Mitsubishi Could Be Leaving, Soon!

[a6m5]

I read Japanese news, too. Mostly on Japanese Yahoo News site. People think MMC's reputation in the U.S. is bad. In Japan, it was a full blown scandal there for a while. I seriously thought that they were going belly up, then.

 

[IMADreamer]

I think some of you guys have it very wrong. Just because you and some other import enthusiast loved the AWD turbo eclipse doesn't mean it should make a comeback. Those cars didn't sell for crap here. Neither did the FWD turbo eclipse. The big sellers by far were the RS and GS and convertibles. The 3g eclipse with no turbos sold very well here so why go back to turbos? If they really want to compete in the import tuner market they need to work on making the 4g lighter. However I don't think that's what they are going for. I think they are going for the older crowd who wants a fun sporty car to drive around. I see far more older people driving eclipses of all generations then I do younger people.

Another and far more important reason they can't AWD and turbo the new eclipse is because it would be right in the price range of the Evo. Why compete with themselves? The only way I see it happening is if they really scale back the eclipse to around 20k dollars and 220hp. That doesn't make much sense either because you are moving backwards in terms of hp. Another option would be to leapfrog the Evo in price and performance and make the eclipse a higher end car which also doesn't make sense because Mitsu can't compete with the likes of BMW or Porsche. They have been doing it well too long.

As for the Evo, that car is not Mitsus savior. It is a hi po version of an economy car. If anything they need to focus on the base lancer and make it more competitive. They will never sell enough Evos to make the Lancer platform successful because it is a niche car.

 

[a6m5]

I think some of you guys have it very wrong. Just because you and some other import enthusiast loved the AWD turbo eclipse doesn't mean it should make a comeback. Those cars didn't sell for crap here. Neither did the FWD turbo eclipse. The big sellers by far were the RS and GS and convertibles.

I recommended bringing back the turbo with AWD, but only for the top of the line models. 90% of the Eclipse models should be the cheap, FWD models with no turbo. I don't believe in selling bunch of V-6 models, because of fuel prices, and I also believe that decline of Eclipse begun with overweight, V-6 models. As for the top of the line Eclipse taking sales away from the Lancer Evos, you have a point there. I still think that MMC can price the Eclipse AWD 2, 3 grand cheaper, but I could be wrong.

 

[Raghavan]

Mitsubishi needs to pull a Nissan. Nissan was in the hole a about a decade ago. Got bought by Renault, and now their kicking ass with great cars. Mitsu needs that. They also need to put in the excitement they put in the Evo to their other cars. Right now, the Evo is super hot and desirable, and besides that and the Eclipse, everything else is ho-hum.

 

[franz]

I can see Eclipse doesn't sell well because it looks ugly to most people
It's okay not all lineups sell well in MMC
but they should consider import something that can against other Japanese car makers
minivan and k-car will be a good choice
look what they are selling in japan
it is a waste not selling globally

Grandis


i

 

[IMADreamer]

I recommended bringing back the turbo with AWD, but only for the top of the line models. 90% of the Eclipse models should be the cheap, FWD models with no turbo. I don't believe in selling bunch of V-6 models, because of fuel prices, and I also believe that decline of Eclipse begun with overweight, V-6 models. As for the top of the line Eclipse taking sales away from the Lancer Evos, you have a point there. I still think that MMC can price the Eclipse AWD 2, 3 grand cheaper, but I could be wrong.

I really think if they are going to do AWD and Turbo they are going to have to aim much lower then the Evo. Maybe 5-6k lower. Then push the base price of the base models down so they aren't close to the AWD Turbo model.

Another option I thought about on the drive home from work today was to really go outside of Mitsus box and make the eclipse RWD and turbo or just RWD with a NA V6. Trim some weight off it and then aim it squarely at the 350z. That could revive not only the eclipse name but Mitsu in the states. The Z did wonders for Nissan because of the buzz it created. If I were a Mitsu big wig I would seriously think about a RWD version. Then you are now offering two sporty performance orientated cars to the public. The Evo which will compete for those subaru lovers and the eclipse which will go after the Z. If you have two cars like that out there it's going to generate a lot of hype and get people talking. At hat point it would just come down to freshining up models like the Lancer to maybe compete with the Mazda 6 base models which sell like hotcakes.

 

[Raghavan]

I really think if they are going to do AWD and Turbo they are going to have to aim much lower then the Evo. Maybe 5-6k lower. Then push the base price of the base models down so they aren't close to the AWD Turbo model.

Another option I thought about on the drive home from work today was to really go outside of Mitsus box and make the eclipse RWD and turbo or just RWD with a NA V6. Trim some weight off it and then aim it squarely at the 350z. That could revive not only the eclipse name but Mitsu in the states. The Z did wonders for Nissan because of the buzz it created. If I were a Mitsu big wig I would seriously think about a RWD version. Then you are now offering two sporty performance orientated cars to the public. The Evo which will compete for those subaru lovers and the eclipse which will go after the Z. If you have two cars like that out there it's going to generate a lot of hype and get people talking. At hat point it would just come down to freshining up models like the Lancer to maybe compete with the Mazda 6 base models which sell like hotcakes.

