That is why those cars are all selling very very well and their brands are experiencing good consumer confidence... unlike mitsu who is know in the spot that KIA and hyundai used to be in... they have decent power decent comfort good MPGs and are priced reasonably.. Ralli art and EVO rely more on "hype and feeling" than actual value..

Also performance parts are much cheaper for those cars and everywhere... the only real advantage of evo and ralli is AWD so if nissan or honda made some AWDs the what for mitsu?

I think mitsu will come back when the current upper management all die off..

 

True they are pricing it for the sweet spot of profits... not to make you happy... supply will be very limited to avoid loss but then they dont get the economies of scale which is where the real big profits are...

 

They say its the sst that caused that price proximity....

 

I think the RA is uniquely slotted into the high 20's price point. I think Mitsu has a crisis brewing with differentiating the market with the GSR and a fully loaded RA, but has hit a homerun because it's even offering the twin-clutch, awd, turbo technology in such a competitive market.

Subaru, Mazda, and even VW need to take the RA seriously. I like it. I give it 20 opinion points...

 

Well dealers will get bitten when they have to drop the ralli down to around $25K or less to get them to move... lol

 

No one should be embarrassed driving and EVO MR.. come on dude...

 

NO they dont cause mitsus brand is no worry to them at all... but a $24K ralli art would be a steal..

 

would you explain why the EVO is embarrassing to drive around town, if you are 25?
I'm 37 and i feel all kind of things, but not being embarrassed
You should try to drive around with the Evo, to see what is actually feels like it to drive around town

 

Subaru, Mazda, and VW as brands...? Not the top of the automotive world my friend. They scrape and claw for sales with the rest of them. The RA at its current price is a direct competitition with a GTI with same tranny, except the GTI doesn't have AWD, nor the coveted sub 6 second to 60 magazine times.

ANYONE stealing sales from your bread and butter IS a threat...

 

BUt it does have the well liked and respected VW brand name and that means alot to the average consumer....

 

Look at a Consumer Reports and get back to me...VW>=<Mitsu to the average consumer across the model line. A well contented car for the $ will sell. Being that Mitsu hasn't had a car in this slot since a Galant VR-4, there really is no recent history to guage how this car will be received. If Mitsu markets it as a cheap alternative to an MR, I'm sure many will buy it, regardless of the on the trunk...

 

I think the price is right on for the RA. However, who says you have to pay what they're asking.

 

Actually right now Subaru is making a killing compared to everyone else. This is due in large part to all the redesigns, Forester sales are through the roof and Impreza sales aren't bad either.
I agree that Mazda and Subaru need to take note but at the same time, they weren't the ones falling behind in the first place. Subaru has had the WRX since 03 and it's made a major name for itself; everyone knows what the car is and that it is fast. Mazda did very well with the MS3 and it shook up the market with its low price and stellar performance. Mitsubishi on the other hand gave us the previous Ralliart, a FWD, sub 200 HP sedan. It wasn't even in the same league. For us canucks, Mitsubishi literally made nothing that could compete. Only now do they actually offer an alternative. I highly suspect that they will have a hard time etching out a market because of this. The Evo isn't a massive seller (most people don't know what it is) and the Ralliart will likely follow in its footsteps. Mitsubishi needs to get off its *** and market the cars heavily. They need to instruct the dealerships to be more welcoming and considerably more cooperative. I know a few people who strongly considered an Evo but simply would not put up with the BS some dealers are pulling (ie. requiring a 5000$ deposit just to test drive the car).
Whoever said that the Ralliart will be a stealthy car is very naive. Yes it will be less blatant than the evo but it still has vents in the hood, large wheels, an aggressive front end and in some cases an outrageous paint color.

 

I completely agree ambystom01... I have seen a considerable increase in Mitsu's marketing skills through their recent commercial influx. It seems this year they are really putting forth the effort to attract new customers. I would think that they would have inserted the new RA into one of their spots though, considering they have the '09 lancers in 2 & an MR in 1. I hope for Mitsu's sake, that they do not delay the release of the RA, like they did to the MR, or at least bump up the model year, unlike the MR.

 

With the gas crunch there focus is more on the fuel efficient models they offer rather than a turbo model such as the RA. I think there entire marketing strategy is in need of a serious overhaul to compete with the likes of Subie and Mazda. The proof, as Amby said, is on the street in the form of MS3's and WRX's in numbers that Mitsu can only dream of.