GOOD! One more manufacturer to help tear apart the Domestics. Let the flame wars begin!

Uh… ok. They’ve been selling cars in the US for 25 years of which the last 8 or so (with the exception of the Evo) have been crap. The Starion was cool for its day, as were the Eclipse GSXs. The latest Eclipse looks like an overweight has-been movie star that has completely lost her way but still thinks she can dazzle everyone.

I couldn’t agree more with #2. The eclipse is SOOOOOOOO HEAVY!!!

Doesn’t matter, they’re irrelevant to a potential car buyer anyway. Only a loser would buy that brand.

I had a 2002 Galant GTZ. Nice car until the tranny went out at 40K miles. I got rid of right away after that.

What’s a Mitsubishi?

MITSUBISHI IS A GREAT CAR BETTER THEN ANY OF THAT AMERICAN **** THATS OUT RIGHT NOW 2,3,4 AND 5, YOUR ALL LOSERS…

Oh Dear! chi dell (sic) You’ve left the door wide open for Mike to point out all of your grammatical errors. Please read eats shoots and leaves before you deign to add a comment on a web site.

Obviously chi dell left the door open to smack his ass on the way out. And FYI, the American ’****’ is kicking ****subishi’s sorry ass. Hate to break it to you.

Would be good to see Mitsu gain their mojo back. AWD is key and rather than aim at the Toyo/Honda buyers, they should take aim at say Subaru for sales. They have proven AWD prowess in the past, they should return to those roots. Hopefully they continue to put up a fight.

BTW to all the anti-asian sheep, if you can come up with a domestic car sold here in the states that can put up the numbers (2 liter 4cyl, 300hp AWD) I’d like to know.

That’s right, there isn’t one. So shut the F up because you have no idea what you are talking **** about. Your comments just make you sound like a jackass.

SRT-4, jackass. ok, not awd….

Nobody bashes the Evo, or the WRX, etc…

The thread yesterday talked about the eclipse should have been based on the Evo… essentially a lightweight Evo coupe. Mitsu has made some bad decisions. They do need to set themselves apart. That will include capitalizing on Rally and on the VR-4 designation.

If I were in the market for a AWD sedan, I would seriously consider an EVO X. IMO, the styling is alot better than the WRX STI, and the S4 is out of my price range. However, after sitting in a few of the Evo IX – I’d be hesitant. The interior quality was horrid; the vehicle reminded me of Saturn, or quite possibly the Chevy Aveo (no offense to owners of either vehicle).

Is Mitsu planning their base model Lancers to look similar?

Yeah, I thought of the SRT too. An AWD SRT version of the Caliber would be a wise move…

My comment was not directed at you, just some of the other numbnuts who will trash a car because it’s not domestic. Calling someone a “loser” with no basis other than being anti-asian is just childish.

the AWD that is available for the chrysler lineup is not capable of handeling the power the SRT boys have pulled out of the 2.4, the Mitsu boys are probably not too willing to lend their best gear to a competitor either…

and you know I was f*in around with the jackass comment…

Why am I an loser post #7? Like I caused the tranny to go out on my 2002 Mitsu? I said it was a NICE car didn’t. But after the tranny went out I decided it was time to sell it.

The new Caliber Turbo is pushing 300HP Mr. Paul (D)ickhead.

16. doesnt matter if its got 3000 HP,its still WRONG WHEEL DRIVE.
I was thinking about getting an evo 9, but now i might just have to settle for an STi after knowing they might pull out in a couple years

There is so much more wrong with the caliber than which wheels are driven. Would you buy one if it had a sedan bodyshell on it? this is a repackaged Neon. Cynical marketing at its worst.

