Quote Originally Posted by Eggman View Post
But is that a profitable marketing plan?

I see a similar ploy where a car company offers a cheap low price, and that model is a unicorn - unavailable on the lot and one can't be found in the country. That marketing doesn't help build the company name. It builds the wrong kind of reputation, and Mitsubishi is trying (needs?) to build it's reputation beyond cheap stripped-down cars. At least that's what I think.
Most manufacturers offer "unicorns" on their sites. Ever try to buy a Prius C1? Or a stripper 5-speed Versa S sedan?

Chrysler made the mistake of heavily advertising stripper K-cars back in 1981...and then not building any. People eager to spend $5,900 on a base model Reliant went to the dealerships only to find nothing but $7,700 versions with velour seats, power windows, air conditioning, and fake wire wheel covers. This really hurt K-car sales early on.

But Chrysler quickly adjusted. They started producing the base models, and people flocked to the dealerships. My point is simply that there was an under-served market of frugal used car buyers shopping below the price of the 2014 DE, and Mitsubishi might have done well to cater to that market with a de-contented version of the Mirage. Nissan did this with the Versa sedan, undercutting the price of the Mirage. Even if the Versa S stripper was a unicorn it brought people into the dealership.

We still have people here b!tching about the fact that power windows and AC are requirements!