Mitsubishi is here to stay!

[Amphibian]

"Speaking to Automotive News, Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko said, "We have no intention whatsoever of withdrawing from the US market." That's about as clear as clear can get. It's also worth mentioning that Gayu Uesugi was just named chairman of Mitsubishi Motors North America, and his main responsibility will be to revitalize the brand in the US."

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/07/m...kis-departure/

Mitsubishi is not a small company as a whole, but maybe they'd benefit from allying themselves with Mazda and share on some costs. Mitsubishi has pretty good potential, actually. They just need to get the right products out. The Concept-ZT seemed like the obvious next generation Galant but simply never happened. I don't know what the problem at Mitsubishi is.

[BlackGTP]

that is every car companies issue - all they have to do is get the right product out. Easier said than done.

I think Mitsubishi made their announcement in the woods and there was no one around to hear it. So did it really happen, meaning does anyone care anymore?

[iluvcamaros]

I just went to Mitsubishi's website... the Galant is awful! It makes the current Chevrolet Impala look new and sophisticated. Not that those cars are competitors or anything. Just saying I can't believe they still sell that in North America. The Lancer is kinda cool, though the interior is subpar. Then what is with the Outlander and Outlander Sport? Looks like they are two totally different vehicles. Why are they branded that way?

Not to mention the death of the Eclipse. It was once a really cool car... then they turned out that bloated blob for the last generation. They should bring it back as an affordable sporty coupe. Along the line of the Scion Tc, but more interesting.

After the death of Isuzu and Suzuki it looks like Mitsubishi better get some product rolling out or they are anything but "here to stay."

[donmateo]

That's too bad...

[mercy09]

I just went to Mitsubishi's website... the Galant is awful! It makes the current Chevrolet Impala look new and sophisticated. Not that those cars are competitors or anything. Just saying I can't believe they still sell that in North America. The Lancer is kinda cool, though the interior is subpar. Then what is with the Outlander and Outlander Sport? Looks like they are two totally different vehicles. Why are they branded that way?

Not to mention the death of the Eclipse. It was once a really cool car... then they turned out that bloated blob for the last generation. They should bring it back as an affordable sporty coupe. Along the line of the Scion Tc, but more interesting.

After the death of Isuzu and Suzuki it looks like Mitsubishi better get some product rolling out or they are anything but "here to stay."

They ended production of the Galant in August, and it was primarily sold to fleets.

[Amphibian]

that is every car companies issue - all they have to do is get the right product out. Easier said than done.

I think Mitsubishi made their announcement in the woods and there was no one around to hear it. So did it really happen, meaning does anyone care anymore?

Right, but I'm speaking as it relates to their struggle against the costs that are less of an issue for GM, Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, VW, Honda, Nissan, etc. But you bring up something I had considered too, which is the fact that they aren't coming out with much of anything and other products were left to rot. They might just get out of the game quietly.

[Diggerdan11]

This surprises me, I figured for sure that Mitsubishi would pull out of America (I still think they will fairly soon). IMO they have just not created good enough products to be competitive in this market. I have driven a couple Mitsubishi models and I think the quality is about the same as their cars in the late 80’s and 90’s.
The Eclipse was a cool car from 1990-1999 and the build quality was about the same as its competitors at that time (It was a Chrysler product at that time). As quality began to increase in other vehicles it stayed about the same in Mitsubishi.
I drove a Mitsubishi Evolution and a Subaru STI on the same day, even though the Evo was a pretty fun little car to drive it did not even come close in quality to its competitor the STI. There was a lot of wind noise and everything just seemed cheap especially compared to the Subaru.
I can imagine that Mitsubishi will be around too much longer in the US market unless they can create a couple vehicles that people really want to buy. The EVO is the only car that anyone seems to want, but it is a little expensive and too much of a niche car to sell in large quantities.


BTW the main difference between the Outlander and the Outlander sport is that the regular Outlander has a little more cargo room and a third, seat and the Sport does not. That’s why they are marketed as 2 different models.

[Amphibian]

This surprises me, I figured for sure that Mitsubishi would pull out of America (I still think they will fairly soon). IMO they have just not created good enough products to be competitive in this market. I have driven a couple Mitsubishi models and I think the quality is about the same as their cars in the late 80’s and 90’s.
The Eclipse was a cool car from 1990-1999 and the build quality was about the same as its competitors at that time (It was a Chrysler product at that time). As quality began to increase in other vehicles it stayed about the same in Mitsubishi.
I drove a Mitsubishi Evolution and a Subaru STI on the same day, even though the Evo was a pretty fun little car to drive it did not even come close in quality to its competitor the STI. There was a lot of wind noise and everything just seemed cheap especially compared to the Subaru.
I can imagine that Mitsubishi will be around too much longer in the US market unless they can create a couple vehicles that people really want to buy. The EVO is the only car that anyone seems to want, but it is a little expensive and too much of a niche car to sell in large quantities.


