd name indeed … Ferrari LaFerrari, - Which James promptly - and correctly - labeled ‘The Ferrari The Ferrari’. Oh, it's a great car, but oddly named. But it's not alone… The track-only ,Ferrari FXX K, - the LaFerrari’s racecar version, and named - it seems - after the first words English speakers uttered on seeing it for the first time. Literally the f-bomb… Lamborghini Countach, - the name, in Piedmontese Italian, is also a slang expression when translated into English as the F-bomb, in expletive. There are many, many more, sadly. But this lot do stand out. With kind regards.

Are LeBarons good cars?

The LeBaron is not just one car. The name was used by Chrysler on several very different vehicles. The earliest ones were large cars, generally equipped with V8 engines and are rear wheel drive. They are posh, for the time. They were available as sedans and wagons. Another car called LeBaron is based on K Cars that saved Chrysler in the 80s. These were smaller family-sized, front wheel drive cars powered primarily by Mitsubishi made 4 cylinder engines. They were sold as sedans, coupes, wagons and convertibles. The next iteration was smaller, yet. It sold with 4 or 6 cylinders in sedans, coupes and convertibles. They were popular among car rental companies. Were they good cars? Some were better than others. In my opinion, the V8 powered LeBaron was the most substantial and reliable of the cars. The K Cars were a crap shoot. Some were okay and some were lemons. They were fairly plush, but had a cheap feel. This last version is my least favorite. It has since evolved into the Chrysler 200. I understand the 200 is quite an improvement.

Why doesn't Chrysler bring back the 1985 cars?

Wow. The ‘80s…when Chrysler was on the verge of total extinction and Lee Iaccoca came in and brought it back to basics with the simple, economical K car and min van…an act that saved the company, made it competitive again and allowed Chrysler to continue and not die. Poor quality? well, some would say, yet many people liked those simple cars and they worked well enough. I owned one, I knew people who owned them and they were pretty decent. Here are some models from that time: 1985 Chrylser Laser XT. had one for 7 years. Pretty sporty and reliable. 1985 Chrysler New Yorker: last of the land yachts for Chrysler 1985 Dodge Charger: a nicely dressed K car 1985 LeBaron convertible 1985 Plymouth Conquest (Mitsubishi Starion) 1985 Plymouth Colt (Mitsubishi Mirage)

Why did Chrysler fail to establish itself in Europe?

chrysler got in bed with the wrong partners . they did market the plymouth cricket back in 1971 which was actually a HILLMAN AVENGER WHICH was a disaster. then they started using the 1.7 LITER 4CYL in the new 1978 plymouth horizon and dodge omni. that engine had head issues where it would burn valves. that disaster went on to 1981 . then chrysler thought it was a good idea to get in bed with mitsubishi and used the companies 2.6 LITER 4CYL in the K-CAR AND CARAVAN WHICH if anyone has ever owned one they only thing a 2.6 was good for was maybe a boat ancher on a ship. none of these vehicles would have had a hope in hell in europe. none where fuel injected and none could be durable enough for europe. chrysler also had piss poor marketing and presence in europe. chrysler never had enough money to establish themselves in europe like ford or GM did. FORD AND GM european divisions has served them well over the years.

Why do Maserati cars depreciate so fast?

