Eclipse Spyder

[Poverty]

Im 18.

Let me paint a picture. Im in the construction industry and as you you guys probably know we behave very laddish and do stupid stuff like those vidoes you see of the army guys.

If I was to turn up to the site in a miata... well lets just say id never be able to live it down.

 

[Dave A]

I'm guessing it's a relatively young crew your in then, depending on the ages of the people in the crews you usually find a large contrast in how they operate. I've been on many sites myself, not working but learning, I did a few years at college in construction and design, we visited a lot of sites over thoes years with different crews. I got to meet some great people. In some crews I'd definitely say, yes they would give you stick for driving a MX-5, but otheres would say, that's a bit flash isn't it, nice.

 

[CDailey]

I think it looks alright. I prefer the coupe, though.

The Eclipse is ok until you get back to the doors, and that big fat ass pops up, it's like seeing Jessica Alba's torso lean in through a door, followed by queen latifah's back end...well, the front of the eclipse isn't as hot as Alba, but the back is definitely Latifah all the way.

 

[Onikaze]

I'm 25, short (5'9") and lean (160lbs soaking wet), so a little sporty runabout is perfect for me, I've got a shorter woman (5'1") and Miata's seem custom made for us.

Plus the whole 30 Mpg thing doesn't hurt.

I will give you one caveat though, anyone driving an Automatic Miata, is a ninny.

That's why Mercedes SLK's actually are, for the most part, womens cars, because I don't even know if they offer a manual, I've never seen one with a stick.

 

[McLaren]

Yeah, you just had to know it was coming.

The first Eclipse in years with even a dash of testosterone, and they had to go and make a convertible of it... again.

I'm not calling it a "chick" car... but it is one damn fat "poseur".

Well, what I meant was when I 1st saw the car, I thought, "How long till this thing comes out in a conv. form?"

 

[Poverty]

Live for speed are you seriously saying this wouldnt sell. If priced at 20k this would sell like hotcakes. People in the UK love their drop tops.

There is nothing like this on sale in the UK today.

 

[McLaren]

That might sell because that isn't completely stock.

 

[Dave A]

Live for speed are you seriously saying this wouldnt sell. If priced at 20k this would sell like hotcakes. People in the UK love their drop tops.

For some odd reason theres a few people in the UK that do, but I never once said that car wouldn't sell, but for £20k, I don't think so, that put's it higher than a Mazda MX-5 by a couple of grand, which at the end of the day already out sells all other convertibles in the UK. Theres a lot of people in the UK who do like convertibles, but compared to the overall number of cars sold in the UK the percetage that are convertibles would be very, very small.

 

[YSSMAN]

So if the MX5 makes you look gay, what about classic roadsters like the Triumph TR6? MG-A? Austin Healey?

I spent a summer driving a '96 M-Eddition British Racing Green MX5, and it still is one of my favorite cars simply because it had a great balance of sporty driving and daily comute abilities. Granted at 6ft I didnt fit in it all that well, but when the drive is that enjoyable, it really doesnt matter.

Even today, I still think about ditching the Jetta and going with an MX5... But the thought of snow is the only thing that stops me.

 

[JohnBM01]

First rule of automotive criticism- never judge a car in terms of sexuality. What's wrong with the Mazda Miata? It's an inexpensive roadster, not to mention a nice weekend racer. In fact, I can even recall the SCCA with the Spec Miata series. It may be girly ti some, but if it was REALLY "gay," then it wouldn't be such a good performer in its class. It's much the same way as some people like to see SUVs as the new family minivan. I don't claim to be a bold, hunky, don't-give-a-damn American. But even if I had a Miata, I still let me personality define me, not a car. The Miata is perfectly fine. And note I used "sports car" in my defense ofthe Miata. Especially the newer MX-5 Miata. It looks meaner, feels meaner, basically a very nice job by Mazda.

Back to the Eclipse Spyder... I think maybe a targa version would probably be better. I still think it could be styled a bit better to compliment its looks. But if you want this Spyder, I'm not telling you to look elsewhere. What would you have liked for an open-air variant of the Mitsubishi Eclipse?

 

[Joey D]

Back to the Eclipse Spyder... I think maybe a targa version would probably be better. I still think it could be styled a bit better to compliment its looks. But if you want this Spyder, I'm not telling you to look elsewhere. What would you have liked for an open-air variant of the Mitsubishi Eclipse?

A targa is hot on any car. Hell a targa Eclipse would be awesome.

 

[YSSMAN]

A targa Eclipse would probably fair much better, IMO. You still get a similar "open air" effect, have fewer rigidity problems, and leave you without the awkward looking side windows...

 

[Roo]

[Over-opinionated rant]

No because all the good drop tops ie the bmws mercs and audis cost a arm and a leg and all the other cheap drop tops are womans cars.

I want a convert that I can afford.

By the time it's been imported, turned into right hand drive and all the legal stuff, it'd be well over £20k. Which would put it into Elise/VX220 teritory, where it would get pummelled. Not to mention the MX5, which would pee all over the Eclipse, due to it being better by a factor of infinity.

[Edit 2, once I'd thought a bit more - won't need the RHD bit (thanks to Delorean Brown for spotting that). But the importing and legal bits sill stand.]

Plus I'm trying to remember the last time I saw a German convertible (Boxster aside) with a male driver. It's rare, and they're often too busy cutting me up or going past on the motorway at 100mph to bother about realising that everyone thinks they're in the midst of a mid-life crisis due to the car they drive. Hell, even one of the women at work - all 4ft 11in of her - drives a 3 series convertible and she drives like an arse.

Id drive a elise though as its got sharp lines.But once I was over 25 the elise would have to go.

Which is a shame, because until you're 25 all the insurance companies here will laugh at you, as they would with the MX5. In any case, the first Elise looked a lot better than the current one (ditto the MX5).

