Mitsubishi's Stay Of Evo Execution Good 'Till 2015
First the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution was slated to die immediately. Then, we got a reprieve. But now it appears that the Evo’s last mile is in sight.
According to Jalopnik, Mitsubishi has confirmed that the Evo will stick around, but only for one more model year. Unfortunately, the Evo doesn’t seem to fit within Mitsubishi’s overarching vision as a maker of environmentally friendly vehicles, as evidenced by their statement below
Mitsubishi Motors does not have any plans to design a successor with the current concept such as a high-performance four-wheel-drive gasoline-powered sedan. Mitsubishi Motors will explore the possibilities of high-performance models that incorporate electric vehicle technology. Moving forward, the technology honed in the Lancer evolution model will continue to be advanced and proactively incorporated into future models.
With the i-MiEV and the Outlander PHEV, Mitsubishi is making a concerted effort to pivot towards a lineup where green technology, rather than performance, is the focus of their brand. The Evo runs counter to this in nearly every way possible. The Lancer is also an ancient vehicle by auto industry standards, with the Subaru Impreza already moving on to the next generation even though both cars were all-new in 2007. If you want one, better hurry…the Evo XI is likely going to look more like today’s crop of hybrid hypercars than any rally homologation special.
More by Derek Kreindler
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Mitsubishi's statement of their marketing and product direction reminds me of Isuzu's market approach in the late 90's--they decided to focus entirely on small trucks and SUV's. We all know where that ended up. This appears to be a last attempt to revitalize their struggling brand by focusing on a perceived hot market. With the exception of the EVO line, they are just a blah product with blah design and blah quality being sold on recycled blah car dealership lots. Snot going to work, Mitsubishi, but best of luck.
I always thought back in the day that Mitsubishi could have filled out a pretty decent lineup for a relaunched Saturn. Go back to the original Saturn idea of no haggle, no pressure sales. Heck they probably could have picked up Spring Hill for a song.
On paper the Saturn idea makes sense, but Mitsubishi's dealer network has always been desperately stuck in hard-sell Seventies mode, even when they've done well. There was no one at either company with the know-how to blend those two organizations at the retail level.
That's too bad for a maker with major engineering potential. Mitsubishi can't get the US market right. They've killed off just about everything good. Now they're killing a gem. Mitsubishi has a great lineup of SUVs (Pajero) in Japan and other surrounding countries. It's obvious their interest has just about died here in the US. Killing the EVO is a shame. I've never driven a car that gripped so well. It has muscle and it has brains. Shame on Mitsubishi...