I'm not so sure Mitsubishi has the product.

The newly redesigned Galant has had lackluster reviews. Improved, sure, but you can improve a car all day, but if you F up the looks of it you might as well have left it alone.

The Grand Chero...I mean Endeavor also hasn't done too hot, and if anything has just quashed Mitsu's own products (the Montero Sport).

The big Montero doesn't do as well as it should, perhaps eccentric styling is to blame. The large SUV market is one of the hottest and having eccentric styling on a big SUV is killing their sales. Engine choices and technology advancement aren't helping much here, either.

The Diamante, hell, I haven't seen a new one of those on the road in 2 years - way behind the pack when it comes to Honda and Toyota, and I'd even go as far as to say most US large cars.

The Outlander, well, hasn't enjoyed the best of reviews either - just seems like another mediocre choice in the market flooded with small crossover sport utes.

The redesigned Lancers should do well, they are visually appealing as well as a solid small car. Mitsu FINALLY brings variable-valve technology to the US with the Ralliart, long overdue technology in my opinion.

Eclipse and Eclipse Spyder seem to be doing well also. A redesign is supposedly due for the Eclipse in the next year or so.

But the Lancer and Eclipse are not going to float Mitsubishi.

I agree with what has been said about Mitsu dealers. I believe their customer service at times is HORRIBLE and reflects heavily upon their products.

I often see a misconception on these boards that Mitsu is owned by "Dodge". DaimlerChrysler owns a controlling stake in Mitsubishi, I believe in the 20-30% range. That is due to be increased in the upcoming years, however. But this is not necessarily a good thing because DC has problems of it's own. The "merger" of Chrysler and Daimler-Benz has done nothing but slow these companies down. Chrysler's (Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge)once strong product lines are fading quickly and new product releases are overdue. Mercedez-Benz has managed to keep on top of things, however one car line will not save Chrysler, or Mitsubishi for that matter (or SMART if you even know what that is).

I've been a Chrysler Corp fan all of my life. I haven't seen "my" company in such peril since the Iacocca days. Remember, for one corporation to do well, all of it's subsidiaries must do well also. Until we see Chrysler climb out of the gutter, Mitsu will probably be right there with them until they can all come out and be on top.

 

Great post beenwaitin4evo..

Couple considerations..

CUTE cars..Saw the dealerships and cars when I was in Germany..
Are they not selling over there?? I know that the Mercedes A-Class was hot for awhile..(if you have seen that one) SMART is basically a smaller version of that car, right?


I am more sure now than when they had NO Montero Sport, NO redesigned Montero, and ZERO step-up Sport-Utility like the Outlander..

Not to mention a lack of a Mirage replacement until the Lancer arrived..

They have a heck of a lot more now to MARKET and SELL than they ever have..

What mitsubishi needs is a "Turnaround" car or vehicle..One that will do what it did for AUDI in the mid 90's..(the A4 ) That company was DYING and it needed a product! Next came the TT and the A6 new body, and they never looked back and have been building NEW stores......

Same thing with SUBARU ...guess which car was the "turnaround" car for them??

No, not the WRX although this helped GREATLY when it came out, but they were already builing on the success of the ....

Legacy OUTBACK!!!

Anyways, my point is, they aren't stuck with any poorly styled or unreliable sellers at this point. EVERY MODEL for the most part is BRAND SPANKING NEW..

How can you say they lack the product given this fact ??

If Mits can establish themselves with this "turnaround" car, they will be back on track..OR just focus on the things that I have been spouting off about in earlier posts..

 

The TV show Autoline Detroit had a statistic two weeks ago about sales velocity (how many days a car sits on the lot before being sold). The top brand is Mini - the aveage time a car sits on the lot before being sold is 14 days. The worst in the industry is Mitsubishi at 115 days. They're stuck. They have to offer incentives to move the cars. There is probably no way out and eventurally Mitsubishi merges into Chrysler for the US market.

 

I think If Prorally was on tv more than Sales on the Evo and Sti would go up. Some how We should make pro rally in this country like nascar!!

 

VERY INTERESTING!!!

Do you know why they sit so long??

Granted there are a number of reasons but what is the BEST REASONING?
Anyone?

Bueller?

