After 22 Years Mitsubishi Eclipse Officially Dead

[CodeRedR51]

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/25/report-mitsubishi-to-kill-off-eclipse-endeavor-in-august-gala/

Mitsubishi North America CEO Yoichi Yokozawa has reportedly confirmed that the automaker will stop production on the Eclipse and Endeavor in August...

Sad to see it go honestly. I agree with everyone in the comments on Autoblog, the car should have been a smaller two-door version of the Lancer EVO. One of my "if I ever have the money" projects is to put an EVO X drivetrain into a newer style Eclipse and make my own GSX, which should have been available to the public anyway.

No more Eclipse, no more EVO. Goodbye Mitsubishi... 👎

 

[NissanSkylineN1]

This is pathetic. That's all folks.

 

[freedomweasel]

Meh, the car was pretty terrible in past few years anyway.

 

[GT_Prologue5]

Meh, the car was pretty terrible in past few years anyway.

But when it was great, it was a really good car.

To think in the next few years all we'll have are i-Miev's and Colts.

 

[Eric.]

So...what cars does Mitsubishi plan to sell? Because the only things I see on a regular basis are the Eclipse and Lancers. Do they even make any profits in the US?

 

[Tornado]

The current Eclipse was a terrible car from Day 1. Mitsubishi knew this. They knew from the start what they had to do to make it a success. They didn't do it. They kept showing off concept cars that showed that they could do what they had to do to make it a success. They didn't do it. They knew in 2008 that they would have to update it to go against the increased competition from Hyundai, Chevrolet and Ford. They didn't do it. They never bothered doing any of it.

Basically, good riddance. I feel worse about the Endeavor going away than I do about the Eclipse, because the Endeavor was actually a competent car in its class.





Mitsubishi USA has been on life support for the past 5 years because they keep doing things exactly like what they are did with the Eclipse. Their complete commitment to destroy the only things that anyone in this country ever cared about them for is certainly interesting, but only for the same reason that a train crash is interesting. At this rate, their idiotic plan to replace the Evo X with a diesel-electric hybrid won't matter, because they won't last to the end of next year.

 

[freedomweasel]

But when it was great, it was a really good car.

To think in the next few years all we'll have are i-Miev's and Colts.

Yeah, but you may as well go find a "good one" to buy if that's what you want. I'm just not going to lose any sleep over a company killing off a name that used to be attached to something interesting. If anything, it'll keep people from buying a new one based on the old one being good.

 

[YSSMAN]

I'm not sad, by most accounts, the Eclipse has been dead since 2000. As soon as it switched to the ST-22 platform, it was no longer an Eclipse. When my friend told me he was buying one, all I could do is /facepalm. Mitsubishi did a good job with the current Eclipse in the styling department, but where they lost out was in engineering. Keeping the car based on the Gallant was bad decision number one. Adding the MIVEC power was a wise decision, but the car was still too large to be anything close to serious in the performance department.

A lot of what Mitsubishi had here was a coulda/shoulda type of situation. I'm not upset about the possibilities of the next-generation Evo, The current Lancer is a decent enough car to be a Civic alternative. I really do like the Outlander Sport. Even the i-EV is a nifty car available at a reasonable price. Still... Without a car like the Eclipse, or even the Endeavor to tie down the opposite ends of their market share, it really feels like Mitsubishi is outright giving it up.

Then again, Suzuki should have given up years ago. Then they made the rather nice Kizashi. Mitsubishi needs to do the same thing...

 

[Duman079]

Japan stops producing all their best cars -_-. S2000 and now this. Whats next? Skyline ? Impreza ?

EvoVII/IX and the 98 eclipse version were so HOT man.

Maybe its better because they are getting uglier. So we keep keep good memories of it lol. But I dont understand why they do it. I love those series.

 

[JCE]

The Eclipse name was tarnished for a decade, no longer care about it. Too bad because the mid-late 90's was a great time for Mitsubishi.

 

[1241Penguin]

Are you kidding?

What is their next performance car?

It's a sad day, first the Evo and now the Eclipse

 

[G.T.Ace]

Japan stops producing all their best cars -_-. S2000 and now this. Whats next? Skyline ? Impreza ?

The real Skyline doesn't exist anymore and the new Impreza will look like a Ford Taurus. The Supra is also dead since some years now, so there's not much left. At least the GT-R and LF-A are cool cars.

 

[Omnis]

Pop the Dom P. Hate that damn Eclipse.

 

[E28]

If Mitsubishi was a person they'd be hurling themselves of a building parachute-less right now. In other words, they seem suicidal. Killing the Evo, killing any chances of a 2-door Evo, and replacing the Evo with a hybrid. At least you can make a hybrid sporty with a petrol engine. Oh yes! It's a diesel-hybrid...

 

[astrosdude91]

The Eclipse has been essentially dead for a decade, this is just making it official.

 

[Pupik]

Japan stops producing all their best cars -_-. S2000 and now this [...]

The Eclipse and its variants are made in America.

It's as Japanese as the banjo.

 

[Duman079]

The Eclipse and its variants are made in America.

It's as Japanese as the banjo.

Lol, there going mad.

