Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Mitsubishi subcompact sedan coming to US in 2015?

Gallery:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/mitsu...photo-5828005/

Speaking to some of its dealers recently, Mitsubishi unveiled its plans for a new subcompact sedan offering in the US. Automotive News reports the automaker showed off a rendering of a new subcompact sedan and said the machine will debut sometime in 2015.

The little four-door could be based on the three-cylinder G4 Concept that bowed at the Shanghai Motor Show this year, effectively making it a four-door version of the current five-door Mirage. Mitsubishi dealers are currently starving for new products to entice buyers into showrooms. A redesigned Outlander will show up this summer, long before the teased subcompact sedan. The automaker is also planning to bring out a revised version of the five-door Mirage compact later this year.

Dealers are taking the announcement as a sign that Mitsubishi has finally begun to turn things around. Automotive News spoke with Scott Grove, who owns two Mitsubishi dealerships near Chicago. Grove said he thought the dealer meeting was more positive than it's been in years, and that he believes Mitsubishi is finally on the offensive.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/05/14/m...n-coming-2015/

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Yeah.. if Mitsubishi can survive in the US that long..

Harbinger

Mitsubishi in a word: Boring. If they really want to survive they need to get with the times(hybrid and sport) and build vehicles that people genuinely want to drive. Imptove the fit & finish of yhe outlander & offer a hybrid version to genuinely go against the rav4 & crv. Bring back the Galant VR4 & offer a hybrid version, both with improved interiors. This would give them a fighting chance against the accord, camry and ES. Make the mirage a true sentra & corolla fighter. Bring back the eclipse as a true frs/brz fighter. Eliminate all the fluff packed onto the EVO & make it a true beast of a driver's car again. Use hyundai's formula & copy copy copy until you increase market share enough to bring out some original designs.

grabber2

The need a new Evo with 350+ HP to back in the game.

Whitigir

It is not so hard for Mitsu to be back in the game, they just don't want to. Or some how. They have been having so many good cars before

-DSM (FWD/AWD) make it (RWD/AWD) to compete with FRS

-3000GT VR4. These cars are known to be able to make 600 AWHP with stock engine internals. Compete GTR, NSX, New Supra...

-Evolution. This series has always been known for performance vs STI, 3 series, S4....etc

They just have yet to have a good SUV to compete with RX350. That is that

Oh, and that Concept look like an ECO BOX ........look worse than Corolla

Blackraven

REVIVE the Galant Legnum VR-4 wagon

mmarshall

A Fighter? Since the Sentra SE-R model was dropped, neither it, or the Corolla, are really fighting cars themselves.

Where they really blew it with the Eclipse was when they dropped the turbo and AWD availability of the superbly-designed (though poorly-built and unreliable) 2Gen model for the much more pedestrian 3Gen model. That drove a lot of potential buyers into Evos and Ralliarts instead.

It's not a beast now? Certainly drives like one.

Harbinger

Fighter in the sense that they have the oppurtunity to really capture a large segment of the compact market if they make the Mirage reliable, interesting to drive and equip it eith a quality interior. I agree that the Sentra lost a lot of it's sport appeal when they dropped the SE-R, but just like the Corolla people still flock to it as a reliable DD until they can upgrade to an Altima or Camry. Admittedly Toyota has hedged their bet with the TC in thrir Scion lineup for those seeking a better image and better performance than the Corolla, but if Mitsu offers a mote upmarket interior than the current offerings, with reliability and can incorporate some of the joy of driving that they have been able to in the past, they will be a solid 2nd in that class. Brand loyalty will make the Corolla hard to unseat.

Mitsubishi's downfall with the Eclipse was in trying to move it upmarket and appeal to buyers more concerned with ride comfort than performance and tunability. Yes, they were fickle. Yes, you had to pack tools and spare parts if you were planning any sort of trip away from home, but they inspired love of the platform. It was infinitely tuneable, and a sheer pleasure to drive - admittedly when you could drive, and the reason I still own 2. It would not be difficult at all for Mitsu to capture this sense of loyalty again with a modified version of the same formula they used before(sans the association with Chrysler). As mentioned by Whitigir - RWD/AWD platforms, lose the heft that plagued later models, and go with the ever successful turbo 4/NA 4 combo. Strike while people are still pining for more power from the FRS/BRZ (if TATA can rush a spectacular Jag into production, a company with the resources of Mitsubishi most definitely can) and you have an instant foothold. The market for a sub 30k sports car is wide open right now, but if. GM actually follows through, Nissan comes to their senses, and ToyoSub release a peppier NA or FI update of the FRS, it's all over.

The Galant VR4 in Sedan and Wagon form could genuinely be the vehicle that revives Mitsu. They already know how to build great turbo 6 & turbo 4 engines. So all they would need to do is add a hybrid 6 to the equation. A line up consisting of an entry level AWD turbo 4(drivetrain & engine shared with the Eclipse), a sport-luxury AWD turbo 6, and a premium AWD hybrid 6 with interior materials and a fit & finish comparable or even exceeding the current ES and steal styling like Hyundai with a redesign every 3 years or so & they will have a solid contender vs not only the Camry & Accord, but will likely scavenge sales from the ES, CTS and Legacy. Once again they already know how to build 2 of the 4 engines, pushing the vaehicle into production with minimal QC issues shouldn't be that difficult (TATA), and Hyundai/Kia proved you can rebuild an entire company based on nouveau-luxury, style homogenization, and a great warranty. The guatanteed buyback didn't hurt either.

Yes, a reimagined 3KGT would make an excellent halo car for Mitsu, but at the current rate they are hemmorhaging money and customers it is a long way off - but we can dream, hope and speculate.

Ah the EVO. To me when I say the EVO needs to be a beast I don't mean to say it isn't a wonderful platform now, but it is too civilized. IMO it became this way after the IX MR, but admittedly what I would like to see is something along the lines of what a lot of the aftermarket has done with the platform. Even Mitsu tried their hand at it with the FQ series in Europe. They really should take a page out of the "in-house tuner" book (ie AMG C63 Black & prior SRT upgrade catalogue) make the EVO vehicle a barely street legal monster with a factory warranty. If someone wants soft, let them go buy a wrx. Instead of making the EVO for the masses by the talented engineers, they should take the stance of building it for enthusiasts by enthusiasts. That used to be the way sports cars were built.