Mitsubishi Mirage monthly sales, US & Canada, 2013-2023 (projected 7000/yr for U.S.)

[Dirk Diggler]

Albany Mitsubishi and their sister store in Florida is loaded with Mirages. They got the new PHEV too, arguably the nicest car Mitsubishi has ever made. $44k is a steal for the SE PHEV IMO.

[AtomicPunk]

Most people are foolish with their money, willing to pay $15k for a used car, and another 5 for repairs from previous owners neglect.
And, most people are migrating to an EV or some form of hybrid or plug in. The days of any ICE car are numbered. When my Mirage needs replacing in 10+ years, I'm hoping hydrogen will be the norm.

Sales numbers show most people aren't migrating to EV or hybrids. Also, the move to EV isn't market driven, it's government-driven (ESG). Things will get worse before they get better. Even with a tiny EV market share, the Northeast USA just begged consumers to reduce electricity use during last months cold snap so as to not crash the grid. The utilities are clearly not ready for mass EV adoption.

[Wallythacker]

Darin usually gives us this update, but I was curious how things played out for the Mirage. My take as an observer (not an active shopper) was the Mirage was over priced, deals were lacking, and dealership stock was quite limited.

Given the current pricing of a Mirage, I wouldn't consider a new one any more. I would rather buy something else or a used one. I may not be the only one that feels that way. You have to wonder how long Mitsubishi will stay committed to the Mirage?

The Mirage is a huge seller in the far east. It's not going away there. Here? Maybe. Not there. But....if Mits drops it here then their offerings suck. a couple SUV/Crossovers. They'll close shop in 2 years.

Most people are foolish with their money, willing to pay $15k for a used car, and another 5 for repairs from previous owners neglect.
And, most people are migrating to an EV or some form of hybrid or plug in. The days of any ICE car are numbered. When my Mirage needs replacing in 10+ years, I'm hoping hydrogen will be the norm.

Hey, you can't fault people when the AVERAGE car sold for nearly $50k last year. $15k used + $5K repairs is small potatoes since you can't buy anything except a Mirage for close to that. Cali weirdos bought more EV than ICE last year. Watch them, they will green themselves into oblivion. Not to mention Buck or Red aint' having none of that sissy EV stuff when they go to buy their new 4x4 crew cab 14l turbo diesel 63 spd tranny dual rear wheel monstrosities.

While I agree with you, I believe (but do not KNOW) that there is more to these, worse than lackluster sales numbers, than to consider the cause of them to be, overpricing.

However, it is my understanding (and again, I don't KNOW this), that production & capacity issues are the leading cause of low sales numbers. Ya can't sale what you don't have.

They are overpriced, nearly Camry prices for an econobox. True, Mirages now are prettier with more crap but they are still a Mirage under it all. A $12,500 car with moderate equipment, at MOST. My Honda dealing is lacking stock for TWO years so other dealers as we have seen are exploiting things with over MSRP prices. When production is stabilized that crap will come to a screeching halt.

Don't be so sure yet. Mitsubishi North America hasn't announced a discontinuation. Despite this year
Everything about my 2021, is better than my 2014, besides the cool 1st gen front fascia IMO. Better brakes, better seat support, better head unit, better stock speakers, better Bluetooth, all the new safety tech etc. If Mitsubishi called it a flat $15k to $16k USD total price, I think it'd be a fair price. I know we over paid by a couple of grand though lol.

The market has spoken and it doesn't want small cars (again), see demise of Spark, Micra, Versa, Fiat, Festiva, Focus, Yaris, mazda 2 et al. Consumers have decided if they have to shell out $25K + for a car it better be new, a prestigious name, loaded, and is equal to or better than what's parked next door. Sad, but true. I hate to say it but the Mirage could become the Yugo of this decade, driven only by broke deadbeats behind on child support, or seen that way. In a sea of ONE the Mirage will look like a sore thumb, not a practical alternative.

[BigMW]

Sales numbers show most people aren't migrating to EV or hybrids. Also, the move to EV isn't market driven, it's government-driven (ESG). Things will get worse before they get better. Even with a tiny EV market share, the Northeast USA just begged consumers to reduce electricity use during last months cold snap so as to not crash the grid. The utilities are clearly not ready for mass EV adoption.

Same in Canada. Utilities will crash hard if this Ev push continues, and the technology is not ready for the cold weather and long driving distances

[88coltturbo]

won't the gas ban cause all the gas stations to close by then?

Gas stations won't disappear for at least another 20-30 years.