No Matter the Purchase Price, I know I will Never Own a Maserati Again. Look at this amazing Maserati Quattroporte; a beautiful touring sedan… 72.2% depreciation, about a $97,178 difference between New and Used… WHY? One Answer Maybe… The Service Department Public Humiliation: Destroying a new Maserati Quattroporte in Public A man in China, so distraught over the cost of service (I believe the bill was less than $400) hired a gang to destroy his new Maserati in front of a crowd entering the Auto Show. He was upset about the quality of the build, believed the Chinese people deserved better. His public display was carried worldwide. I understand. I sued the manufacturer over my Maserati. And won. My Personal Story: Why I Sued the Manufacturer and How I Won. (Warning: Contains Car Enthusiast lingo ,Urban Dictionary: Car Enthusiast,) Maserati practically invented the “GT” almost 75 years ago. The history of racing, Formula 1 massive success. These cars were historic, amazing, and the feeling of Adventure… I got a job offer to work for Lucas Film. Dream job. How to celebrate? Buy a dream car, of course. My wife needed a new car and to celebrate, we bought a Maserati. Growing up, I Always Loved the Maserati as a Beautiful Supercar Underdog… The year was ,1990, Following the Iraq invasion of Kuwait Desert Shield Begins as the United States and the UK send troops to Kuwait. The US enters a bad recession which will have repercussions over the next few years throughout the world. "The Simpsons " is seen for the first time on FOX TV. Following the Berlin Wall falling East and West Germany reunite. Tim Berners-Lee publishes the first web page on the WWW and it is proven that there is a hole in the Ozone Layer above the North Pole, also the First in-car GPS Satellite Navigation System goes on sale from Pioneer. AND Maserati builds a more affordable roadster! Now, there was one within reach. Lee Iaccoca who was responsible for the Mustang, Carole Shelby, and the Ford GT program (See Ford vs. Ferrari…excellent car movie)had bought Maserati as Chrysler's CEO and made the Maserati TC! Iacocca again teamed up with Maserati's Alejandro de Tomaso… (they created the Pantera together) What a team! This car will have to be exceptional! Image, producing a “breakthrough sporty coupe”; the Maserati/Chrysler TC! Its engine was a 250-hp, 16-valve Maserati engineered Mitsubishi-built 3.0-liter V-6. We bought this… The two-seater had a hard and soft-top (like the Mercedes 450 SL), was built in Milan, Italy, (from 1989 to 1991), the base TC starting at around $33,000 in 1989 (nearly $69,000 in today's dollars). (Ok car folks, I know in retrospect it was an Italian Edsel, but at the time, it was damn sexy, on the cover of magazines!) Ours was a Royal Cabernet Pearl exterior and a buff-colored interior. It came with a removable hardtop with portholes, like the 1955 Ford T-Bird. It had every option including a 10-speaker sound system with a CD player(!), six-way power-adjustable Italian leather bucket seats, leather-covered instrument- and door-trim panels, and more. There was more leather in this car than my Rolls Royce! More leather than in an S&M Bar! It was puffy and soft and felt like what we imagined were the interiors of private jets (that turned out later to be much more spartan!). When the Dream Becomes a Nightmare… Within weeks, the problems began. trips back into the service department. We had a problem with shoes getting eaten by some kind of acid. You don’t know what hell is until your Sicilian wife has her Monolos scared. I kept insisting that they (the dealer) were not solving the problem. The dealer detailed the car and said all good. It wasn’t. The home-front was not happy! Another pair of spike healed, overpriced, painful testimonies to fashion idiocy got ruined. I needed help! The third trip, a discovery! Service Department: “It’s brake fluid from a leaking master cylinder! No problem it's under warranty. Why don’t we do the first tune-up early while it's in? We will even give you a loaner car.” I am thinking this… We get this… (Lee Iacocca not included, your mileage may vary…) How it gets worse… They don’t have the parts in stock. They have to send to Italy…How long will that take? No time at all. We did your tuneup in advance. Me (something like): “Are we sure we needed it? The tune-up is a few thousand miles early. It's a new car. When can we get it back? ” Them: “Should be any day now…” Actually 4 Months of haggling and monthly car payments, as a Californian, I seek legal help from the DMV and enact the California Lemon Law; Now, I cannot use a lawyer, I have to represent myself. With intense work, advice from Berkeley Law and NOLO Press, I catch them in a lie and begin to get justice! Luckily I had time on my hands; the Lucas Film deal fell apart! We get a settlement and they give us back all our money, car payments, and everything. I give them back their insipid K-car. We’re even, right? WRONG. The Dealership Sues me in Small Claims Court for the Tune-up! The car that was a lemon, they tuned up without the brakes and then they sued me for the “repairs” on a car did not own! I never saw it. I prepared for my court date, hot under the collar. Again, no lawyer allowed…(thank goodness for NOLO Press!) There have been heated exchanges with the Dealership. Numerous lies and other issues. My last call was finished with a defiant, “I WILl SEE YOU IN COURT!” I enter with files, paperwork, and proof of the Lemon. I have visual aids prepared and an affidavit that I never took delivery on the car again. We arrive at the courthouse. I enter and wait to be called. There’s a guy in a double-breasted suit with a Hankie-poof sticking way out of his pocket. Gold Pinky ring and gold chains. You know the type. That’s my adversary. I prepare for our inevitable hours of back and forth. The following dialogue is dramatized as I cannot remember the actual words,. Judge: “I see you are both here. Mr. Sanford, tell me about this case, you are being sued for not paying the Service Bill on your…(looks down) Maserati?!” Me: “Yes your honor. This car had faulty brakes that were being replaced but never were and they tuned it up while it was in the shop. It was there for months. Ultimately, the car was taken back, under California’s Lemon Law. I never got to drive it again, and…” Judge: ”Wait a minute. You never drove it or picked it up from the dealer? It was a lemon?” Me: “Yes, your honor.” Judge: “Is this true? Mr. Sanford never picked up his car?” Other Guy in the overstuffed suit: “Yes your honor. But I hardly see how that …” Judge (Dramatically): “The court finds in favor of Mr. Sanford. Dismissed.” OG: “But your honor, that’s not fair…” Judge (Admonishing): “You are talking about not fair? This man was without his car, a lemon, for months and you want to charge him for a tune-up on a car he never drove again?” That was it. It was over. I will never own a Maserati again! Post Script,: ,I Got Called by NBC Dateline The story of the car doesn’t end here. I got a call from a producer for ,NBC Dateline,. Apparently, I was one of the very few people who actually won under the Lemon Law. They want to do a feature piece on it and this car. The dealership rolled back the odometer and sold the car as I’m not a demo for a second time! They never disclosed on the title (as required by law in the state of California) that it was purchased back under the Lemon Law. A woman who bought the car almost lost her life when the brakes went out. I thought long and hard about going on the show and decided (after discussions with my Chairman of the Board and Lawyers of my new company) that I didn’t need to “poke the bear” or “feed my ego”. (I did, however, appear on her behalf in court. What they did to her wasn’t right.)

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