Mitsubishi's Canadian chief quits as sales fall

[Ming]

Mitsubishi's Canadian chief quits as sales fall
Toronto Star

Randy Sears has resigned as president and chief executive officer of sputtering Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada Inc.

Sears, who launched Mitsubishi's entry into the Canadian market in 2002, said yesterday he quit at the end of last month "to pursue other opportunities."

"Mitsubishi has had its difficulties but it's a great company and they've launched a very good plan," he added.

Sears, 51, a native of Moncton, N.B., worked for General Motors for 20 years before becoming Mitsubishi's director of retail operations for the north central United States in 1998. He returned to Canada to set up the Canadian operation in 2001.

Tony Laframboise, national sales manager, will also become interim managing director here while the company searches for Sears' replacement.

After an encouraging start in Canada, Mitsubishi's sales tumbled 26 per cent to 7,696 in the first eight months of this year from a year before.

Article Here

[Sparta]

mitsubishi = :flush:

[jro4566]

Ouch...

[dindak]

I've said it before, Mitsu won't be around in 10 years unless they get bought. They have nothing special and they are a marginal player. Isuzu already left Canada, Mitsu isn't far behind.

[Rex Raider]

My father works at a Nissan dealership in Montreal. the owner it also owns a Mitsubishi dealership.
Apparently they (Mitsubishi) just aren't selling any cars. It's doing pretty badly. I believe that they brought in virtually no 04 models. They're going from 03 to 05.

[gotz_otto]

If they did not try to make there cars look so new age they might not look like a toilet.

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

Originally posted by Rex Raider@Sep 17 2004, 12:59 AM
My father works at a Nissan dealership in Montreal. the owner it also owns a Mitsubishi dealership.
Apparently they (Mitsubishi) just aren't selling any cars. It's doing pretty badly. I believe that they brought in virtually no 04 models. They're going from 03 to 05.

cité?

[ByTheLake]

Not a rosey picture at all. Looking at the Automotive News Data Center, Mistubishi sales are in a free fall:

CANADA:
First 8 Months:
2003: 10,487
2004: 7,696

US:
First 8 Months:
2003: 189,118
2004: 123,715

Scanning the products on mitsubishicars.com, the entire product line has a somewhat dated, unappealing style, which of course is an opinion, not a fact.

What product stands out as unique?

[dindak]

I actually think one or two of their vehicles look pretty good but the rest leave a lot to be desired. There are hardly any dealers out side of big cities so I think many people stay away for that reason alone. The dealer in my home town looks worse than the KIA dealership, not an attractive place to buy a car.

[Rex Raider]

Originally posted by Smaart Aas Saabr@Sep 17 2004, 12:04 AM
cité?

Yup.

[gmsickofan]

Mitsubishis styling guys grew up on these:

[cincygoblue]

Originally posted by gotz_otto@Sep 16 2004, 08:34 PM
If they did not try to make there cars look so new age they might not look like a toilet.

I think they would still be in trouble with the quality problems, safety cover-ups, commercial unit sales, their overall financial situation, top executives resigning in the US, Japan, and now Canada, and their partners dumping them left and right.

They won't last another 4 years. :flush:

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

Originally posted by gmsickofan@Sep 17 2004, 04:16 PM
Mitsubishis styling guys grew up on these:

NO WAY! Is that a Corvette Z06 TRANSFOROBOT?

:lol:

[akumaknight]

Its a transformer, and yes its a Corvette. I've been searching for that one for a while now. There is also 2 versions of a Viper, Impreza and also a Jeep Wrangler transformer out. I'm trying to find that Vette.... (I work at wal-mart and the chick in the toy dept dosent have a clue (its wal-mart what else is new eh?)

[crazywop112]

I think the Evo is cool. But if I was buying a car like that. I would buy a WRX STI. So they wouldn't win there either.