That's actually a really good idea!👍
It'll probably never happen though.

 

[a6m5]

I really think if they are going to do AWD and Turbo they are going to have to aim much lower then the Evo. Maybe 5-6k lower. Then push the base price of the base models down so they aren't close to the AWD Turbo model.

I forgot about this in the post this morning, but a lot of buyers like the Eclipse, simply for the look of the coupe also. Evo being a sedan, another reason that they might be able to coexist.

Another option I thought about on the drive home from work today was to really go outside of Mitsus box and make the eclipse RWD and turbo or just RWD with a NA V6.

Good point. I thought about this too. Reason I wouldn't go that route is because Eclipse has always been an affordable, FWD coupe. Plus, with RWD, it will increase the prodution cost of the Eclipse, where if I were MMC, I'd want to keep the car cheap. I do think RWD coupe is a good idea though. I'd rather do 240SX sized one with a 4 banger, but 350Z competitor like a 3000GT/GTO wouldn't be a bad idea. 👍

 

[McLaren]

I think I agree with the YSSMAN's first post in its' entirety. Days of badass 3000GTs, Eclipse and Montero(maybe even Diamante) are gone. If I had a say in Mitsubishi Motors(MMC North America) restructuring, I would make these changes:

Raider(fullsize truck) - Gone. MMC aren't able to compete in the pickup market, and they aren't fooling anyone. Borrowing designs for trucks like Raider is just making MMC look bad.

Montero - Import on limited basis. Near-special order.

Endeavor - No change.

Outlander - No change.

Lancer Evolution - No change.

Eclipse - Make it smaller and lighter. Lose the convertible and V-6. Bring back Turbo(maybe AWD) for the top of the line models.

Galant - Aim for Ford Fusion, Mazda 6, not Camry or Accord. Something little bit smaller, but cheaper in the Midsize segment.

Lancer - No change.

There are few other changes that must be made in order for MMC to survive in the U.S.:

1) Bring down the MSRP. At this point, they have to bring in the customers to the showroom first. Consumers know that MMC cars are not Toyotas & Hondas, so stop pricing them comparably. They will shop MMC, only if the pricing make sense.

2) Add couple of mini-fuel saver cars to the line up. I'd do GEO Metro/Subaru Justy-type small car, plus Scion type(not tC) wagon.

3) Retrain the Dealers. I don't know about rest of the U.S., but in my neighborhood, MMC Dealers are losers. They have "L" attitude, and all the good MMC dealers wisely dumped MMC from their chains few years ago. Reward good customer service. If your dealers don't change, it will be tough moving your cars even if your products improve.

Gotta agree with most of this.

I've seen some Raiders around here, but they're rarer than 3000GTs!
Though I've seen a lot of Eclipses, most the base model, but no convertibles yet.
As for dealers, I agree. The one here isn't bad, but it could use some major improvement.

If the company does leave, my only worries is will it affect anything I may want to do with my Mitsubishi.

 

[Onikaze]

You want to sell cars to young guys with large amounts of disposable income?

Make a light RWD car that they can "trick out".

The tuner crowd doesn't have any love for the new Eclipse, they didn't have any love for the 3G either, it's such a chick car now.

Why spend the money on an Eclipse when you can get a much nicer looking Civic coupe, have a lighter car, and the aftermarket loves it.

They need to do something with a light coupe, naturally I, and many others would like to see it RWD, but even if it was FWD, as long as it was little, cheap, and light, it would create the buzz they need.

The FWD Eclipses were fairly light (especially compared to the new ones) and they give off a sporty vibe, the new ones...well...they give off the same sort of vibe that Beetle Convertibles do...*****-Wagons.

I'm not a big Mitsu fan, it was nice having them keep the market interesting back in the 90's though, but these days, I really won't mourn their loss much.

 

[Wolfe]

You want to sell cars to young guys with large amounts of disposable income?

Make a light RWD car that they can "trick out".

The tuner crowd doesn't have any love for the new Eclipse, they didn't have any love for the 3G either, it's such a chick car now.

Why spend the money on an Eclipse when you can get a much nicer looking Civic coupe, have a lighter car, and the aftermarket loves it.

They need to do something with a light coupe, naturally I, and many others would like to see it RWD, but even if it was FWD, as long as it was little, cheap, and light, it would create the buzz they need.

*coughStarionrevivalcough*

 

[YSSMAN]

...Someone mentioned the Mitsubishi i car...

From what I understand, Mitsubishi was (maybe still is) thining about bringing the i to the United States, as some have been spotted in California driving around by the Mitsubishi design center. Aparantly they are looking to see how well cars like the Fit, Yaris, and Versa do before they make a decision, but IMO, I think they are waiting too long.

BTW: I'm all for a Starion revival as well...

EDIT: Forgot to post this:

Despite recent rumors that it is considering leaving the United States, Mitsubishi insists it’s here to stay. Hiroshi Harunari, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc., said the company has been selling vehicles in the United States for the last 25 years, and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future. “The next 25 years begins today with the full support of the Mitsubishi group companies,” he said in an interview with Automotive News. Recently, Mitsubishi product strategist Shinichi Kurihara said the automaker’s new vehicles have to “be successful for us to stay in business in the U.S.”