Mitsubishi: It's A Mundane, Mundane, Mundane World (Car)
Mitsubishi didn’t exactly light the world on fire when it released its Global Small concept (left) at this year’s Geneva Auto Show… but now that concept has become reality (right), it’s even more clear that Mitsu’s mojo has been lost in the unglamorous world of basic transportation for emerging markets. It’s not clear if the Thai-built Colt/Mirage will make it to the brand’s US lineup, but if it does i certainly won’t help turn around Mitsubishi’s dowdy image here. The only way to make this car any more mundane would be to debadge it completely. Slightly less prosaic but still quite underwhelming: the Grand Cherokee-meets-Range Rover Evoque update to the Outlander, shown in the plug-in hybrid concept PX-MIEV II. Though none of Mitsu’s new designs are actively offensive, their dullness speaks to some serious creative malaise… especially in contrast to the vibrantly creative Japanese designs that are headed to the Tokyo Auto Show. Perhaps we’ve solved the mystery of Mitsubishi’s disappearing US sales staff?
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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I don't see the problem. It looks like a generic supermini. There's only so much that can be done within the dimension and cost constraints. My one experience with Mitsubishis is the 1986 Colt Vista 4WD wagon we had in the early 90s. My wife commuted with it to International Falls -- 168 mile round trip -- one winter. She'd leave at 5 AM, and it got her through on unplowed roads, but the car was a lemon. It was unnecessarily complex and had more relays than an Olympics race. I sold it cheap and bought a Plymouth Sundance, which was trouble free until road salt and frost heaved roads built on muskeg did it in at 230,000 miles.
I saw on Yahoo news the other day that the Mitsubishi Galant was one of the most stolen cars in America. Other than test driving a Montero many years ago, I've never really taken much notice of MMC. The Mitsubishi dealer here in Farmington, NM is also the Mazda and Suzuki dealer.