New Mitsubishi Eclipse returning in 2018. It's not what you think: "Eclipse Cross"

[inuvik]

Regardless, I hope Mitsubishi does well with the Eclipse Cross.

I do too, but with only 5513 sold this year so far it appears that yearly total sales will be well below 10000 for the entire year. Way too few to justify long term survival of this model (in the US at least).

[Cobrajet]

But here's the thing: How many of you here were going to buy the car and now WON'T because of the name? I know it was never on my shopping list (and I don't plan on getting one anyway). So, is the naming really going to have an affect on anything? Are buyers of a crossover really not going to buy it because it invokes a compact coupe from the 1990s?

You have to get people into the showroom to LOOK at the Cross before people decide whether or not they are going to buy it, and the Eclipse name, IMHO, does not get them into the showroom. Why? Because when they hear that name they think of something else. Again, keep in mind that the last Eclipse coupe was made in 2012, not the 1990s. Are people going to come in, test drive the vehicle, and say, "No, I am not interested because that name used to be on a coupe."? Of course not.

They aren't going to show up to look at it in the first place. Even the automotive press half-jokingly said shortly before the Cross' launch, "Mitsubishi is bringing back the Eclipse, and it is not what you think!" Some of us joked about the name here, and it is even the header of this very thread! This was a dumb move.

To anyone who follows Mitsubishi and their lineup...like those on this forum or other 'car guys'...the name is not a problem. But to the average and mostly uneducated CUV shopper I believe the name is a detriment.

Hell, "Lancer Cross" would have been a better name.

[Angrybeaver]

Mitsubishi is still at the point where it's thought of as a value brand. People buy the Outlander Sport because it gets them into an AWD crossover for around 20 grand. When you're talking about $25k plus, Honda, Toyota, etc. start looking like the better option.

[Cobrajet]

Mitsubishi is still at the point where it's thought of as a value brand. People buy the Outlander Sport because it gets them into an AWD crossover for around 20 grand. When you're talking about $25k plus, Honda, Toyota, etc. start looking like the better option.

True, but the more expensive Outlander is still outselling the Eclipse Cross by a margin of 2-1. That has to be VERY concerning to Mitsubishi.

[dspace9]

[QUOTE=Subcompact Culture;77093]But here's the deal: We're all well-versed in Mitsubishi stuff and are the fringe lunatic side of thing (we all belong to a Mirage forum for heaven's sake)

My dad had a 63 Plymouth Valiant when I was young in the early 80s, and that thing was a Dart down south. 2 door hard top black, nice understated look to the car.

Basically seems to me the car companies use a familiar name on purpose for whatever sells, but 90s era and other Mirages and Lancers have always been small cars, so an Eclipse CUV is an extreme example of what car companies always do, as far as I can tell.

I suppose one way of looking at it is that Eclipse the name beats car "names" like Cadillac XYZ or whatever, Lincoln ZYX etc. aren't as good as Zephyr

[Cobrajet]

"Cordia Cross". "Tredia Cross". "Pajero Cross". "Delica Cross". Man, Eclipse Cross is just the worst...

[Mark]

I do too, but with only 5513 sold this year so far it appears that yearly total sales will be well below 10000 for the entire year. Way too few to justify long term survival of this model (in the US at least).

I still find it very odd that Mitsubishi tried to wedge an SUV model between their Outlander Sport & Outlander. There is nothing special that would draw me to the Eclipse Cross. If I were in the market for an SUV, I wouldn't even give one a test drive. Personally, I don't like the look of it at all. Of the three, I think the Outlander Sport has a much better look. Everything I see in my community confirms that. We are 65 miles from the nearest Mitsubishi dealership. I see several Outlander Sports & a few Outlanders in my area. I have yet to see an Eclipse Cross in my community. I realize Outlander Sports have been around for years, but I am seeing the new Sports in my area. The nearest dealership just opened 2-3 years ago. Thus, I don’t see older Sports. People are buying the newer Outlander Sports, & they look sharp.

The other thing I have noticed is the pricing. Dealers have dropped the price so much on the Eclipse Cross that it isn't much different in price than the Outlander Sport. Which makes the low Eclipse Cross sales even more alarming. I am not a big fan of the styling of many of the present SUV models, and the Eclipse Cross definitely falls into that category. There is nothing about the Eclipse Cross that stands out, & that is its problem. Even if the Eclipse Cross were popular, why produce a product that takes away from the few products you are already producing?

Mitsubishi would have done much better creating something outside the realm of their present vehicles. A subcompact AWD would have been way more popular. Create a popular vehicle like the KIA Soul, but make it AWD. That would draw attention. The KIA Soul has remained popular, because it's unique. Better yet, make something like the Toyota FT-4X, which is just a concept vehicle at this point. No one is making a vehicle like this. Make one! Make something unique!

The reason the Mirage is holding its own is because it is unique and different. Most entry-level cars have evolved into very nice cars that aren't really entry-level any more. The modern Accents, Rio, Civics, Corollas aren't what I would even consider entry-level vehicles. Their present versions would challenge the next models up of years ago. The same can be said of CRV, RAV4, Sportage, & others. Those vehicles are nothing like the old versions first introduced. The new RAV4 is as large as an old Highlander. I recently rode in my friends new Highlander, & it has a huge amount of space.

The Mirage is holding its own, because it is an entry-level car. The Mirage's listing price is off, but people are buying them at a more appropriate price. The same can be said of a lot of models these days. It's not just the Mirage. The Spark is really the only direct competition of the Mirage. Any vehicle (Spark) that has any connections to Daewoo isn't high on my list of cars.

