2015 Mirage "days to turn" sales indicator is not good

[MetroMPG]

"Days to turn" can be a useful measurement to tell whether a particular car is selling well or not based on how many days it sits on the dealer's lot before it sells.

The site 247wallst.com posted lists of the 15 slowest and 15 fastest selling cars, and the Mirage made their list of "15 Cars Americans Don’t Want to Buy"

On average, Mirage "days to turn:" 137.0

Compare that to vehicles that are selling well: the Scion iA (arguably a Mirage G4 competitor) which made the "top 15" list with average "days to turn" of just 24.5.

What's weird is you would expect that the year-over-year sales of cars on the slowest-selling list to be declining -- a sign of low buyer demand. And that's true of all of them except for the Mirage. They even noted this in their report, saying:

In the case of every other model with high days to turn, annual sales have declined significantly. In the case of the Mitsubishi Mirage, however, sales actually increased by nearly 30% from 2014 to 2015. According to Fleming, the likely explanation for this discrepancy is that Mitsubishi opted to skip the 2016 model year, meaning cars are likely to sit on lots longer as the year progresses.

Also I bet the figures don't take into account the Mirage's best ever U.S. sales month: March, because of the massive $3500 discount.

[man114]

The $3500 rebate puts most of them in the $10k range. It makes it an economical alternative to a used car but with a full warranty. Of course that will spark demand. This will lead in turn to more owner reports that the car is nowhere near as bad as the critics make it out to be, which probably will help sales as well. Of course not having a lot of dealerships also doesn't help their cause.

Having driven it I know primarily why critics don't like it. It is economy driven meaning you're not going to be racing in it. It also has very light steering and a soft suspension meaning it has little road feel. Critics tend to hate this. I don't know why. It's more a matter of something you get used to and may even prefer. Owning multiple Grand Marquis which they disliked too and also has some sense of detachment, it is a much less fatiguing driving experience particularly for long commutes. If I want a car with more road feeling and sporty type of handling characteristics and ride then that's why I'll buy.

I think the G4 will be a much easier sell though.

[Eggman]

Price it right - it'll sell.

[man114]

Price it right - it'll sell.

The Mirage starts at $12,995, and from what I saw they plan to offer the G4 for $1000 more. I think it's going to be a hit with rental car agencies if no one else. Like I said in another post my friend works at Avis and they've gotten a few hatchbacks in but as far as he knows they plan on ordering G4s for their economy class since most people prefer sedans. He said they used to get tons of Galants in and are primarily concerned about costs and it being reliable for the 40k Miles they typically keep the car for.

Mitsubishi's largest problem isn't the cars themselves anyway, it's just that they seem like they lack any sort of brand identity. They never advertise anything except the Outlander. Sure they have a limited lineup, but advertising them certainly couldn't hurt.

[inuvik]

The Mirage starts at $12,995, and from what I saw they plan to offer the G4 for $1000 more. I think it's going to be a hit with rental car agencies if no one else. Like I said in another post my friend works at Avis and they've gotten a few hatchbacks in but as far as he knows they plan on ordering G4s for their economy class since most people prefer sedans. He said they used to get tons of Galants in and are primarily concerned about costs and it being reliable for the 40k Miles they typically keep the car for.

Mitsubishi's largest problem isn't the cars themselves anyway, it's just that they seem like they lack any sort of brand identity. They never advertise anything except the Outlander. Sure they have a limited lineup, but advertising them certainly couldn't hurt.

Well said.

[Cobrajet]

Back in 2014, the Mirage was one of the cars that spent the LEAST amount of time on the lot before being sold. Mitsubishi made 1 1/2 years worth of 2015 Mirages, and it is going to take some time to sell all of them. That doesn't mean that they aren't selling, since the 'time to turn' figure is an average. I think that is why we are seeing the '17s trickle onto the lots instead of flood onto the lots.

I'll bet it's those darned purple ones that are blowing the curve!

[anog]

The Mirage starts at $12,995, and from what I saw they plan to offer the G4 for $1000 more. I think it's going to be a hit with rental car agencies if no one else. Like I said in another post my friend works at Avis and they've gotten a few hatchbacks in but as far as he knows they plan on ordering G4s for their economy class since most people prefer sedans. He said they used to get tons of Galants in and are primarily concerned about costs and it being reliable for the 40k Miles they typically keep the car for.

Mitsubishi's largest problem isn't the cars themselves anyway, it's just that they seem like they lack any sort of brand identity. They never advertise anything except the Outlander. Sure they have a limited lineup, but advertising them certainly couldn't hurt.

Agreed. The only reason I even ended up getting a Mirage is because of an ad I saw on TV. I had been looking on craiglist for a used car, and I wasn't even aware of the Mirage until I saw that commercial.