 

[Duman079]

The real Skyline doesn't exist anymore and the new Impreza will look like a Ford Taurus. The Supra is also dead since some years now, so there's not much left. At least the GT-R and LF-A are cool cars.

Indeed. Hope toyota brings the FT-86. Im glad Germany makes nice cars in the 21st century lol.

 

[Dan_]

The Eclipse surely won't be missed.

That said, Mitsubishi is laying it's own grave, killing the performance petrol models in favour of a said "New Era" of hybridization. Whatever is the outcome it is impossible to make a more failed car than the Eclipse, I can only assume things are turning to better. Or is it?

 

[niky]

The Eclipse has been dead for a long time. All they're canceling is a bloated, chopped Galant that didn't even have the decency to offer all wheel drive variant in order to qualify as a 3000GT replacement.

 

[NissanSkylineN1]

Well, Mitsubishi DOES have the Outlander, which has quite nice ratings...

 

[buickgnx88]

At least you can make a hybrid sporty with a petrol engine. Oh yes! It's a diesel-hybrid...

What's wrong with a diesel hybrid? It would have more torque than a gas hybrid, and BMW is marketing their diesel 3-series as sporty (at least in the US).

 

[mPWRD]

In response to the thread title... about time. The Eclipse has been a relic for the last ten-odd years.

 

[AMCNUT]

I don't understand why everyone is hatin' on the Eclipse so bad. OK, so it's a little porky, but it's a good looking car that gets it done for alot of people who don't need lazer-sharp performance. It's worst thing is that it doesn't stand out in any particular area... it may not be the greatest car but why is everyone treating it like a Yugo??? Am I missing something here?

 

[mPWRD]

*snip*

Am I missing something here?

Yes. That there hasn't been a good Eclipse since the mid-'90s GSX.

 

[Northstar]

Lancer, Galant, Outlander and i-Miev

Doesn't exactly seem like a stellar lineup, the Lancer solid, Outlander is meh, the Galant is worthy of the chopping block and the i will be a niche product at best.

Won't miss the Eclipse though, the last 2 gens haven't been great, although the last was a step in the right direction(still an overall meh car though).

 

[niky]

I don't understand why everyone is hatin' on the Eclipse so bad. OK, so it's a little porky, but it's a good looking car that gets it done for alot of people who don't need lazer-sharp performance. It's worst thing is that it doesn't stand out in any particular area... it may not be the greatest car but why is everyone treating it like a Yugo??? Am I missing something here?

It's a bulbous monstrosity, nose heavy, soft, understeery... and by some accounts, also characterized by unwanted snap oversteer... It's got pathetic front seat space and even less rear seat space... I can't, for the life of me, picture why anybody would go for this instead of a Hyundai Genesis, which is roomier, slightly prettier and better equipped. Or a 370Z, which drives infinitely better without the pretense of a useless rear seat.

The Outlander, Outlander Sport/ASX and Lancer are all excellent driving vehicles. The Galant and the Galant based Eclipse are dinosaurs compared to the rest of the line.

 

[Jondot]

Mitsubishi Europe isn't in much of a better state, to be honest. You've got the Colt... which isn't as good as a Fiesta, the ASX... which isn't as good as a Yeti, the Lancer... which isn't as good as a Focus, and the Shogun... which is slightly better than a tractor.

As far as I'm aware, the only model that actually sells is the Outlander, and that's competing in a segment that nobody wants to be in when petrol is £1.35 a litre.

Then there's the i-MiEv, but nobody will buy that outright for £23k when Peugeot will lease you an identical one on a monthly basis.

 

[Tornado]

I don't understand why everyone is hatin' on the Eclipse so bad. OK, so it's a little porky, but it's a good looking car that gets it done for alot of people who don't need lazer-sharp performance. It's worst thing is that it doesn't stand out in any particular area... it may not be the greatest car but why is everyone treating it like a Yugo??? Am I missing something here?

The Eclipse has been, for all intents and purposes, the single worst car in that class since the day it came out by almost every standard. The V6 went slightly faster than the old V6 Mustang going straight (at the cost of making the car push like a snowplow and have more torque steer than a Saab 9000 Turbo), but that is about the only thing that it could hold over any of its competitors. V6 Accord coupe, V6 Mustang, Hyundai Tiburon GT. These are just some of the cars that were much better than the V6 Eclipse when it was new. Let alone the cars that have come out since then, like the revised Mustang V6 3.7, or the Genesis Coupe.

And at the same time, it had Mitsubishi's less than stellar reliability ratings, and it didn't even have the decency to cost notably less (if at all) than its competitors.

Mitsubishi Europe isn't in much of a better state, to be honest. You've got the Colt... which isn't as good as a Fiesta, the ASX... which isn't as good as a Yeti, the Lancer... which isn't as good as a Focus, and the Shogun... which is slightly better than a tractor.

You still get the Montero, though.

 

[mikeguitarez]

Performance blah, blah, blah ... I just traded in my Porsche 986 for my 2007 eclipse. I had a 97RS back in the day and loved it. My best friend owned a 3000gt and all I got to say is that its a shame that all these awesome cars are being discontinued. After getting pulled over doing 60 in a 35 in my Boxster, I am relieved to have a slow 2007 eclipse SE. Hopefully Mitsu remakes the 3000 GT!