Who cares if the car is built in japan, illinois, or cuba for that matter. A company should have the same control standards and quality assurance with all their products no matter where their point of manufacture. Thats my view at least.

 

Maybe they should have the same standards regardless of where it is built, but they don't. It is that simple. Most of the USDSM Mitsubishis are made using alot of Dodge/Plymouth/Chrysler tooling.

The Evo shares no Dodge/Plymouth/Chrysler tooling whatsoever.

 

Well that's definitely a step in the right direction.

 

I think you've clearly stated why the EVO is preferred over the S2000. I'm not dissing the S2000, but unless you're niche is a 2-seat roadster - then the EVO is a better "value". My measuring stick is can the car carry 2 people and 2 golf bags , and most 2 seaters can't even carry 1 set of golf clubs.

 

what a useless post

 

here is my input, and i'm a "newbie" but not to Mitsu. i believe the manufacturer is of better quality than most. i drive a Montero LS 4WD and have been very please with the vehicle (70K on odo). as a matter of fact i am having a difficult time deciding whether or not to sell the Montero and buy an Evo, or wait 2 years till the truck is paid for. i looked and compared all the vehicles in the range before buying the Montero, and there was a big difference. i have done the same for the Evo, and for this reason i am looking forward to my eventual purchase of the best dam car built for the road.
btw i am very pleased with the comradrie of you all, it reminds me of the Alfa folks...until i buy, i read with great interest.

 

I do not think that the evo is made in Normal, IL where all the cars you mentioned are made. modifying the car and dropping the clutch are not normal wear and tear and if the tranny is replaced then so be it. valve tap is due to the hydraulic lifters which needs the appropriate oil viscosity and should disappear.

 

I know that mentality is out there for Mitsu. I can say first hand that's not the truth, unknown on the eclipse/galant end (seemed to be in the dealership repair lot often). When I had my mirage LS coupe, I never had any problems on the car that I DIDN'T CAUSE due to tuning and mod-ding. My car ran 96K within 65 months before a full sized dodge pick up killed it.


W/ proper fuel tuning, the G63 can hit 22 lbs of boost on stock internals. W/ even more tuning, it has 26 lbs of boost on stock internals. I don't know any car internals can do it.


Most that don't know how to tune DSM won't start up the ante on the boost. You're thinking about the 420a guys amongst the 2g eclipse group. Most DSM'ers won't include them amongst their group.

The other issue is the tranny for the DSM. More power = more stress to the tranny (look at the 3k GT VR4 spyder when they crank out huge HP/TQ, and they use getrag). Also, the greater propensity for crankwalk . . . Mitsu's flaw design in order to cut cost in the US.

 

I'm sorry to hear you had bad a bad experience with your DSM.

I've owned since 1982 in Europe and here.
I can tell you that there is a substantial difference in build quality between the US and Japan built cars.
Given that the US built Galant is 's top seller, followed immediately by the US built Eclipse, it is little wonder that has a somewhat tarnished image here (sorry, but up until very recently, the Normal plant had terrible quality control).
In Germany, the UK, Switzerland, etc., is very well respected and considered a very reliable, good quality (in Germany and Switzerland even a top quality) manufacturer.

I would suggest you forget your experience with the DSM and approach the EVO with a clean slate. Think of today as a completely different manufacurer (though there are a good number of crappy dealers), as it is owned by Mercedes (OK,OK, Daimler-Chrysler... ).

The problems with the EVO you've read about were in nearly all cases the result of owner negligence.

Sorry about the long post. Below are a few links that might be of interest (some in German...)

http://www.motor-talk.de/t95833/f96/s/thread.html
(click on pic, two 's in top 5)

The links below are from a German government report on auto reliability for cars aged from 4 to over 11 years old(compiled by a Toyota dealer).

http://www.toyota-scheidt.de/12-beri...rt/j-04-05.htm
http://www.toyota-scheidt.de/12-beri...rt/j-06-07.htm
http://www.toyota-scheidt.de/12-beri...rt/j-08-09.htm
http://www.toyota-scheidt.de/12-beri...rt/j-08-09.htm

JD Power Germany
http://www.jdpa.com/presspass/pr/ima...02112bfull.gif

Last, the leomn list 2002, which features the S2000 and the Eclipse...
http://www.thewgalchannel.com/News/1399447/detail.html

 

since we are talking about quality of cars let me bring up my friends car. he has a 2000 Jaguar S-Type 3.0. now this car is supposed to be of very high quality right? YeAh ook. his back shocks needed to be replaced because they were crap and blew out after a few thousand miles. his headlights have condensation building up because of the crappy seals. his transmission is going to be replaced august 26th because the automatic clutches don't engage fast anymore. it takes a few seconds before the car starts moving. his trim is peeling off. his paint is chipping in various places. he just has so many problems with this car is not even funny.

ok..back to the evo...the evo isn't even made to be called a "quality" car. its a basic econobox with a killer suspension and sick motor (just a generalization). sure it has its weak points like with every other car...but the evo is ment for one thing really. so if your worried about your paint job or your interior becoming loose and start ratteling or other crap like that then go ahead and buy a BMW or a benz or those other so called "quality cars".

 

hey...I drive a neon...I had 200,000 miles on the stock dohc motor, and no problems! Other people hate the cars and have had nothing but problems. IT has to do with the owner, and the car. But every car has its problems...if it didn't the service dept. wouldn't make any money

 

I've got a friend with a 91' Eclipse pumping more than 400hp through the original 100k+ tranny and clutch with no problems. Most tranny problems I find tend to be with the driver, not the mechanicals. This would explain why there are so many on the road with no such problems but a few where they seem to be epidemic.

As for the other problems, turbo's don't last forever and neither do CV axles. I work for a repair shop and its unusual to find a car with 70k+ miles on it that doesn't need at least one CV axle replaced if it hasn't been done already. Paint chips? Find me any car that's been driven for a at least a few weeks that doesn't have some of those.

Sorry if your expecting a hard driven, highly tweaked performance automobile to have the reliability of grandma's Corolla but I think your criticisms are misplaced.