I like the design of the new elcipse, but not its weight. I thought the concept for it was even better though (http://www.seriouswheels.com/top-2004-Mitsubishi-Eclipse-Concept-E.htm). Its kinda crazy looking, but very different from anything else and very cool. If they performed like the evo, they’d have a winner. Can anyone tell me why they made a 4 door sedan their performance car and not their sport coupe?

i actually like the exterior design of the new eclipse, and the engine is actully okay imo, but they really need to bring back AWD(maybe get shave a couple hundred pound off as well)
the perfect eclipse is what they had at sema i think, with all the ralliart/hks parts and evo drivetrain. Id buy that over an evo in a heartbeat(given a base price of under 35k)

You mean Mitsubishi was here already?

Mitsu has a long road ahead of them. It is seriously doubtful if they can stay in the US, let alone profitable.

The domestic brands may not have 300hp awd cars but they do have extensive fleet programs and trucks to carry them for the next 5-10 years. In addition they also have the backing of NASCAR (joke?). The top 3 Japanese brands have been posting strong marketshare gains. Also the Korean manufacturers are making very big strides in the market as well. Not to mention VW group refocusing their ad campaigns squarely at the young 20 somethings that Mistu tends to cater too.

All in all Mitsu basically has to do the David and Goliath thing to get back into the game- Going after Subaru won’t really help it as that would effectively be like fighting over only 5% or less of the automobile market. Plus Subaru is teamed with GM who is looking at their Asian brands and investments to help prop the parent company as much as possible. Subaru has been posting solid gain in the last few yeats.

Mitsu has made some cool cars in the past. Mistu can make a technoligically advanced car as well. Mitsu suffers from bad reliability, bad credit decisions, poor interiors and basically irrelevant to ugly car designs. Not every vehicle that comes from the rising sun better than a stars and striped one.

#22, yeah they were here already! Remember such great ones as the Plymouth Arrow and the Sapporo? Those stunning, timeless masterpieces were Mitsubishis. Uh-oh, the meds are wearing off now… did I just say something nice about Mitsubishi? CRAP!!!

agreed Jae. People on this site are generalizing way too much. not all japanese cars suck and vice versa with american cars. I think mitsu has to do alot of new marketing strategies. the eclipse commercials makes me want to take a vacation to hawaii than to buy a new car.

#12: I think the Evo blows.

Jae, I believe Subaru and GM aren’t too much affiliated anymore… not sure what they share still but would be worth looking into to see GM’s future in AWD.

The EVO is a great car, the interior’s are great, but the ride is worth it. They are restricted plenty to make US regulations. If you remove the right parts you’ll have an even better car. I saw one the other night shooting blue flames on down-shifts…. that is cool.

I have an ‘03 Eclipse GTS. I love it. I would love it more in AWD, but it handles well, and has more than enough hp. Too bad the moron who had it before me abused it. (instead of removing 4 screws, he ripped out the center console. Almost cost me $350 to fix. Thank God for Ebay.) I can’t say I like the newest (07)body style as much. But the Eclipse is lightyears more reliable than my wife’s neon. (Blown headgasket after 35k miles) I’ll take Mitsu over Dodge any day.

Mitsubishi’s best car is the 3000GT. Everything else they have ever made is junk.

Please bring back a modernized 3000GT for $25,000, and stop selling all other vehicles, which are tarnishing Mitsubishi’s image.

NUMBER 29!!!!!!
I was going to say it.
Give me a 6-speed 320HP Turbocharged V6 4WD Hard-Top Convertible 3000GT VR-4 any day of the week.

My apologies, yall. I’ve been drooling over that car since ‘95. While all of my friends had the standard Countach poster on the wall, mine had none other than that beautiful Mitsu.

i have a 99 mitsubishi lancer and it’s working perfectly well, i’d take mitsu over honda any day.

Also, almost every car now a days looks over weight, at least Mitsubish made the Eclipse’s slyling cues appealing.

Hiroshi Harunari, the CEO, probably came out and said this to cover up what his big-mouth product strategist KNEW. Telling everyone that you might pull out of market is horrible business, especially for the Japanese. For one, if consumers find out, they will not buy a Mitsubishi for parts and warranty reasons. Secondly, it’s a hell of a way to keep your dealer network (who is already struggling) and its salespeople from jumping ship. If the Japanese are good at one thing, it’s covering their asses. So far the CEO is succeeding.

i guess their chances are better than isuzu’s.

