The RA does have a much better AWD system for sure. So that is no surprise that it is better than the Subie in the snow. Especially with the WRX up to something like 20 blown motors now!!

 

LSDs in the front and rear with a variable locking center diff certainly has several advantages over a viscous coupling diff performance wise.

The gti-r should be interesting, especially if they can keep it under $30k, which I'm sure they know they would have to do that in order to be competitive.

 

It's over 20 now. Is it true that the WRX that you were going to buy ended up being sold to another NASIOC poster and failed? If so talk about dodging a bullet.

 

Yeah, they had one in transit when they were first released. They did not call me right away however. I drove out a few days later just checking and they said they had just sold it. Yes, I did dodge a bullet, twice. The economy tanked so I am glad I did not buy any car yet. He definitely took a bullet for me on both counts!!

 

BUMP FROM THE DEADDD!!!


Quote:
July 10 (Bloomberg) -- Suzuki Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., suffering from plunging U.S. sales and excess North American plant capacity, may have to quit the market after a quarter century.

Suzuki, Japan’s fourth-largest carmaker, reported a 78 percent drop in unit sales in June, pushing its first-half decline to 60 percent, the market’s worst. Mitsubishi is down 51 percent this year, and is stuck in a slump that began in 2003.

Both carmakers “should withdraw from the U.S.,” said Yuuki Sakurai, chief executive of Tokyo-based ***oku Capital Management Inc., which oversees about $10 billion in Tokyo. “It’s time for them to decide whether they pay a high price to continue business there or stop the bleeding.”

Recession, joblessness and weak consumer confidence pushed U.S. auto sales to the lowest since 1976, bringing bankruptcies for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC and a record loss at Toyota Motor Corp. Truckmaker Isuzu Motors Ltd., which halted U.S. consumer sales in January, is the only Japanese brand less familiar to carbuyers than Suzuki or Mitsubishi, according to industry analyst Alexander Edwards.
“Both are struggling with getting customers to initially even consider them,” said Edwards, head of auto research for San Diego-based Strategic Vision Inc.

Currently, they rank in the “bottom five” of 35 brands Strategic Vision tracks, he said. To reverse that, both need to boost their U.S. marketing budgets, Edwards said.
“We’re not talking about a one-time investment, but a consistent, sustained effort,” he said. “If they’re looking for a quick fix, continuing in the market will be tough.”
‘Never Give Up’

“We will never give up the U.S. market,” Mitsubishi Motors President Osamu Masuko said on July 9 in Tokyo. “The U.S. will return to being the world’s biggest market.”

Masuko also said the company isn’t pursuing alliances with other carmakers in the U.S. or planning to use its Illinois factory to supply vehicles to other brands.

Mitsubishi Motors had a 23.6 billion yen fiscal loss in North America last year, equal to 43 percent of its global loss of 54.9 billion yen. Suzuki had a 24.1 billion yen ($258 million) loss in North America in the fiscal year that ended in March, the only unprofitable region for the Hamamatsu Japan- based company, which earned 27.4 billion yen worldwide.
Suzuki sold 84,865 vehicles in the U.S. last year, a 17 percent drop. Mitsubishi sold 97,257 vehicles, down 25 percent.

Toyota, Honda
Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, has about 30 times the U.S. sales volume of either Suzuki or Mitsubishi, retailing 770,449 vehicles this year. While Toyota’s U.S. sales are down 38 percent this year, its 16 percent market share dwarfs the respective 0.6 percent for each company.

Honda Motor Co., Japan’s second-biggest automaker, has 11 percent U.S. market share and 20 times the sales volume of its two smaller rivals. The Tokyo-based company’s have fallen 34 percent this year.

Suzuki rose 1.7 percent to 2,125 yen at 3 p.m. close of Tokyo trading. The shares have gained 73 percent this year. Mitsubishi Motors rose 0.6 percent to 164 yen in Tokyo and is up 34 percent this year.

Both companies also have North American auto-assembly plants that are under-utilized. Cami Automotive Inc., the Ingersoll, Ontario, factory Suzuki operates as a joint venture with GM, stopped making Suzuki’s XL7 sport-utility vehicle this year. Suzuki hasn’t announced a new model to be built there.

GM makes Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent SUVs at Cami, and on June 26 said it will make the GMC Terrain crossover at the Canadian plant. Cami’s output is down 78 percent this year through July 4, according to trade publication Automotive News.

Plunging Production

Production at Mitsubishi’s Normal, Illinois, plant, has plunged 83 percent so far this year, according to Automotive News data.

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi is now using just 10 percent of the plant’s capacity and may shut it down this year, said CSM Worldwide analyst Masatoshi Nishimoto.

Mitsubishi “doesn’t make cars that are hot-sellers in the U.S.,” said Nishimoto, who is based in Tokyo.

Fumio Nishizaki, a Tokyo-based spokesman for Mitsubishi Motors, said the company isn’t planning to close the Illinois plant. Mitsubishi hasn’t announced replacements or additions to its current lineup of midsize and compact cars and SUVs in more than a year. The company hopes to sell the i-MiEV electric car in the U.S. by 2010, after introducing the model in Japan this month.