[Edit 2, again - what country are you from, Poverty? I assumed it was the UK because of the post you made which I quoted below.]

Live for speed are you seriously saying this wouldnt sell. If priced at 20k this would sell like hotcakes. People in the UK love their drop tops.

There is nothing like this on sale in the UK today.

There is. Those are both front wheel drive convertibles and they both cost a lot less than what the Eclipse would cost. And they have proper roofs.

[/over-opinionated rant]

Of course, this entire arguement makes no difference, because this is clearly the coolest convertible of all time ever.

 

[DeLoreanBrown]

@Roo, man, two things out of kilter w/ure rant;

Japan is RHD.

'here' may not be, Poverty's 'here'.

keep ure brights on.

 

[Roo]

Well spotted. Edited to try and make my point come across better and sound less obnoxious.

 

[Dave A]

I completely agree with your edited post there Roo.

 

[Omnis]

I like everything on that eclipse from behind the front wheels. I love that lambo-esque drop in the door line as it meets the windsheild.

 

[Poverty]

Roo ive sat in the megane and its something id definetly not want to own. That along with the pug is a womans car. And theyre heavy and cost around 18k dont they? Plus they look ugly.

By the time it's been imported, turned into right hand drive and all the legal stuff, it'd be well over £20k.

Yeah but I wouldnt import one. I just want mitsu to bring them over here so I could buy one just like I could buy a evo. There are also a couple UK publictions that reviewed the car and said mitsu should bring it over and that it would sell well. Its an empty market. The toyota celica sold well and so should the eclipse.

 

[YSSMAN]

Poverty you arent missing out on anything. The Eclipse (so far) has been a HUGE dissapointment in performance, fuel consumption, and overall value. Although it is somewhat good looking in coupe form, its about the only thing it has going for it.

1) The car is HUGE... Its wider than the Ford Explorer SUV, and weighs in at a tubby 3560lbs when equipped with the V6.

2) 0-60 mph comes in 6.1 seconds and it moves through the quarter-mile in 14.5 seconds at 100 mph... Faster than the Acura RSX Type-S (Honda Integra), Hyundai Tiburon GT, and VW Beetle Turbo S... But the Mustang GT can still smoke it, and for about the same ammount of money...

3) Speaking of price... The GTS V6 Eclipse starts at 25,000 USD, or 20,597.30 EUR, or 14,070.20 GBP... Not too much car for a pretty big price...

4) Consider it's fuel economy: Mitsubishi claims 18 mpg city and 27 highway for the manual V-6, near the bottom in the segment (the Tiburon is slightly worse)... And with the convertable, fuel mileage will go down due to the increased weight...

 

[Raghavan]

It looks fugly. I want to see it with it's top up. It'll look loike a squished bug.

 

[Poverty]

YSS man for performance that car would be one of the faster vehichles on the road in the UK and if it was to be sold for £14k Id go out and buy myself two tomorrow. A renault clio cost around £14k. 14k is nothing for a non supermini.

 

[Joey D]

It's ugly in person and it doesn't look all the well made.

 

[Dave A]

YSS man for performance that car would be one of the faster vehichles on the road in the UK and if it was to be sold for £14k Id go out and buy myself two tomorrow. A renault clio cost around £14k. 14k is nothing for a non supermini.

It won't cost £14k in the UK, look at any US car price and cross it with the UK price, they're always more, in the US I think you can get a Mustang for a similar price, now how much of a performance bargain is it. Over here it would most likely be around the 20k mark, that puts it well aboth the Civic Type-R and roughly the same price a a Golf GTi, and above the new MX5 and not far below the S2000. Wouldn't be much of a bargain then, and as Blazin sad, the car is just ugly on a grand scale.

 

[YSSMAN]

Its not that its a bad looking car, because it isnt, espically in hard-top form... But the fact that it is huge in size and in weight, not any faster than a Volkswagen GTI, and theoretically would cost considerably more... Its just not a good deal, even in the UK or the US...

 

[TheCracker]

No because all the good drop tops ie the bmws mercs and audis cost a arm and a leg and all the other cheap drop tops are womans cars.

I want a convert that I can afford.

All convertables are womens cars - except 'sports cars' which are ment to not have a roof.

The only sort of person (especially those that live in colder climates) who would take a perfectly good coupe/saloon/hatchback, make it heavier, more cramped, less practical, noisier, harder to see out of and make it handle worse - and pay a premium for it - would be a women

- sorry girls

 

[niky]

All convertables are womens cars - except 'sports cars' which are ment to not have a roof.

The only sort of person (especially those that live in colder climates) who would take a perfectly good coupe/saloon/hatchback, make it heavier, more cramped, less practical, noisier, harder to see out of and make it handle worse - and pay a premium for it - would be a women

- sorry girls

Sports cars which were meant to not have a roof... that does include the Miata, which was designed from the ground up without one.

 

[TheCracker]

Sports cars which were meant to not have a roof... that does include the Miata, which was designed from the ground up without one.

Thats what i'm saying. I don't class the MX-5, Boxter, S2000, Elise etc as 'convertables' - i wouldn't tar them with the same brush as convertable TT's, A4's, 206's, 350z's etc. Like you said, cars like the MX-5 were designed to be open top - the others have just been attacked by someone with a hack-saw.

 

[niky]

How true...

 

[Poverty]

If it came to the UK for £20 grand new Id buy one and because Id buy one there most be thousands others who would aswell. Especially woman. Nothing wrong with young men driving those. In america the celica is considered as a girls car but in the UK where we dont have muscle cars and its about the size of a 3 series its not really seen as feminime.

 

[Dave A]

Nope, I don't think so. For £20k you can buy so much more, that's better looking, better to drive, faster and cheaper.