Guess why they are sitting the longest..

 

The SMART cars have never really done well since their release. Neat cars, but I just think they're TOO small. The A-class is HOT, and if it makes to the US, it will be HOT here also. I don't think the two are related, not even in platforms (SMART and A-class) but I could be wrong.




Having a lot of products to market is a good thing. But having two sport utes that are basically in same price range seems counterproductive. I foresee the Montero Sport not lasting much longer.

I couldn't agree more about the "turnaround" vehicle. I'm thinking Mitsu thought the Evolution would be their car, but I just don't think it hit the mark. Although, it hit MY mark

My biggest concern is that, even with a full product line, I don't think the products are up to par with what's in the market right now. Comparing the new Galant to the Accord or Camry is still a far fetched idea. How'd you like to compare the Montero to a Passport or Sequoia? Diamante vs. Avalon or Acura TL? The fact that Mitsu's product line is newer is probably the most of my worries in that typically a redesign brings Honda or Toyota AHEAD of the pack, not just catching up to what's currently out there like Mitsu has done.

The truth is out there now. Honda and Toyota are probably the most advanced carmakers in the world, GM being a close competitor also.

I could go on for days about cars and automakers, serious passion of mine! I appreciate the civilized conversation

 

I talk a lot with a lady salesman at the local Mitsu dealer. She was selling Hyundai's before she came over to the Mitsu dealer (same parent company). Apparently, Hyundai's are selling like hotcakes and she's not making much money at all over at Mitsu

I think the main reason is what was previously stated about dealerships about overall customer service. If anything hurt Mitsubishi it has been the release of the Evolution. I've heard more Mitsu-denied warranty claims in the past year than I could shake a stick at, not just here on Evom.net, but in person also. A 3yr/36K warranty should be bumper to bumper, and should cover almost ANYTHING. Apparently it's not the case with Mitsu, and people KNOW that.

I think Mitsu needs to look at Isuzu, Hyundai, Kia, and even now Mazda is beefing up some of their warranties. I have a feeling the new CEO will do just that, put a warranty on the cars that shows the company stands behind their product - it worked for Hyundai, why not Mitsu? Fortunately, I don't think this new CEO is coming into as bad of a situation as he did at Hyundai and turnaround should be fairly swift.

I also have to say, as per my previous post, moving cars off lots also has a lot to do with how they look, and the recent direction of styling for Mitsu hasn't been the greatest I've seen. If you don't think styling has much to do with it, look at the sales increases between a 1993 Dodge Ram and a 1994 Dodge Ram. Styling has A LOT to do with it.

 

I agree with BeenWaitin4Evo...
With the exception of the Evo, Mitsubishi doesn't make another car that I would even consider owning for multiple reasons. MMC's reputation for build quality problems, and lack of dealer price enforcement are big turn offs for me. MMC doesn't make a car that is a segment leader:

Econo-box: civic, focus
mid size: sedan/coupe, camery/accord
mid lux: BMW 3 series, Nissan G35
Full size lux: BMW 5 series, MB E Class
sporty compact: Subaru WRX, MMC Evo, Nissan 350Z
Pickup: dodge, ford, chev - you pick
SUV: Suburban, Explorer

when people look for cars, I would bet that they consider the above meantioned cars.... all have a reputation for being the leaders in their segment for value, performance, and reliabilty.

MMC is still run by economists who are disconnected with customers. This is clearly demonstraited to me with the Endevor, new Galant, and Outlander. These cars are similar to, but inferior to the the segment leaders in terms of performance and looks (that's my opinion, but do you know anyone that thinks they look good?)

The more I think about it, the more amazed I am with the packaging of the US spec Evo. Looking at the rest of the MMC product line I am shocked by what an amazing car the Evo truely is, and horrifed by the rest of the vehicles in their current lineup.

I am thinking that I will be buying a 2nd car sometime in the next 18 months. I want something that gets better gas milage and hauls my stuff around better then the Evo (the Toyota Prius is looking better & better). I won't even stop by a MMC dealership, as I know they won't offer anything that is remotely attractive...

my 2 cents.

