Mitsubishi doesn't care what you think

[Mark]

QFT x 1MM!

Many "legacy owners" are so whiny. Bring the EVO back! Bring the 3000GT back! Bring the Montero back! Bring the Eclipse back!

This is not 1992 anymore. Shoot, it's not 2002 anymore! People don't buy sports cars in droves. People don't buy AWD rally cars in droves. People don't buy body-on-frame SUVs in droves. This is 2020 people!

Crossovers sell—plain and simple. Sedans are dying. Small cars are dying. Amazingly, the Mirage is an exception, and I'm happy for that.

Listen, I own three 1990s JDM Mitsubishi 4WDs and a '17 Mirage. Growing up, we had Colts (Mirages), two gen-1 Eclipses, an Expo LRV, and a Montero Sport—all cars from the brand's "golden era." They were good cars then and still good cars. The model T was a good car for the time too, and that ain't comin' back either.

Racing: I'm glad they mentioned that. OEMs are not into racing like they were in the past. You don't need to go racing to prove or show off your vehicle's tech. Again, the times change.

Like they said—Mitsubishi is trying a different strategy and it's working like Clessy said. Mitsubishi doesn't need a sports car anymore. Sports cars are great for companies that already have a solid brand and base to build a halo car around. How many Corvettes did Chevrolet sell in 2019? 17,988. What was Chevy's total U.S. sales for 2019? 952,248. That means Chevy's legendary Corvette made up a scant 1.9% of total sales. And sure, halo car sales will differ by company. But point being is that if you're a mainstream automaker (e.g. not Ferrari or another company that only makes performance cars), your spots cars—your high-performance vehicles—are not going to be your cash cow. Most brands have to first have a solid foundation before they can introduce some low-volume fun car to make "high school kids" want them like Mr. Donut said in the video.

I have faith in Mitsubishi Motors North America. I don't think we're going to see tarted-up hot hatchbacks, sports coupes, or rally-ready sedans. But I think we will continue to see the brand build a foundation for improved sales.

Thank you for reading my novella.

I agree with a lot of what you are saying, but I am not so confident that Mitsubishi is well established here. If there's a good Mitsubishi dealership within hours of me, I am no aware of it. I wouldn't even look at a Nissan product. Having said that, I really like my 5-speed Mirage for what it is & for what it isn't.

The days of sports car are long gone. A large company like Ford (that sells almost a million F150 trucks) can afford to keep a car like the Mustang in their line up.

I do think, however, Mitsubishi should sell one larger vehicle with a body on frame design. It may be 2020, but lots of people buy SUVs & trucks to pull their toys (campers, larger boats, trailers loaded with UTVs/ATVs, etc...). Sticking the Eclipse Cross between the Outlander Sport & Outlander seems silly to me. Sales for a new model like that haven't been impressive either.

If Mitsubishi wants to become a serious player in the U.S. market, they need a larger vehicle that will haul & tow. That could be a larger SUV like the Toyota 4Runner (Mitsubishi Montero type) or their own Triton pickup. Do whatever it takes (build those truck here) to make that happen. The Triton is a decent truck. It would draw some attention here.

Nobody trashes vehicles better than John Cagodan from Australia, & he likes the Triton! That truck belongs here, too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQcMqQnrRDI

Even though Ford sold 15,000,000 Model T cars, they never made a comeback! You're right about that, too!

[BillAce]

The reason I keep my Evo is because there will never be another vehicle I can buy like it. No traction contro, no ABS, closed deck inefficient but strong motor, razor sharp steering in a loud obnoxious ugly 4 dr economic that puts a smile on your face every time you sit in that recaro and turn the key.
Its the muscle car of that generation with half the cylinders, better traction, steering and braking than any muscle car ever had. Its a relic and any new Evo that comes out of Mitsubishi will be based on lines of code not compression

[Mark]

The reason I keep my Evo is because there will never be another vehicle I can buy like it. No traction contro, no ABS, closed deck inefficient but strong motor, razor sharp steering in a loud obnoxious ugly 4 dr economic that puts a smile on your face every time you sit in that recaro and turn the key.
Its the muscle car of that generation with half the cylinders, better traction, steering and braking than any muscle car ever had. Its a relic and any new Evo that comes out of Mitsubishi will be based on lines of code not compression

I thought great strides were made with vehicles in the 1990's & the 2000's. I really like some of the vehicles from the 1995-2006 time period (very proven powertrains). I would gladly pick one of those over anything on the market today. Thus, I totally understand where you are coming from. Rack up miles on the Mirage & extend the life of your Evo.