BTW the main difference between the Outlander and the Outlander sport is that the regular Outlander has a little more cargo room and a third, seat and the Sport does not. That’s why they are marketed as 2 different models.

Probably so. I think Mitsubishi has three products they really need to bring up to speed: Lancer, Eclipse, and Galant. The Lancer was new for 2008, and though still a good looking contender, is probably far behind in terms of infotainment, interior design/quality, not to mention mileage; don't forget things like refinement and drive quality. The compact class is crucial for these brands and Mitsubishi needs to have the reliability ratings, style, mileage, and all the other factors necessary. They won't sell like the Cruze overnight but they can gain market traction. The Galant is sorely needed too. Put a slick looking production version of the Concept-ZT with more notable styling a la Fusion, Sonata, Optima, and you'll garner media attention and hopefully sales (provided you're again in line with the competition in mileage, features, safety, etc). And the Eclipse in terms of an affordable halo car for brand attention seems logical to me as well. An Eclipse based on a redesigned Lancer but with a body like the current (now dead?) Eclipse wouldn't cost too much but should be tuned for an obvious FWD sports car dynamic. Instead of a hulking V-6 option though, give us an Evo package: advanced AWD, twin-clutch option, and 2.0T with ~300 horsepower). That's what I'm talking about.

Mitsubishi has done the Evo for years, which proves to me that they have engineering know-how. But it needs to be spread across more of the model range, not just in a niche performance product. They need to market aggressively and possibly consider partnerships with other brands for parts (source transmissions from GM, for example). The obvious advantage here is cutting costs where they can without cutting corners.

[Diggerdan11]

Probably so. I think Mitsubishi has three products they really need to bring up to speed: Lancer, Eclipse, and Galant. The Lancer was new for 2008, and though still a good looking contender, is probably far behind in terms of infotainment, interior design/quality, not to mention mileage; don't forget things like refinement and drive quality. The compact class is crucial for these brands and Mitsubishi needs to have the reliability ratings, style, mileage, and all the other factors necessary. They won't sell like the Cruze overnight but they can gain market traction. The Galant is sorely needed too. Put a slick looking production version of the Concept-ZT with more notable styling a la Fusion, Sonata, Optima, and you'll garner media attention and hopefully sales (provided you're again in line with the competition in mileage, features, safety, etc). And the Eclipse in terms of an affordable halo car for brand attention seems logical to me as well. An Eclipse based on a redesigned Lancer but with a body like the current (now dead?) Eclipse wouldn't cost too much but should be tuned for an obvious FWD sports car dynamic. Instead of a hulking V-6 option though, give us an Evo package: advanced AWD, twin-clutch option, and 2.0T with ~300 horsepower). That's what I'm talking about.

Mitsubishi has done the Evo for years, which proves to me that they have engineering know-how. But it needs to be spread across more of the model range, not just in a niche performance product. They need to market aggressively and possibly consider partnerships with other brands for parts (source transmissions from GM, for example). The obvious advantage here is cutting costs where they can without cutting corners.

Yep I agree. Mitsubishi has made a pretty awesome little performance machine with the EVO, so why not take that AWD technology and Turbo 4 and take it across all the models.
I think if they were to increase their quality and bring their evo technology to all the models they could be competitive. If they offered AWD in all their models I think they could compete directly against Subaru.

I agree a little AWD Eclipse with a Turbo 4 with 300hp would be a hell of a little car. And they need to spend some time working on the Galant as well

[Amphibian]

Yep I agree. Mitsubishi has made a pretty awesome little performance machine with the EVO, so why not take that AWD technology and Turbo 4 and take it across all the models.
I think if they were to increase their quality and bring their evo technology to all the models they could be competitive. If they offered AWD in all their models I think they could compete directly against Subaru.

