This is the most foolish thing I have seen written in a long time.

The de facto rule of capitalism is making a better product for the same price/less than a competing product. Period. I will agree with you that Mitsu has done that... there are very few (if any) cars in the same price range as the Evo X that can compete with its performance characteristics. But, as it has seemed for the past 2 decades, one of the places where Mitsu lacks is quality control. Problems with staples in your seats yet, anyone? Loyalty to a corporation, ESPECIALLY after they begin to product garbage products* is one of the very things that destroys capitalism. Why do you think so many people hate Wal-Mart? They got huge and now push Chinese-made garbage.

Admittedly, I'm not an expert on any of the [few, relatively minor] shortcomings on the Evo X, but I'm still of the mentality that brand loyalty is a stupid AND dangerous thing.

The minute someone produces a better car for less, you bet your *** I'm jumping ship. After all, it's the way.

* I am not at all trying to say mitsu produces garbage.

 

My biggest gripe about Mitsu is that they (or their dealers) seem to treat the consumers as though their committment to their products ends as soon as the owner drives off of the lot. They simply are not willing (or able) to stand firmly behind their products.

They design and engineer solid cars but their level of interest in supporting them after the inital sale wanes as quickly as a fart in the wind.

For contrast: Look at Nissan. They too have had poor financial times. They too have had product quality issues. But unlike Mitsu, they have re-examined their faults and made well though out adjustments. They support the perfomance car buyer/enthusiast with NISMO products and their dealers (parts and service) reap the benefits. (FYI- If the NISMO products were as readily available at the time I bought my Evo, I would have kept my '91 Sentra SE-R and built it up for motorsports use).

Just my $0.02. Nomex suit on for responses. Fire away.

 

Other than my two Evos, I've never owned another Mitsubishi. My dealer experience was very good and I'm happy with the service. The cars, themselves, were/are trouble-free, tight as a drum, with a performance envelope that works as a good match for my driving style. My SE was purchased as a "keeper" - a car that won't leave my ownership.

This said, I have no intention of buying another Mitsubishi, unless they offer a car that I want. Supporting a company for the sake of support just isn't my cup of tea. I don't recommend Mitsubishi cars, because I've yet to meet an individual whose needs could be met by one. If I had, then I would.

This would be the perfect time to bring out the Colt, as the gas-sensitive market is rapidly moving in the car's direction. Perhaps follow it with the Ralliart version. I see no reason for the Galant's presence in the US. Why not replace it with a model that actually has a chance of selling?

 

Theydo use plastic pedals but they are attached to the floor and don'thang like the evo's do. And even if you did put 60 punds of force if it was possible, that should not break . In all I think mitsu as a whole sucks with exception of the evo. Just look at the sales every month. Economy is doing bad ,yes we all know. But mitsu use to sell more cars back in the days than they do now.
You can preach on loyalty all day but numbers don't lie and people in genral look at mitsu as the garbage of the bunch. I love my evo but that is the only car I will own from them. Even hyndia is killing mitsu. So agian as a whole the mitsu brand to your average consumer is at the bottom and the sales show it. Even more in a sluggish economy

 

Hyundai is partly owned by mitsubishi. why is hyundai flourishing? because it is cheap, less gadgets, easily available to your low-income consumers. Mitsubishi is priced like it should be, expensive like the japanese big three. with the evo taking the american market by storm, most consumers are looking at mitsubishi products now. the evo 8 and 9 were the seed and the X is continuing that tradition. the eclipses and the outlanders are selling well and competes against most japanese companies.

 

I think that for the most part my experience with Mitsu has been pretty good. I think the only thing that I can see as a problem is the fact that the dealers in my area are all tied to Dodge or Hyundai dealers. With the exception of the dealer I purchased my X from (which is privately owned), there aren't any dedicated Mitsu dealers in the area.

The main problem with this is that the Mitsu cars are "tucked in the corner" and no one knows anything about them...and there is no level of urgency when it comes to warranty or service issues. The only car that gets any attention is the Evo...and that is only because they will be able to make a huge margin on selling one at $5K over MSRP.

My Evo VIII was my first Mitsu back in '04...so I'm not going to claim to be an expert. But from what I've seen, Mitsubishi puts together an excellent product which is why I've come back for a second helping with the X. I remember back in 98-99 I was oogling over the old Eclipse GSX and GST. At the time I couldn't afford to buy one...but I've always liked the styling and technology behind the cars.

