Mitsubishi To Show New Product, Styling Direction At Geneva Auto Show
Published: January 19th, 2012
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Many of us consider Mitsubishi to be on its deathbed (as an automaker – they still make TVs and cell phones, right?), but the brand is apparently showing an all-new car at the Geneva Auto Show, destined to be the new face of the brand. But nobody knows what the hell it’s going to be.
More by Derek Kreindler
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DK and the rest of Gen Why are looking to find their automotive Holy Grail. Who knows, maybe Mitsu will succeed where others have failed. Stranger things have happened in auto history, and this is somewhat of a transitional time in the industry. In the interest of full disclosure; I currently own an 09 Lancer GTS 5-speed that I'm pleased with. TTAC always!
I've always kind of liked Mitubishis, I was really enamored with the DSM cars when they first came out. In 1991, I worked at a Toyota dealership at the time and s sister dealership was a Mitsu store, they sent over an Eclipse Turbo AWD. It flat smoked the AWD Celicas that we had on the lot. But, Mitsu has a less than sterling reputation for the durability of its hardware: i.e. smoking engines... About 18 months ago, a co worker and his wife were expecting a new baby, he felt he needed to get out of his Fusion and get something bigger. His other kid was only a couple of years older, two car seats in the back of a Fusion would be pretty tight. He really liked the Honda Pilot, but he was looking to save a few bux and buy an alternative. He asked me my opinion and I had a few suggestions, one of which was the Outlander. He seemed to like it but the wifey killed that choice, immediately upon seeing the car. After several months of taking her to see cars, and her rejecting them, they bought the first car he talked about, a Honda Pilot. FWIW, we only have one Mitsu dealer in our area (Grand Rapids, MI) and their selection is limited. With the reputation issue and the availability issue, I can see why folks will cross them off of their lists. You've really got to committed to the car to deal with all of that.
If this is Mitsu's new styling direction... that fascia looks distressingly like a low-rent copy of the current VW corporate car front...
I signed up for a Mitsu Galant from Hertz last month, and got a 2012 Malibu with 11k and I was disappointed. All the Galants were gone, with several Malibus rejected for Galants. It's obvious what that says about Malibu, but it says to me that Mitsubishi needs a major US advertising campaign offering test drives. If you own a Japanese car, Mitsu is a suitable rental. The Malibu is not.