The 3000GT is a dead nameplate. Mitsu has the Evo and the Eclipse, they are in no position to develop a third sporting line of cars. Not to say it wouldn’t be nice if they did bring back a proper GT car, as long as they didn’t repeat the problematic driveline design of the 3kGT VR4…
Maybed if they axed the fugly new Eclipse…

3000GT VR4 was a great car but a little heavy. Bringing something similar back but lighter would be cool. They should also bring back the Galant VR4.

#23, GM and Fuji heavy Ind. (Subaru) have parted ways. Toyota actually has stake in them now and IMO, that is a good thing. Under Gm, Subaru would have been cannabilized for their AWD technologies, and their safety technologies and left to wither on the vine until extinction. And I’ll back up those remarks with a similar situation happening to Isuzu which made some of the best diesels in the industry (All you Anti-asian Chevy truck guys should be appalled that the Duramax diesel was coengineered by Isuzu and Saab which while never a strong player in the 90’s, was milked along by GM with 2 models and hardly any support. Saab (on a lesser scale) is on their death bed right next to Isuzu. Had the GM/Subaru relationship continued, I’d place money that I’d be saying the same thing in 10 years…

And the reason why Subaru is no longer associated is because they actually had a strong voice. A strong opposition to GM cronies that they did not want common platforms, common drivetrains, and rebadged models (like the 9-2x disaster).

Anyways, 5% of the market share in the states is a starting point for Mitsu to compete. They sure as hell are in no position to take on the “big boys” from Detroit and Japan, so starting small and having a similar background (AWD, Turbocharging, WRC) might garner some increased sales if they play their cards right.

What’s the best improvement for any Subaru? Breaking the alliance with General Morons.

I stand corrected on the GM-Subaru thing. But I still beleive that Mitsu must play in the arena that the core money of the car market is – family sedans. Niche vehicles like the WRX and Evo are good for enthusiasts but they are not doing themselves any favors if they can’t compete with Altima, Camry or Accord.
Furthermore they should bring a crossover suv to market as quickly as prossible as that’s where the new trend money is going. If Mitsu could somehow resurrect the 3000GT vr4 more power to them but it would probably come too little too late. It would compete with the Nissan GTR and that has a atleast a 2 year head start on it.
I won’t lament the passing of Mitsu(or for that matter Isuzu). As I told my syster- they are not that great of cars.

“Furthermore they should bring a crossover suv to market as quickly as prossible as that’s where the new trend money is going.”

There is a new Outlander due soon. At the moment it is the number one miniute in its class in Japan. It even outsells the new RAV4 and looks to be quite competent. If Mitsu can target even 26mpg (HW) next to the yotas (28/29mpg HW)they will nave a vehicle that could help the bottom line a bit more.

And I am not saying they will dominate over the RAV4 or even the CRV here in the states, but it would at least prove that Mitsu is putting the effort forth to right the ship.

I own a pristine 928 S4, an SHO we’ve had since new, and an ‘03 Evo 8. I’ve ridden motorcycles for 30 years, and I’ve driven just about any kind of car you can imagine except for some of the Italian exotics, including several AMG’s and Porsches that belong to clients and associates. I can say without reservation, the Evo 8 is by far the best handling and most FUN car I’ve ever driven on-road. Bar none.

Say what you will about Mitsu, but the Evo is an icon, and deservedly so.

“What’s a Mitsubishi?”An aircraft manufacturer.Most famous for the ZERO.That’s the plane that was used against the USA at Pearl Harbour.They made a memorial about it.What
I don’t understand is why the company was not liquidated and rebuilt from scratch.Why keep the name?Why keep the 3 blade ZERO propeller symbol?At least you could maybe purch their merch,but to have that propeller in your face…get real.The ZERO is an icon.

For some people,Steve,it’s not how you feel,it’s how you look.Mitsubishis are ugly.

atacand atacand