The new Evo and Lancer look really good. The diminutive i car is neat, and I think they’d be crazy NOT to bring them to the states, if only as a ’statement’ to say ‘huh, you want to really be ‘SMART’? Get a small car with FOUR seats!’

A whole lot more practical than the SMART cars are going to be. (Plus the new SMART car uses guess what ? The Mitsubishi i drivetrain!)

What I REALLY want to see is Mitsubishi’s upcoming electric car, IF it will work in northern climates. No more gas stations… ah, I can dream, can’t I? (95% of my driving is back & forth to work/ errands – for the rest, I’d keep my Prius).

I had a second generation one for five blissfull years – the 3L SWB V6. The 2.4l inline petrol was a grossly underpowered POS, but the V6 rocked.

The Paj was comfortable and easy to drive onroad, light clutch and steering, easy to park in shopping malls, and you could rally it around like an idiot on dry tar (but give it welly on a corner on wet tar and it would swap ends faster than drug mule turning state’s witness).

Offroad it was phenomenal – which is why probably half of offroad rally cars (as in Paris Dakar, not WRC) are second gen Pajeros. You could almost take the 3.5L stocker, gut-and-rollcage it, put in fire protection be ready to race.

The Super Select 4WD was brilliant – go from 2wd to 4wd at up to 60mp , with low range and electronically lockable rear diff. And the front seats had independant suspension. Eat that, you sad Landy luddites.

It was stunningly reliable, and not too heavy on gas. Admittedly after ten years mine was drinking oil (common prob…not dripping, not smoking, just steadily sipping), and a top-end rebuild would have cost the earth (24 valves…). And the SWB had piss-all luggage space behind the back seats…

The Pajero Evolution is a monster — the Dakar weapon that’s triumphed for well over decade. MPR 12 is 4L, six-speed sequential box, “only” 270hp and 412Nm. I was passed by Peterhansel in one. I was flat out on my bike on soft, rutted sand trails in dunes at about 160kph, he went past like I was standing sill.

The third gen saw the start of the rot. They went from ladder frame to unibody, stuck in lots of folderols and build quality plummeted. Problems like exhaust baffles coming loose and rattling around, plastic fairings on the edges ripping off on steep approaches or departures offroad. And the bulges on the wheel arches gave it the profile of a bloated wrench.

Now there’s the fourth gen launched in Paris, and it’s gone all first gen retro. It looks like the Hyundai Galloper (a 1st gen knockoff built under licence).

“Well, I’m here to say, it’s not good and the boring masses flock to it because they do what they are told, while the rest of us can do better. And the Aura is quite a bit better in the ways that count. Whether it will sell, I haven’t any idea. Can the minds of sheep be changed?”

Sure they can, it’s been proven! Remember when people mindlessly and dutifully reported to the Big 3 domestic carmakers? Were they not sheep then?
The Aura may be an outstanding car. But many no longer wanna bet on a “maybe”. Rightly or wrongly they think a Toyota(for example) is a sure thing. Kinda how US cars USED to be viewed…

I think Seth is right when he said Camry Accord buyers already know what they are looking for, and often go back to what has served them well in the past. And that some cars will not enter into their short list of possibilities.

While I think the fusion is nice looking, and I found the 500 comfortable and much nicer fit and finish than the previous generation of ford sedan. I like the honda layout, the fact that the model is well defined, and an owner quickly finds fimiliar comfort behind the wheel of a newer model.

When I consider myself as a shopper of cars (something I don't do very often) I can think back to a few of the cars my parents owned. My dad's 85 T-bird was pretty awkward to get use to, the first of the cars owned when gadget knobs were moved off knee level dash area to the steering column. Our 79 Murcury LTD had its horn as a strange push in on the end of the blinker thing. After a while I got use to it, and missed it when we got a 87 LTD.