I agree a little AWD Eclipse with a Turbo 4 with 300hp would be a hell of a little car. And they need to spend some time working on the Galant as well

Not just due to profits (but heavily so), part of why I think the Lancer-Galant-Eclipse trio would be a good roll out for Mitsubishi is due to how much could be shared between the three, and you highlighted some of it. Mitsubishi's lineup doesn't really require a hulking V-6 anymore (or at least not for years until they've stabilized and reach upmarket again) aside from the Pajero (aka Montero, which is a global SUV). Pretty much everything else can just make do with the 2.0T that the next Evo would already use (for the V-6, they could either keep updating it for that lone SUV or try to maybe source the 3.5L from Ford, 3.6L from GM, etc).



The Galant could borrow a more economically tuned 2.0T with better economy and maybe a smidge less power than the Evo since economy is so important these days. A version of the AWD is probably not necessary out of the gate, but not a bad idea either. The Galant would kind of operate as what the Charger did for Dodge went the 2011 was released. It brings up the level of interior quality, technology, and overally competence that the brand had not previously been known for. Then the Dart (Lancer, in Mitsu's case) shows up a year or two later and showcases similar improvements in an even more affordable package; somewhere in there we get the new Eclipse too. The Lancer Evo and Eclipse "Evo" should work as a nice one-two punch, but IMO the Evo needs to consider being priced down from where it is now (without becoming a less awesome package). A 35K base price is rather much. Maybe it's unrealistic, but I'd go for 30K base.



Images courtesy of CarandDriver.

[Andrew L]

Not just due to profits (but heavily so), part of why I think the Lancer-Galant-Eclipse trio would be a good roll out for Mitsubishi is due to how much could be shared between the three, and you highlighted some of it. Mitsubishi's lineup doesn't really require a hulking V-6 anymore (or at least not for years until they've stabilized and reach upmarket again) aside from the Pajero (aka Montero, which is a global SUV). Pretty much everything else can just make do with the 2.0T that the next Evo would already use (for the V-6, they could either keep updating it for that lone SUV or try to maybe source the 3.5L from Ford, 3.6L from GM, etc).



The Galant could borrow a more economically tuned 2.0T with better economy and maybe a smidge less power than the Evo since economy is so important these days. A version of the AWD is probably not necessary out of the gate, but not a bad idea either. The Galant would kind of operate as what the Charger did for Dodge went the 2011 was released. It brings up the level of interior quality, technology, and overally competence that the brand had not previously been known for. Then the Dart (Lancer, in Mitsu's case) shows up a year or two later and showcases similar improvements in an even more affordable package; somewhere in there we get the new Eclipse too. The Lancer Evo and Eclipse "Evo" should work as a nice one-two punch, but IMO the Evo needs to consider being priced down from where it is now (without becoming a less awesome package). A 35K base price is rather much. Maybe it's unrealistic, but I'd go for 30K base.



Images courtesy of CarandDriver.

That gives off some Audi vibes.

I just cannot see Mitsubishi staying here past 5 years. I feel like something is going to give, hell I could be wrong but as of right now it does not look good for them

[Amphibian]

That gives off some Audi vibes.

I just cannot see Mitsubishi staying here past 5 years. I feel like something is going to give, hell I could be wrong but as of right now it does not look good for them

I hear ya. It's easy to envision Mitsubishi as being gone soon, whether just the US or out of the auto industry altogether. But with their interest in EVs, they might shift to focusing on that and battling out future Toyota EVs, Teslas, etc. It's hard to speculate on anything other than the following: at the current rate, Mitsubishi's auto lineup as we know it does not seem viable even in the short term.

[MrCritical]

While they were making subpar products (go to mitsubishisucks.com), problems such as broken interior trim, paint peeling/fading, oil consumption, transmission problems, bent wheels from soft castings, ects were passed off as customer abuse. There's almost no such thing as a repeat customer.

Now there's no dealer network to speak of. Dealers tired of fighting with them to get warranty claims paid, and dropped them as well.

[Neanderthal]

that is every car companies issue - all they have to do is get the right product out. Easier said than done.

I think Mitsubishi made their announcement in the woods and there was no one around to hear it. So did it really happen, meaning does anyone care anymore?

Hear what? In my experience, when a person--say a politician--says they're in it for the long haul, they're often gone in a week or a month.

I liked my Galant 3.8 rental I had around 2003, it was quite a torquey beastie though IIRC the interior was not so remarkable.

I saw a Lancer in light blue a couple of months ago. Couldn't ID it until I got close enough. It's a pleasant-looking car, very different styling but not rad in any sense.

I came very close to buying several Mitsus in the 1990s. Lancer, Summit, Dodge/Plymouth Colt version...come to think of it, the Summit was similar to modern station wagons such as my Soul.

http://www.coltvista.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=75