IMHO...maybe Mitsu should just concentrate on selling the Evo in the US, they can always make their money selling delivery trucks.

 

What do you mean the evo is taking the american market by storm? They have yet to sale 400 of them a month. And the outlander and eclipes do not sell well to the other jap cars. Mitsu barely sales 10,000 cars a month. the highlander sold 6800 cars in june. Mitsu sold like what 8000 cars total? Mitsu brand has been failing for years and its their fault. Like I said before I see more old mitsu's than I do the new ones. I wonder why

 

You ask a bunch of people on the street -- not car guys/gals, but normal people -- what cars does Mitsubishi make and they will say this:

"Um, the eclipse? Do they still make that one? What about the 3000GT? I think they make an SUV of some sort as well."

or you'll get:

"Doesn't Mitsubishi make TVs?"

THAT is the problem with Mitsubishi. Their cars are utterly forgettable (or stupid ugly like the raider and galant).

If Mitsu really cared about their car sales they would rebrand the brand and get rid of all the utter crap they sell. Here's my armchair recommendations for a strong US Mitsu lineup:

- Lancer (including the Ralliart)
- Evo
- Something to compete with the Nissan Cube/Scion xB
- The electric car they are talking about bringing by 2010
- 2 door version of the Lancer (think Eclipse but not butt *** ugly like the current one) similar to the concept that was just released. Not sure on the nose styling though. No cabrio version though. Convertibles are a hard sell and are a warranty nightmare.
- a very small micro car like the Smart. Bring over a Kei car from Japan and call it good. If the crap that is the smart can outstrip all supply then something from DSM for around 13-14k will sell like hotcakes.

Notice that there are no SUVs or trucks in this lineup.

The average transaction for a Mitsubishi in the US (minus Evo sales since it is a halo car like the GT-R for all intensive purposes) needs to be around $20k.

ETA: Hmm... maybe the new concept is too ugly:


Not sure how this: got translated to the above.

Shudder.

 

Will you go outside an evo and buy a regular lancer right now ?? Or even an eclipse? Apart from the evo, the other mitsu cars don't get any acclaim at all. And that is mitsus fault.

 

I'm loyal to no company. If Toyota comes out with something better than the Evo for the same price I will buy that.

 

I hear that. If toyota did come out with somthing that was comparable to the evo, mitsu would be in trouble

 

Staples in my seats showing? Nope. Nice dodge on the plastic drive by wire pedal stems. How about I don't debate you on economics, and you stop trying to stand on the technical info of a car you admittedly know zip about. Mmkay?

I'm not loyal to one car brand. At all. But I think Mitsubishi has taken some hits in areas where they struggle (like salespeople) that lets poeple gloss over the fact that the Evo IS a better product with more performance for the buck than almost any other products out there. I'm not saying that if Mitsu made the Evo a FWD 5psi turboed $27000 car I would be loyal to them. I'm saying I like the bang for the buck is great. Perhaps "pride" would have been a better word. Happy?

 

Mitsu's advertisements suck and the dealerships are dirty hole-in-the-wall places and the salesman are grease *****. Their problem is their presentation. I love my EVO and know that it truly is a good car. But before I knew much about cars I would never have thought about buying a Mitsubishi. If they want more business then they need to change peoples attitudes and opinions of the brand.

The first step would be more and better advertising, the second would be to make the dealerships and personell more presentable and the last would be to do a better job with service and warranty work.

In other words, they simply need to put more effort into the sales process.

 

I think Nissan is an apt comparison. Since the turn of the millennium and the drastic increase of platform sharing in the line, some quality control has gone down. The QR engines were bad, the VQ engines were lackluster until recently, and there is a ton of orange peel in the paint in the new cars across the entire line.

One huge difference in backing an Evo and backing a 350Z, though, is the fact that the Evo is factory turbocharged and way easier to make power. While I believe Mitsu should fix the peeling Brembos and CF wings, I don't think they should honor a driveline warranty for a car with a manual boost controller or reflashed ECU. If you've modified the engine outside of the factory specs (which what the warranty clearly covers), why should they have to pay to fix it? Show up at Nissan with a nitrous bottle in your trunk and a broken engine, and they'll laugh you out of there.

The other big thing people get all butthurt about is the clutch. These are not going to hold up to a dump in an AWD car. Mitsubishi did make adjusments in the form of a stationary rev limiter, but many people flash those out immediately.

All three of my Evos have been pretty darned robust. The only issues I had were with the VIII, and they were self-inflicted.

 

+1!!!