My 89 Accord which I am very comfortable with, I am looking forward to having the same "fit" when I get a new one, relaxed in knowing the blinker stalk will have the same functions on it, and the intermitant wipers will work exactly like they do in my present car. On the occasion when I have to drive my dads '00 Accord I know I can find and operate the wipers, speed control, windows, etc. with the cabin light off if I happen to come upon the task at night.

Same goes for finding comfort behind the wheel. I was never comfortable in the brick my dad owned in 79 (Murcury Granada), both it and his 85 Monte Carlo seemed to have the seat indent on one side of the steering wheel, and the other car had it on the other. Both I found to be very uncomfortable. I guess in my next newer car I will enjoy the fact that my newer accord will basically feel and be the same, except for a slight hint of left over new car smell.

But what “counts” differs from person to person. I am in the market to replace my 2002 Camry. The Gallant is definitely not on the list, but the Aura caught my eye – nice exterior, modern multi-valve V-6 in the XR. Then I sat in one – looked right: no above-door grab-handle (which my wife frequently uses when I take turns a bit briskly). Rested elbows – hard plastic on the door panel armrest, hard plastic on the console cover. Little things do count – there is no way I am going to tolerate comfort-challenged interior design like this for the next 5-6 years; but some people may enjoy the feel of hard plastic against their upper appendages…

Dr. X: granted that’s pretty extreme, but the person who jams on the brakes to avoid hitting a car that is either stopping (with nose dive) or parked (normal ride height) is gonna sustain more damage. The rear-ender has more parts to come in contact with that other person’s bumper.

speaking of the devils at C&D, in the last 4 banger auto test, I vaguely remember the Camry beating the Sebring because it was so godamned boring that nobody could remember anything about it and with everybody loathing the Sebring

HEATHROI: Yeah, but the Camry was still second to last. I’m sure the driving dynamics are similar, but the Camry is a MUCH nicer place to visit. It deserved its ranking in that test.

Ok you lost me at buicks and nicer interiors. Dash on LaCrosse/Allure is not nice IMHO.

Last year approx 450k camries were sold of which 40k went to fleet while 390k accords moved with about 5k going to fleet sales. I believe that an average camcord buyer is different. They do not cross-shop with other brands. Atleast most of them. Its always “Should I buy an accord or camry”? but they already know which way to go. Head just needs to lawyer for the heart. Stubborn heart already made its mind. Anyways, I digress..

Bottomline, mitsu galant is not in the mix of Camcord shoppers list. Neither is fusion/g6/malibu/impala/lacrosse/sebring/altima/

pity ’cause mitsu had the right formula once upon a time. Instead of building on it, they lost it.

The Aura in that test was the base level trim V6/4speed auto combo, much like your regular Pontiac G6.

The ‘06 Eclipse could’ve been a star, but the thing weighs almost 2 TONS!

In what shouldn’t be a surprise, the Aura was beaten by the Optima, Altima & the Accord, largely because GMs Cheap n Nasty money sponge dept got at it. Again the Accord wins by the dumb lion joke.

I had the unfortunate experience of getting one of these clunkers as a rental about two or three years ago.

I thought it was pretty good for a fleet buggy. Got me from point a to point b, no real problems. Until I got in a fender bender.

To make a very long story short, I ended up rear-ending a young lady who’d stopped short in a work zone. (heh. rear-ending young ladies. sweet). I was doing more than 5 miles an hour but certainly not more than 15 mph when we collided – we were part of a slow-moving caravan of cars going uphill on a single lane road at just over idle speeds.

Her car, a newish Mazda Protege 5, ended up having a seriously scuffed-up bumper and a broken taillight. What happened to the Galant?

Windshield shatters. Airbag deploys. Hood crumples. Engine drops. Bumper disintegrates. Headlight & turn indicator shards scattered in a semicircle around the smoking remains of the front end. Puddles of antifreeze and other liquids forming by the tires. I literally fall out of passenger seat, choking on airbag dust.

Because this is the midwest, *everyone* within 500 feet runs to my assistance – detail cop, flag people, construction workers, other drivers. They take one look at my car, one look at her car, and say “how the hell fast could you possibly be going to cause that much damage to your car? And did you hit something *besides* her car?”