If Mitsubishi wanted to make a stir in the car market, they should have created an AWD crossover that would have challenged the FWD Soul. Why? Because no one else is doing that yet!!!! Better yet, create a vehicle like the Toyota FT-4X. I would drive a distance to check out a vehicle like that. The Eclipse Cross wouldn't even make me drive past the Ford, Chevy, & Jeep dealerships in my small town. Poor Eclipse Cross sales don't surprise me at all. I am not a brand loyalty guy. The Eclipse wouldn't even get me to Mitsubishi dealership. I would test drive an Outlander Sport, however.

I don't think poor Eclipse Cross sales have anything to do with the name or price. It's just another SUV that is very similar to an already crowded and competitive market. The only thing going for it is its huge price dropping, which shouldn't be happening with a totally new model. Given the limited choices Mitsubishi offers the U.S. market, trying to wedge the Eclipse Cross in their line up seemed really silly to me. While my Mirage was having its recall service done this summer, I sat in the Outlander Sport & Outlander in the showroom. I didn't bother sitting in the Eclipse Cross, because I seriously don't like the looks of it!

I don't mean to offend anyone who loves his or her Eclipse Cross. I'm sure it's a very nice vehicle. The problem is that several other companies are making nice vehicles just like it. It's a competitive field. The subcompact SUV market is still less competitive. It's for those who think they need an SUV, but really don't. Build a Mirage Cross, while keeping an existing updated Mirage for way less $$$. Both would sell in today's market. I could care less about the name of vehicle, but a name should reflect what it is. When Chevy dropped the Lumina name & brought back the historic Impala name, no one wondered what an Impala would be (except RWD vs FWD maybe).

Mitsubishi using the same name for totally different type vehicles (past & present) is lame, but it doesn't make me like or dislike a vehicle. Mitsubishi isn’t going to ever make a truck that will take on the F150, Silverado, or RAM. So why bother? Make a truck no one else is making (cheap one that’s dependable). Mitsubishi has potential, but I wouldn’t waste my time and resources making what’s already out there. Create something different for a change!

[Cobrajet]

I still find it very odd that Mitsubishi tried to wedge an SUV model between their Outlander Sport & Outlander. There is nothing special that would draw me to the Eclipse Cross. If I were in the market for an SUV, I wouldn't even give one a test drive. Personally, I don't like the look of it at all. Of the three, I think the Outlander Sport has a much better look. Everything I see in my community confirms that. We are 65 miles from the nearest Mitsubishi dealership. I see several Outlander Sports & a few Outlanders in my area. I have yet to see an Eclipse Cross in my community. I realize Outlander Sports have been around for years, but I am seeing the new Sports in my area. The nearest dealership just opened 2-3 years ago. Thus, I don’t see older Sports. People are buying the newer Outlander Sports, & they look sharp.

The other thing I have noticed is the pricing. Dealers have dropped the price so much on the Eclipse Cross that it isn't much different in price than the Outlander Sport. Which makes the low Eclipse Cross sales even more alarming. I am not a big fan of the styling of many of the present SUV models, and the Eclipse Cross definitely falls into that category. There is nothing about the Eclipse Cross that stands out, & that is its problem. Even if the Eclipse Cross were popular, why produce a product that takes away from the few products you are already producing?

Mitsubishi would have done much better creating something outside the realm of their present vehicles....

I mostly agree with you. Earlier in this thread, I lampooned the Eclipse Cross as a "4/5ths-sized Outlander or a 5/4ths-sized Outlander Sport". I really don't understand why Mitsubishi spent precious R&D dollars trying to jam a third utility vehicle between the two it already had instead of trying to diversify it's lineup a little bit. Like you, I think a very small 'cute ute' might have been the way to go, or perhaps a Montero-esque, range-topping, high profit, luxury SUV a la the LandCruiser.

I really don't mind the styling of the Cross. It is modern, and Mitsubishi models in recent years have been widely criticized for being frumpy and dated-looking. It looks nice enough to me, and were I in the market for such a vehicle I'd give it a look. Though I really don't like the trend of having tiny, 90 cubic inch engines powering relatively heavy AWD vehicles with huge wheels. It just seems like a recipe for poor longevity to me.

"Chicken Tax" or no, a small pickup would KILL here. Like, Ford Ranger small. Not same-size-as-a-1996-F150 "small", like the Toyota Tacoma. Mitsubishi is going to have a hard time turning things around if all they want to sell is their own carbon-copies of what everyone else sells..."something-UVs". As you mentioned, the Mirage sells because it is relatively unique in the market.

Mitsubishi might do well to try to fill the niche markets the big manufacturers are abandoning.

[dspace9]

[QUOTE=MetroMPG;56798]Attachment 8429 This is the next new addition to Mitsubishi's line up: the 2018 "Eclipse Cross."


Got my Mirage's oil done today, the dealer has lots of brand new 2019 Eclipse Cross'. Sat in the blue one in the show room, this is a grey or silver one, not sure very foggy humid day today. Sharp angled CUV, my friend says they don't look like SUVs something else entirely dunno my opinion on the shape. I like it overall

[Mark]

[QUOTE=dspace9;77126]

Attachment 8429 This is the next new addition to Mitsubishi's line up: the 2018 "Eclipse Cross."


Got my Mirage's oil done today, the dealer has lots of brand new 2019 Eclipse Cross'. Sat in the blue one in the show room, this is a grey or silver one, not sure very foggy humid day today. Sharp angled CUV, my friend says they don't look like SUVs something else entirely dunno my opinion on the shape. I like it overall

When I look at the back of the Eclipse Cross, it reminds me of the rear end of a Pontiac Aztek redone. If you don't remember a Pontiac Aztek, look up the ugliest vehicles of all time. The Aztek is often in the top 10. People have different taste I guess.

I like the white vehicle parked to left of the Eclipse much better, and I don't even know what it is.