ErroR

iTrader: (1)

Bring the RalliArt brand to the US. No I don't mean the Lancer but the performance parts for all vehicles across the board.

ZooRacer

iTrader: (6)

i also do work for mitsu...go for it

hotrod2448

"On the contrary, the new Endeavor and the Galant offer plenty to get excited about. Whom they excite is what's a stake. You list a bunch of sports cars because that's what YOU want, but no car company has yet to make it big in America by offering a stable full of high tech sports cars. One or two is max. Toyota doesn't even have one at all and they are on the way to the top. You gotta have a good mommy SUV and a slick sedan for those who want a car. And a sporty car like the Eclipse that leads its class in sales, and what do you know - it does. That's your core, then you follow up with a great compact and a truck. Stuff like Evo's and AWD turbo Eclipses are fringe stuff."
Quote GPTourer


I agree with you that they don't need a stable of sports cars. The point that I was trying to get across was that they need cars that excite people and will help their public image. Part of the reason Toyota is doing just fine with out a true sports car is that they have been regarded as one of the best built cars you can buy for a long time and they still are. The same goes for Honda. These are companies that are doing things that are exciting to different groups of people. Like getting better specific output out of their engines for performance minded people and developing hybrids for the enviromentally friendly people.I'm into sports cars thats why I bought the car that I did, if I wasn't I would not have bought a Mitsubishi because they don't out perform the other major car makers in any way that matters to me. I know that I'm not their target demographic but in about 5 years I will be and I might not be looking for a sports car, they need to build towards that future.

flybyevo

In late 1991 when I picked up a Diamante my wife and I were impressed with the feature set in the LS. We had an electronicly controlled suspension. Now after 184,000 miles the car works nicely but has been relegated to the third string. Being used mostly in the winter during bad weather and somewhat of a beater when we don't want to take another nicer car.

We ended up replacing all the ECS parts which were all expensive except the ECS computer which now has failed. It's like driving a race car. Real low with a rough ride.

My point is that the 1992 Diamante was loaded at a not so bad price. Made in Japan. I think not long after they were being built in Austraila.

Flybyevo...

GPTourer

Your statement was that every Mitsu was missing something that every other vehicle has. I said that wasn't true. I didn't turn around and say that Mitsus have everything that others don't. No manurfacturer has everything. There are pluses and minuses to all.

The Evolution and the Eclipse do a good job at exciting the public.

Not long ago Mitsu had a stable full of high tech cars. From one company you could get either a four door AWD turbo AWS sedan, a AWD turbo hatchback, or a big GT v6 twin turbo AWD sports car. They kept turbo cars in their lineup long after Toyota, Nissan and Mazda had left. The 3000 was from 91-99 and the turbo DSMS were from 90-99. The also returned quickly only four years later with the Evolution. So to say they aren't trying to excite the public is a bit asinine IMO. None of those former cars were enough to put Mitsubishi at the top, though - but they offered them anyway despite lagging sales "to excite people." It takes covering the basics well with your core lineup. Mitsu will have to do better with the Galant, Endeavor, regular Lancer and Eclipse - to make money, all that other stuff comes secondary.

hotrod2448

If you read my whole post you would see that I said what they were lacking may be different from one vehicle to the next, meaning other vehicles in it's class. I didn't say they weren't "trying" to excite the public I said they "need" to excite the public. The evo is exciting to "me" most of your average car buyers don't know what it is. I agree with you that they need to attract more than sports car buyers. So, they need to excite buyers from other demographics hence my reference to hybrids but not limited to them, it applies to all classes of vehicles. For what ever reason every magazine review you read that has a Mitsubishi in it, the mitsu. never wins the shoot out. Short of the Evo and maybe the turbo eclipse's when they came out. That is the stuff that needs to change. Just once why can't the build a car in their core line up that decisively wins a comparo between other cars in it's class. Building a limited production car like the Evo is great it gives them a "flagship" and something to get people talking but, it's not what pays the bills, they need to improve their mass sales cars and get the public interested "excited"in them.

oguratevo

iTrader: (7)

Ask him to include our EVO8's powertrain warranty to be the same as the rest of the mitsu product line, that would be cool!!

blueyzfr6

the 2004 EVO has the 10 year 100K warranty.

kataklyzm

ooh..ohh i know

how about mitsu actually HONOR their powertrain warranties, without giving people crap about it?

that would be sweet

you know there are a few people out there that have NOT bought an evo due to horror stories out there

kataklyzm

if you read the fine print, it says excluding the evolution

Stockfornow...

iTrader: (2)

I would wait a few months, I suspect he will not have his job much longer. Give the new person the ideas, because the current administration obviously has no clue on how to run a company.

I give you credit on caring for your company though, too bad more of your coworkers could care less.

Try to find Yugo's address and tell him to apply there, I think he would fit in well.