[Wallythacker]

See, here's the thing. America is the world's superpower only because of the petro dollar. Every unit of oil has to be purchased with a dollar. Of course that means the dollar is the de facto primary currency of the world and everyone who wants oil has to source dollars to get it. That keeps the value of the dollar very high. Now, imagine if there is little demand for oil. This means little demand for the dollar. The dollar will be devalued massively. America is not going to EVER let that happen.

[Mark]

Most people are foolish with their money, willing to pay $15k for a used car, and another 5 for repairs from previous owners neglect.
And, most people are migrating to an EV or some form of hybrid or plug in. The days of any ICE car are numbered. When my Mirage needs replacing in 10+ years, I'm hoping hydrogen will be the norm.

"Average Age of Vehicles in the US increases to 12.2 years, according to S&P Global Mobility. The average age of light vehicles in the US reached an all-time high in 2022 as the vehicle fleet climbed to 283M passenger cars and light trucks." May 23, 2022

12.2 years is the average vehicle age on the road, which tells us some people are driving even older vehicles. I think the used vehicle market is alive, doing well, & it's not going anywhere soon.

If someone is driving a 10 year old Mirage some day, it hasn't even reached the average vehicle age on the road yet.

As good as some of my brand new vehicle purchases (some examples - $13,800 1988 Isuzu Trooper (demo model with 1,000 miles or so), $5,300 for 1990 Ford Festiva, $9,299 for 2017 Mirage) have been in the past, my used vehicle purchases have been better.

Unless things change drastically, I don't see myself buying another new vehicle ever.

[Wallythacker]

"Average Age of Vehicles in the US increases to 12.2 years, according to S&P Global Mobility. The average age of light vehicles in the US reached an all-time high in 2022 as the vehicle fleet climbed to 283M passenger cars and light trucks." May 23, 2022

12.2 years is the average vehicle age on the road, which tells us some people are driving even older vehicles. I think the used vehicle market is alive, doing well, & it's not going anywhere soon.

If someone is driving a 10 year old Mirage some day, it hasn't even reached the average vehicle age on the road yet.

As good as some of my brand new vehicle purchases (some examples - $13,800 1988 Isuzu Trooper (demo model with 1,000 miles or so), $5,300 for 1990 Ford Festiva, $9,299 for 2017 Mirage) have been in the past, my used vehicle purchases have been better.

Unless things change drastically, I don't see myself buying another new vehicle ever.

My best buys, my 1988 Tempo Sport V6 loaded, $9999, my wife's 1988 Tempo GLX I4, $9999, my two Mirages, $10.xK, $11,xK, which I think are all respectable as most of them served me long and faithfully and when retired/sold/written off I can say they likely cost me $1000/year or so in capital costs. I can't wrap my head around people who happily drop $500/mo on leases they can't write off.

Averages of course don't tell much of the story, we need to know means to help figure out what's happening to the fleet overall.

[7milesout]

I'm jealous of your 1990 Ford Festiva purchase. Back then I was a poor broke college kid. And I do remember thinking those cars were total crap. I was wrong. They were only partially crap. But like them now.

I still drive my 23 year old Dodge Ram, and it still drives darn good, at 195k miles.

[Mark]

I'm jealous of your 1990 Ford Festiva purchase. Back then I was a poor broke college kid. And I do remember thinking those cars were total crap. I was wrong. They were only partially crap. But like them now.

I still drive my 23 year old Dodge Ram, and it still drives darn good, at 195k miles.

It's guys like you (driving 23 year old Ram trucks) that make the average 12.2 years!

The Festiva was one tough little car. I would take that car places I would never take my Mirage today! I didn't own a UTV or ATV back then. That car went into the woods & hauled deer out or whatever. I found out the roof didn't support a whitetail buck's weight very well, however. I caved my roof in some while hauling a deer across Wisconsin once. I'm sure that was a beautiful sight with blood dripping down the rear hatch door. I just shoved the caved-in-roof back out when I got home. No harm done!

If a 1990-93 Festiva (fuel injected those years) were available brand new in 2017, I would have never bought a Mirage. A Mirage has nothing on a Festiva except more features & 4 doors!

The ONLY thing I didn't like about my 1990 Ford Festiva - Automatic seat belts (air bags were not mandatory yet) sucked. If you stopped at DQ & bought an ice cream cone, the seat belt would come at you when you started the car. If you didn't react quickly, your cone was taken out! Now that was depressing!

I can't tell you how many times I opened my door to see better backing up, & the automatic seat belts would go the other direction & hit you firmly in the back of the head while leaning out. I can't write my expression at those moments! It was a major blow, & I was stupid enough to have it happen more than once!