There are things that I really like about my 2011 Forester 2.5X manual, but the new Foresters have a lower towing capacity than the older models. I attribute that to a transmission change to CVT. Thus, I don't see myself owning another one after this one. I own a Forester because Honda/Toyota dropped the manual option in their CRV/RAV4 years earlier.

On a positive note, I don't see myself having a car payment for another 10 years or so. If I really liked something on the current market, that may not be the case. I've also learned to be more content with what I already have. Buying a new vehicle & having a car payment doesn't offer much of a thrill any more.

[Clessy]

If Mitsubishi wants to become a serious player in the U.S. market, they need a larger vehicle that will haul & tow.

The full sized outlander with the v6 most certainly can tow. No one buys that version but its very capable especially with sawc.

I have to say I dont think the Outlander, Eclipse X and Outlander Sport are needed though.

If Mitsubishi was smart they'd get on that electric band wagon already. They at one point where a pioneer in EV. They've had tons of racing ev's. They're missing out on the American market by not busting their ass to get a Electric truck out.

[Dirk Diggler]

Delica D:5 AWD would corner the market for offroading mini-mini vans.

[Subcompact Culture]

Delica D:5 AWD would corner the market for offroading mini-mini vans.

I'm sure both buyers would love them.

[Dirk Diggler]

I'm sure both buyers would love them.

There's a strong US presence of enthusiasts that import old Delicas from Japan. I think the Delica could work or the Xpander. I know the Pajero would work here IMHO, as there was a lot of Monteros sold. Highly respected SUV.

[Subcompact Culture]

The full sized outlander with the v6 most certainly can tow. No one buys that version but its very capable especially with sawc.

Both you and Mark bring up good points about body-on-frame vehicles, trucks, etc. However, a picukp is going to have to be built in the U.S. to avoid Chicken Tax, so that's an issue. I doubt Nissan is going to tool-up to build a Mitsubishi pickup.

Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Volkswagen/Audi, Honda, BMW/MINI, Mercedes, and Mitsubishi all lack a BOF pickup.

I think it's the idea that Mitsubishi has a BOF in other markets but doesn't bring it here that makes people pine for them. I just read an article, however, talking about how the Tacoma is the F-150 of the midsized market. It keeps doing better and better. Yes, Ford has the Range, Chevy and GMC have the Colorado and Canyon, and Nissan still has the aged Frontier (soon to be updated, however). I do think having a Triton in the States could offer up another alternative and help brand Mitsubishi as a rugged player. However, with the company's focus on electrification and "Small But Beautiful" initiative, I don't see it coming—regardless of the Chicken Tax or not.

[Subcompact Culture]

There's a strong US presence of enthusiasts that import old Delicas from Japan. I think the Delica could work or the Xpander. I know the Pajero would work here IMHO, as there was a lot of Monteros sold. Highly respected SUV.

Yeah, I'm one of them. Here's our Space Gear. I also owned an '89 Star Wagon.



I don't believe for a moment, however, people in the U.S. would buy the current D:5. It's way too odd-looking for the U.S.



I don't believe the ancient Pajero would work here at all. It didn't work in the early 2000s, and I don't think it'd work now. It's essentially the same platform.



Xpander is also too weird for the U.S. My two cents.

[2of9]

Short summary that everyone knows

Cry babies for their sports cars couldnt afford to buy them and never did. Their SVU and econo strategy is selling and doing well so they could give to ****s about the whinny "bring back x" crowd as those guys couldnt even afford to buy one if they did.

I knew this a long long time ago

110,000%

It's definitely wild to hear/read someone say "revive the Eclpse/3000GT/Evo" when the car they're driving isn't even a Mitsubishi. But Mitsubishi, I would like to think, does listen to the Mitsu Enthusiasts but they're put WAAY back in the line of what's important and what's making money. When I try to explain to someone why Mitsubishi killed off the Evo, they immediately disregard actual facts lol

They're not thinking about what the video explained. Mitsu, like any other big company, needs to make money to stay afloat (stay in the trend). They made cars that sold really good and threw away the cars that didn't make good money.


As for the current market, it's obvious Mitsu is not targeting the people who are buying sports cars. They're targeting small families and "niche" markets; Outlander, Outlander Sport, PHEV, Mirage. True, I do wish the Outlander Sport had more tech in it but it's still a REALLY decent SUV. My wife loves hers. And that comes back to marketing. I feel like most people that test drive a car, they know what they want. I don't think Mitsubishi's marketing is the greatest right now but at least they're still there. Personally, I would love a next gen Evo but I really don't think there's a market BIG enough for that to make good money on it.