Est 10 mph fender bender = $5200 worth of damage to Mitsu Galant (’cuz they tried to get me to pay it instead of calling my insurance company…jerks).

Will. Never. Drive. One. Again. Total POS car.

/just my 2¢.

The ridiculously low payment was helped by an amazing rebate combined with an attractive incentive lease rate.

The rebates weren’t just in place just because these cars weren’t household names, but also because Mitsubishi was getting a lot of bad publicity over some serious sexual harassment allegations from workers at the Normal plant.

I enjoyed the Galant well enough (it was my first ever new car), but it ate brakes. I needed new pads all around and new front rotors after just under 19,000 miles. While I was selling there I saw countless customers come in with low mileage cars, often as low as 12-15K miles, needing new brakes.

It wasn’t just on the Galants either, but also on the Monteros. Montero owners would come in after 10-12K miles needing to have their front brake rotors replaced. The brakes worked well enough, but the compounds chosen just didn’t seem compatible with whatever the rotors were made out of. Warping was inevitable, and the pads got chewed up at a prodigious rate.

__________

Aside:

I had a chance to drive a 3000GT VR-4 Spyder (Hard top convertible version), with the top down, for about 20 miles, delivering it for showing at a tent sale. 10 years later that still ranks as one of the great drives of my life.

Was it overpriced and overweight? Likely.

Did it have a frail roof mechanism? Certainly.

Smile inducing? Absolutely

__________

Further aside:
The 95-96 Diamante sedans, for the US market, were made in Japan. The wagons for the US market were made in Australia.

The last model year of that body style was never made available directly to retail customers. The LS (high trim) model was never brought in, and all the ES’s imported were dumped directly on to the rental car market.

Car and Driver sez…
The 1985 Camry is good…
The 1990 Camry is good because C&D said the last one was good…
The 1994 Camry is good because C&D said the last one was good…
The 1997 Camry is good because C&D said the last one was good…
And so on and so on.

Well, I’m here to say, it’s not good and the boring masses flock to it because they do what they are told, while the rest of us can do better. And the Aura is quite a bit better in the ways that count. Whether it will sell, I haven’t any idea. Can the minds of sheep be changed?

Yes the Accord does. by quite a lot. In spite of the way it looks.

“The bias of automotive publications…”

The bias I can understand. That people live and die by these “evaluations” make me just shake my head and laugh.
The beleaguered GM cheerleaders on another message board are jumping up and down telling anybody that will listen(same choir they belong to) that the GM_____ just won “Car of the Year”!!!
While the rest of the world yawns and buys Camrys and Accords.

(see the review)

I feel the Camry is better than the Galant, but the Accord trumps them all. Well, at least in the realm of lightly-optioned family cars with an MSRP in the low 20s.

The bias of automotive publications…

So what if the Galant isn’t as great as a 3 Series, or even a Ford Fusion? It’s basic cheap transportation. And face it… not everyone wants a Camry.

I rented a previous gen galant once and I was pleased with it.
1. suspension soaked up all the bumps and you are made aware that it did absorb them
2. steering was pure springer spaniel. Light, effortless yet stable at highway speeds.
3. fourbanger was quite rev happy and 90 mph was effortless and entertaining as well.

Current gen galant I have no clue about… but previous gen was good. However, on previous gen, they screwed up the front end by making it more aerodynamic and it didnt gel well with rear bmw esque styling.

qfrog: yup, but for some reason Mitsu decided to neuter the Galant/Eclipse for the American market. Combined with the not-impressive interior and resale value, it was a bad move for their NA lineup.

Yours, and I believe most, if not all US-bound Diamantes were made in Australia !

powerglide: I think only the wagons were imported from Australia. The Diamonte wagon was another mistake.

Odd fact:

Yours, and I believe most, if not all US-bound Diamantes were made in Australia !

It’s the Magna there.