QOTD: Are You Missing the Eclipse?
Is today's question of the day a shameless attempt to tie the Mitsubishi Eclipse to the actual eclipse? Sure, why not. But that doesn't mean it's not true -- myself and at least one other TTAC'er miss the hell out of that car.
What's weird is I don't have many memories of driving an Eclipse, though I almost certainly drove a few used ones during my dealer days. No matter -- the idea of an affordable front-drive sport coupe is one that always appeals to me, and while there are still some cars on the market that fit the bill, there aren't that many.
On the other hand, Mitsubishi mishandled the car over its life -- remember how weird the last two generations were? Certainly, as a child of the '80s and '90s the one that comes to mind when I hear the words "Mitsubishi Eclipse" is the gen-2 car.
That one had clean lines and a look that's aged well. On the other hand, the last fourth-gen Eclipse rolled off the line less than 15 years ago, and yet it looks weirder and more dated to me than the car from two generations previous.
So, do you miss the Eclipse (and Eagle Talon)? Or was Mitsubishi better off getting out of the sports-car game as it killed off the Eclipse, and later, the Lancer?
Sound off below.
[Image: Mitsubishi]
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Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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The eclipse yesterday was pretty cool. We had 3 minutes, 39 seconds of totality here (Dallas), and I got to view it through a friend's $8,000 auto-tracking solar telescope. He also shot a time-lapse with a star camera, which I hope to get to see soon. It was neat how the temperature dropped as the eclipse neared totality, and the streetlights came on. During totality, I was able to see Venus and Neptune to the right of the sun.
Former owner of 2 DSMs ('91 VR4 and '96 GSX) and Mitsubishi fanboy. I absolutely miss those cars and the entire segment of affordable, fun cars with a manual transmission. With the retirement of the 2G Eclipse Mitsubishi lost its brand in America.
Give us 287HP engine and AWD from Evolution in current Eclipse Cross and I'll forgive Mitsubishi. It would be ridiculous. And exciting.
I miss the Starion.
I miss Mitsubishi Pickup.
For anyone missing the Eclipse, it does still technically exist.