GPTourer

No they don't win in the magazines, but others like Edmunds picked the Endeavor best in the crossover class. I don't think they are given a fair shake in the automotive press. I think they do make very competitive products. Car and Driver called the Galant's V6 engine adequate, but no performer, but according to AMCI the GTS has better 0-60 and 40-70 times then the Camry V6 and Accord V6. It has better breaking and emergency lane change handling then those two also. Its larger then both and less expensive then both, but all they could talk about was it has some exposed screw heads in the cabin (which I've seen in just about every car I get into) and that its looks were subpar. Whatever. One nitpick and a subjective opinion.

No kidding.

hotrod2448

I thought Mitsu. needing to improve sales was pretty obvious that's why I didn't say anything about it until you did. You know like I was agreeing with you.

DGS

This suggestion probably should go to Mitsu Japan, as -- from the perspective of the "flagship" buyer -- MMNA is the problem.

With the RS, MR, RR, EIEIO, etc. and the potential for a Colt EVO, the EVO is getting to be a product line unto itself.

Mitsu's core product line in the US has been its "budget" (to put it kindly) vehicles. The odd exceptions (VR4, GSX) seemed to be just shelf displays for dealers, who (from my experience) preferred to try to redirect buyers to the "core" models. (A local Mitsu salesman couldn't be bothered to put down his newspaper to show me a VR4, but suggested that I go outside to look at the Eclipses "which had more room". -- So my EVO purchase was despite the Mitsu name, not because of it.)

The long time Mitsu dealers, happily selling disposable wheeled appliances to first-time buyers, seems to have zero interest in developing the kind of service departments that would be able to mix and match from the spares bin (MR ACD onto a plain EVO, etc.) ... or to be able to tell whether a warranty failure was caused by aftermarket mods.

The EVO is so far out of the rest of the MMNA product line that most NA dealers simply aren't equipped to handle it properly.

Generic SUVs and low-end FWD sedans tend to be sold to people who just don't care all that much about cars. EVOs are being bought by people who want a winter ride to supplement their, say, Enzo -- people who have a much higher standard when it comes to dealer service ... a standard that MMNA has not, in general, been able to meet.

There are exceptions, of course. The dealer that sold me my EVO was a new one -- a Chevy/Lexus/etc conglomerate that added the Mitsu dealership to its group after the EVO's US debut was already announced. (A stroll around the service department showed a VR4, several heavily modified Eclipses, and a Porche 356 in the bays.) This is a different kind of dealer than the typical Bic-mobile MMNA dealer that has garnered so many complaints on this forum.

In addition to service, there's also a different standard in quality and creature comforts. Mitsu is probably sick of hearing the complaints about the cheap EVO interior. For me, the comparo between the EVO and the ST-165 Celica it replaced is telling. The ST-165 (the first AllTrac sold in the US) had leather upholstery, a fully automatic climate control system, power lumbar support and side bolsters, etc. My Celica lasted 15 years and was still in demand when I sold it. I don't expect to get even half that out of the EVO. Granted, the AllTrac eventually priced itself out of the "Toyota" US line, and didn't ever get shifted to the Lexus marque. (In '89, the ST-165 was priced in 3-series territory.) But the standards for "Beemer" class performance cars is quite beyond the average "Mitsu" product.

Maybe a "RalliArt" dealer network would be a workable notion.

GPTourer

I guess to a performance crowd its pointless trying to explain this, but I'll try. Believe it or not, there are people who don't care about high performance, that see it as pointless to want a car whose appeal only comes into play when it is used to break the law - to exceed the limits of daily driving anyway. There are people who LOVE their generic Accords, Camrys and yes, even Galants and 3G Eclipses. There are many other aspects of a vehicle to adore other then skidpad, accleration and slalom numbers. I've met quite a few of them. So to hear that the Evo is the only lively or lovable product out of Mitsu lineup from a group of enthusiasts who drive Evos is just as laughable as when I hear a married couple point out the "goofy" wing and ugly wheels that let you see the brake rotors. The conversation is we're walking by usually goes like this: No auto? No cruise? And it goes how fast? Oh that's one of those "Fast and furious cars" only a kid would want it. How much? 30 grand, are you kidding me? Where are your Outlanders?

The Ralliart network is intriguing though, as opposed to a luxury division. It could be handled similarly to Ford's SVT dealers, but of course "better" The problem reamains though is that Mitsu can't afford it, neither can the dealers. Who's going to pay for it? The signage, the marketing, the specially equipped service departments. Nobody could foot the bill. The consumers certainly aren't going to pay for it, everybody wants to get the best deal, they want to be back of invoice, they want to get into holdback. And since Mitsus aren't hot right now, the dealers don't have the leverage to maintain high profit margins on the cars. You can't have racecar level mechanics sitting around waiting on the Evo guy to come in to have a front LSD put on his car, or coilovers swapped when he's got a family he needs to feed. That's part of the reason you hear posts like "the dealer overtorqed my lug nuts, installed my wheels backwards." Why would they have some sixteen year old kid with no experience working on somebody's car? Because they probably had to let their master mechanic go, couldn't afford to pay him. This cutthroat game of the American car market is showing attrition, and hopefully Mitsu can recover before it goes the way of Oldsmobile, Eagle, Plymouth, Isuzu, etc..