The car travels 160 kilometers (100 miles) when its lithium-ion batteries are fully charged, and is priced at 4.6 million yen, or about $49,000.

CSM forecasts global demand for electric cars won’t exceed 100,000 units until 2014, suggesting U.S. sales of a limited range mini-vehicle such as i-MiEV may be small.

Design Studio
Mitsubishi in March shut its U.S. design studio to cut costs. In January, the company said the poor-selling Raider pickup truck, supplied by Chrysler, would be discontinued.

Suzuki, Japan’s second-largest minicar makers, said in March 2008 it would add a mid-size sedan designed for the U.S. by 2010, aiming to expand sales of more lucrative models. The car would compete with Toyota’s Camry and Honda’s Accord, the segment’s usual top-sellers.

The so-called Kizashi model is still in development, said Hideki Taguchi, a company spokesman. “Because of the current market situation, we’re reviewing the plan as to where and when to sell,” he said.

Adding such a model in the U.S. is a challenge, given Suzuki’s specialty in smaller vehicles, said Yasuaki Iwamoto, an auto analyst at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo.

“It makes more sense for Suzuki to put its limited resources into small cars,” said Iwamoto. “Forget about America.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=a0E3j.8n71UQ

 

Hmmm, I do not know what to make of this. Is he saying they are staying to not kill off the brand? Or is he just saying that till they can clear out inventory? Either way, not good, considering I just pulled the trigger. It is not going to be fun if there is no dealer network for warranty work!!

I do agree though, they rarely advertise and when they do, it is sporadic and targets mainly the Lancer crowd, most of which already know what the car is. They need to do some comparo type stuff like Hyundai to gain brand recognition so consumers can see how Mitsu cars stack up against the competition and what they are competitors for.

 

I don't know what to make of it either, other than pulling the rug out from under Mitsu in NA. If consumer confidence is already at failure level, these press releases all but kill car companies. We always hear a President of some company talk about how that company is not doing as bad as it looks, and then issues a statement conceding the damage sometime later. We will see...

Hope it's not true, though...still looking forward to the RA Sportback.

 

ok first this was posted by the idiots at bloomberg, and all those f'ers do is bull****. They simply like to sway stock buyers opinions to "up" or "down" a stock, so they can do their short-selling tricks.

I don't know about Suzuki... I don't see many of those on the road, but dude, Mitsubishi? Mitsubishi is producing cars in Japan for the American Market as we speak! They're coming over!
Do you know how many Mitsubishi's are on the road right now here in the USA?

Actually, the fact that these financial pansies are trying to "downgrade" both of these stocks makes me want to go out and buy Mitsubishi stocks. But I don't play the stock game @ all.
you can, if you want to.

Basically here's the deal : If anybody falls it will be American car companies all the way. Maybe 1 will stand (Ford FTW?), or they will join up in a conglomerate, but I highly doubt that Mitsubishi will be pulling out of America. Don't listen to the financial bull**** - it makes your brain rot.

And if you really want to pledge your support, go buy a new Mitsubishi. I did

 

Why would american companies fall in the american market? We're not talking about Mitsubishi going under, we're talking about Mitsubishi temporarily leaving the american market.

 

Mitsubishi Motors Japan is the 4th largest japanese car maker and its owned by Japan biggest Bank; they wont go under. They'll just pull out of this ****ty place where 90% car buys think a Pontiac G8 GT is a better car than an Evo (go read Edmund's posters and see all the ignorance flying around).

They're still building better cars for Europe where they dont have to cut costs and use cheaper material (ahem GM, Chrysler anyone?) in order to compete with domestic cars.

They dont spend money on advertising yet they got a ****load of awards in 2008 and 2009. I wish i was handling the ads dept. At Mitsu; I dont see a single tv ad of mitsubishi when they should be announcing things like The Lancer and Outlander as 5-Star Crash awarded, the Ralliart as best car to own under $35,000, their NAV system as best nav for 2008-2009. (better than any bmw navi) the Evo X as top 5 Best World Performance car, and #1 Rally inspired choice. All of these things i said are available online for the ones who dont know

They wont make it if they dont change their strategy

 

Maybe they don't say those things because they're not common knowledge, ie. they're not from reputable and known sources. I don't think a lack of marketing is necessarily Mitsubishi's problem, bad dealerships seem to be a more pressing issue.

 

IF you have one in your area...

 

WHAT?!?!?

The first month I had my RA I couldn't get away from that commercial, "IntelliChoice" etc, 10-15 times a day! It has settled down and seems to have been replaced with the WRX commercials, but Mitsubishi marketed the "Lancer" pretty hard. 5 star crash rating blah blah blah. They made a profound effort if you ask me.

 

Unfortunately I've read more bad things about Mitsu dealerships, then good. Which is not an inspiring place to start your new car hunt :/

 

Exactly, they make fine cars that are more than competitive in the market but dealerships seem to sour many people to Mitsubishi products.