 

my biggest turnoff about MMC is their absolute lack of dealer enforcement regarding pricing on the Evo. I was horrified by the "market adjustment" some dealerships used. Nissan enforced the prices on the Z, and I strongly believe that MMC should have done the same on the Evo. Yeah, I still ended up buying an Evo, and I don't regret it, but the whole experience was something less then ideal.

 

I don't know how you guys are stuck w/ horrible mitsu dealership. There is a thing called freedom of disassociation, basically go to another mitsu dealership. Whwn I had looked for my mitsu, I knew one dealership had terrible customer service, and my brother and I went there just for the jollies of angering the sales manager. Then, we went to 4 other Mitsu dealerships. The farest had the best service and was willing to work on the APR.

As for marking above MSRP, remember the first intro of the new Beetle. In cali, people were buying them at 25-32 grand. Look at that markup!

 

None taken. But hindsight is 20/20. If all those people that were stuffed into a Mitsu that really weren't creditworthy enough to deserve one hadn't let them get repo'd, thus causing Mistu Motor Credit pucker their *** cheeks up and make everything more difficult we might not be in this mess. Hell I delivered a 400+ day old unit a couple of weeks ago, and that little jewel wasn't the only one we've got that's had a birthday.

A certified used vehicle program would be great, however, one of the reasons Mitsu is able to react so quickly (for better or worse) is that the sales guys run the credit arm. They can spit out incentives, launch programs and turn circles around behemoths like GM, Ford and even Toyota that take months before they can announce a new special.

When the press boos the Outlander for being too weak, after only one year MIVEC comes along and gives it a +20hp boost. The Endeavor has placed highly and won some comparison tests amongst its peers (Murano, Pilot, Highlander)

The Galant may not receive high press praise, but it wasn't designed for R&T or C&D to circle cones with. It was designed for Joe Everyman whose big boned family won't fit in a typical Japanese sedan like the Mazda 6 or even Accord. IT is designed to be the largest in class and have class leading power (torque) to boot.

Being notorious for a WW2 plane doesn't help. How many of you have been to a dealership picketed by Veterans on V-day? I have.

Things are slow, but we are grinding. I hope I can continue earning a living selling Mitsus, but even if I have to move on to greener pastures, I will still love the comany and its products.

 

Oh yeah. If I am almost glad a little that things did backfire on them. I would rather them stop whoring the car's out. IT does hurt resale value when you've got so many coming back on repos, plus all the fleet sales.

 

If they want to help things out they can stop doing stupid **** like paying employees to go out to the track and bust enthusiasts.

The EVO is the first Mitsu I have ever, ever considered. They are notorious for garbage quality and horrid service. This seems to only be a problem in America, overseas in Europe they do not have this reputation. What gives?

 

Bahamut,
I think what you are describing is the problem. A person should be able to go into any dealership and get consistent information, pricing and service. A person should not have to go out of their way to find the one dealership in the area that provides a good product from a sales and maintenance point of view. I realize that dealerships are independently owned and operated, but Mistu really needs to get everyone on the same track and push a customer centered approach or they will be left in the dust. I have six Mitsubishi dealerships with a reasonable drive from my house. I would not dream of taking my Evo to two of them (one of them is the closest to me), two of them I would take it to if I had to and the other two are ok but have not shown signs of being stellar. If all was right with the world, I should have six equally competent dealerships at my disposal.

I too work in a customer service type company that has lost sight of what it takes to earn business in a competitive marketplace. We’re starting to get things under control again, but it is tough to win back people who have had a bad experience. I hope Mitsu can pull it off because I’ve enjoyed the two cars I’ve bought from them.

Thanks to all for the civil conversation on this subject.

Best wishes,
f86sabre

 

I tell you what guys. You all need to pull your heads out of your *****. Mitsubishi is a Japanese company, not an American company. And as such, the American market is only a small part of its entire market. The fact that Mitsu cars are manufacturered in most major countries except America suggests that they probably don't see the American market as a huge market for them.

As for the dealerships, they are so far removed from Mitsus operations that to judge Mitsu on its dealers would be like judging Americans by Jerry Springer. Rather than judging Mitsu by the service you get from a minimum wage dealer, why not judge the company by its products (that means the cars). Of note, the reknowned Evo (preferably a non-American version as they are so heavily detuned it is not funny).