Why was the Lancer Evo never sold in U.S. ?
Sep 9, 2002 | 01:33 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Why was the Lancer Evo never sold in U.S. ?
Hey, I've never really thought about it until a friend of mine brought it up. How come the Lancer Evos never made it to U.S.? I'm kinda curious about this. If anyone knows about the history of it, please share it with me (and the world).
Sep 9, 2002 | 02:22 PM
#2
Evolved Member
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 576
Likes: 0
From: St. Paul, MN
There was no real market for it....
No name recognition, nothin...
Americans were in the dark for a LOOOOOONNNNNGGGG time as far as Japanese cars go, and we still get screwed out of the Jap-Spec cars most of the time.
Hooby
No name recognition, nothin...
Americans were in the dark for a LOOOOOONNNNNGGGG time as far as Japanese cars go, and we still get screwed out of the Jap-Spec cars most of the time.
Hooby
Sep 9, 2002 | 04:18 PM
#3
Evolving Member
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 232
Likes: 0
From: Tokyo
For the same reason that 95% of american cars are not sold in Japan. And:
The Lancer Evolution series was created for homologation purposes, as MMC's entry into the WRC. Just as the STI, it was created for only that single purpose at first. Marketing and sales were never a part of the equation. As such, neither the Evo nor the STI were designed for global sales, with all the implied regulations of various regions that they would need to pass.
The Evolution was never sold for a profit, either. Remember, it was created for homologation rules, not as a regular company vehicle.
And back to the very first line - you may have to realize something here, but car manufacturers do not sell every vehicle they make globally. This applies to every manufacturer, especially american manufacturers. In fact, the American manufacturers have separate companies in Europe that make european-specific vehicles that are far different from the American ones. Nissan does this with several models in the states also, such as the Altima. Subaru is contemplating this. Honda makes America-specific models also.
Here is some facts on why y'all don't get every Japanese supercar.
First off - needless to say, it is the turbocharged cars that you want. Well, most of the Japanese turbo's are dirty, dirty, dirty motors when it comes to emissions. In fact, the GT-R and the Silvia turbo are gone now, because they couldn't pass Japan's upcoming emission laws.
Gas mileage is pretty low too.
And then there is one other factor, which is really not talked about. It's the average driving pattern's of each particular country. The Japanese average about 3000 miles a year of driving. American's average far more. Far far more. And without naming names, a lot of the "supercars" of Japan don't last that long under an American duty cycle. In other words, a supercar that last 3 years of it's warranty life in Japan lasts about 6 months of it's warranty life under the gentle administrations of American drivers - drivers that are unlike every other country in their love of stop-light racing...
In brief - there are loooots of reasons they don't sell all their cars. I haven't even gone into Kei cars with their mighty 660cc motors...
Cheers
Paul Hansen
The Lancer Evolution series was created for homologation purposes, as MMC's entry into the WRC. Just as the STI, it was created for only that single purpose at first. Marketing and sales were never a part of the equation. As such, neither the Evo nor the STI were designed for global sales, with all the implied regulations of various regions that they would need to pass.
The Evolution was never sold for a profit, either. Remember, it was created for homologation rules, not as a regular company vehicle.
And back to the very first line - you may have to realize something here, but car manufacturers do not sell every vehicle they make globally. This applies to every manufacturer, especially american manufacturers. In fact, the American manufacturers have separate companies in Europe that make european-specific vehicles that are far different from the American ones. Nissan does this with several models in the states also, such as the Altima. Subaru is contemplating this. Honda makes America-specific models also.
Here is some facts on why y'all don't get every Japanese supercar.
First off - needless to say, it is the turbocharged cars that you want. Well, most of the Japanese turbo's are dirty, dirty, dirty motors when it comes to emissions. In fact, the GT-R and the Silvia turbo are gone now, because they couldn't pass Japan's upcoming emission laws.
Gas mileage is pretty low too.
And then there is one other factor, which is really not talked about. It's the average driving pattern's of each particular country. The Japanese average about 3000 miles a year of driving. American's average far more. Far far more. And without naming names, a lot of the "supercars" of Japan don't last that long under an American duty cycle. In other words, a supercar that last 3 years of it's warranty life in Japan lasts about 6 months of it's warranty life under the gentle administrations of American drivers - drivers that are unlike every other country in their love of stop-light racing...
In brief - there are loooots of reasons they don't sell all their cars. I haven't even gone into Kei cars with their mighty 660cc motors...
Cheers
Paul Hansen
Sep 9, 2002 | 06:41 PM
#4
Evolving Member
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 299
Likes: 0
From: Australia - Queensland
Only the original 1995 GSR and 100 Makinen Edition Lancers came to Australia form Ralliart. But there is EVO 4's, EVO 5's, EVO 6's and soon to be EVO 7's out on the road.
Last edited by Alan; Sep 14, 2002 at 06:27 PM.
Sep 9, 2002 | 08:41 PM
#5
Newbie
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
It was considered difficult to design the car to USA regulations and be competitive financially.
One of the main points was the front mount intercooler.
Because it sits right behind the bumper it couldn`t pass the collision tests that the USA enforces.
EVO is a very popular car in Japan and sales of 5000-7000 cars were easily sold out. Personally I think it was a mistake because it would have boosted sales of the car to another 10,000 or so per year.
Also the cost of an EVO3-6 in the USA would have been over $50,000 and it was felt that put it into a luxury car bracket. Possibly causing some problems with brand imaging.
Robert VanLane
One of the main points was the front mount intercooler.
Because it sits right behind the bumper it couldn`t pass the collision tests that the USA enforces.
EVO is a very popular car in Japan and sales of 5000-7000 cars were easily sold out. Personally I think it was a mistake because it would have boosted sales of the car to another 10,000 or so per year.
Also the cost of an EVO3-6 in the USA would have been over $50,000 and it was felt that put it into a luxury car bracket. Possibly causing some problems with brand imaging.
Robert VanLane
