Did you just you those two words in the same sentence?

What a way to ruin a really nice car.


But anyway, back on subject I believe that however many Evo's decides to bring (which I believe will be around 6,000 according to that article) it will be a perfect amount to cause some demand while at the same time not making the car too scarce.

 

The problem here is that it depends on who is making the car - Ralliart or Mitsubishi. If Mitsubishi dedicates a factory line to it, then, yes, they can theoretically continue to make models as fast as possible to meet demand.

If Ralliart continues to make it - and to be honest, we better hope so - then the fact that America is getting 6,000 models is good news. The single largest run of (proper) Evo's, the Evo 7, was 10,000 units, give or take a few. I doubt that Ralliart is only planning to make 4,000 Evo 8's for the Japanese market and Europe, so if they are doing it, they've stretched their capacity quite a bit...

As far as it being nonsense about a limited supply, then I have to say, you have little knowledge about these types of cars. Subaru STi's, Integra Type R's, Skyline GT-R's, Evolutions are not Honda Civic people movers. They don't generate much, if any, profit for the company. A manufacturer considers themself lucky if they break even when they add up the development costs, cost to build, advertising and other costs accrued. Literally, these cars are rolling advertisements, vehicles that the press devote free advertising to. Every article you see in a magazine, every report on tv, anything in the newspaper about these cars is free advertising for that particular company. For MMC's purposes, if they only built 1000 Evo's for America, it would still do the job.

Cheers,

Paul Hansen

 

EXACTLY... this is why Pontiac, for example, has balked for a few years at bringing the Holden Monero as a GTO... they aren't going to sell them like Grand-Ams.

Acura hopes that you might come into a dealership to look at the cool NSX but will leave with a CL or TL or RSX.

Cool Lancer Evo commercials will create brand interest, not just model interest.

 

No, sadly I don't know about Skylines, STis, or Evos cause they have never been sold in the US. But, I do know about ZR1s, Z06s, Mustang Cobras, Z28 SS, Fire Hawks M3s, and Boxster S. These too are low volume, high exposure cars. And after the inital BS release period they are available.

You cannot compare the rareness of a Honda NSX Sub Zero, WRX STi, or R34 V-Spec to the forthcoming Evo. Mitsubishi is going almost mainstream with this release - 4000 to 6000 is not a small run by any stretch of the imgination - and that figure is only for the US.

And the reason Pontiac bawked so long to bring the Morano/GTO is cause that company collectiely has their head up their ***. Look at the products Ponitac makes right now? The only cool car (f-body) they made went away this year. The execs at pontiac wouldn't know a cool car if it ran over their foot - look at their current styling *Aztek*.

 

This is what I have been saying since the news about the EVO started.

 

But the Evo is more rare than the STi in Japan. And it is more rare than the R34, which Nissan would make more versions of - if they had any buyers. The NSX is a hand-made vehicle. Remember, the Evo was not made by MMC at a factory line - it was made by Ralliart. This Evo *may* be different, but there is no guarantee of that right now.

Each run of the Evolution was a specific number of vehicles only. If this is a regular factory line car, then it's not a Evolution by Ralliart, it's a Evolution by MMC. If so, then personally, I wouldn't worry about it being limited at the initial release - I would wait for a Ralliart-built Evo anyways.

Cheers,

Paul Hansen

 

Will they tell if it is a MMC or RalliArt built Evo when they release some info in the near future?

-If they decide to before January.

 

Thats the same boat that I'm in. My last car was a 2000 Yellow Type-R. I guess i moved to the fer now see what happens w/ this. from now... im guessin 6 weeks left for my Evo 7...

 

I purchased my Integra Type R in april of 1998.They had been released a few months earlier,and although built in limited numbers,(a little over 1200 or so)I was still able to get one for msrp,which I thought was a good deal.There was many stories of people paying over msrp,especially in Cali at that time.My point is,wait a few months after initial release and the market will decide the true market value.

 

This needs to be reiterated:

As both Paul and I have said, you better hope that the US Evo IS limited. If isn't limited supply then it means the Evo is not made by Ralliart and that would be a bad thing...

 

First rule of business. If you can sell them, build them.
I can't see a Mitsu dealer going: " Sorry mate, you can keep your 30 grand, as this is a limited edition car, and we don't want to make any money."
Who cares if ralliart of mitsu build them. They'll come out of a car factory anyway. As someone mentioned earlier, most boxters come from finland, although don't tell a boxter owner, as they tend to get very defensive.
If they get a sale or not from me will depend if the 8 is any good.

 

why does this make such a big difference? does MMC have quality issues? I ask because I know SVT vehicles are hand made, and they are no better then the regular versions that come off the Ford assembly line by the tens of thousands. I don't know much about MMC or Ralliart history of manufacturing history but I would assume that quality isn't that much of a problem for a reputible organization like Mitsubishi.

 

I agree. If Ralliart were to design the car, then do you really care if it's built on a Mitsubishi line to their specifications?

And to add something to this talk of limited runs of EVOs... I think everyone needs to remember that the EV0 1-6 was a homologation special with a required production run in order for Mistubishi/Ralliart to compete in the WRC. But also remember that Ralliart was running the WRC effort, so they can't spend all their time making EVOs to satisfy all the enthusiats. So they have to make a bunch, but they can't make too many at the same time.

Now that the EVO WRC is out, Mitsu can do whatever they want with the consumer Lancer Evolution.

 

is going for broke. Actually they haven't posted an operating profit since 1992! They have banks that are going bankrupt and are laying off workers in the thousands. Mitsubishi is the largest Japanese conglomerate so they are bearing the full brunt of a decade-long economic recession. They will NOT be making any profit on the Evos that are sold in the US. These cars are 100% Japan made, QCed @100% AQL and shipped at at incredible overhead! Don't think MMC is totally committed to the US Evo. We're just a test market. They probably sent more Zero Fighters to Pearl Harbor...BTW, Nissan cannot even afford to produce a left-hand drive GT-R. I can almost guarantee that the Skyline MSRP will be well above $70K! The Evo will be a steal at any price below $30K if they're only in limited production because MMC has the infrastructure to manufacture more than twice the numbers that Nissan does. Nissan is THE luxury Japanese automobile producer. Mitsubishi is better known for the Pajero, than they are for the Evo. In any case, just gimme mine, already!

 

The difference between MMC making "consumer" Evolutions and Ralliart making an evolution is akin to the difference between a Ford Mustang and a Saleen Mustang.

I know most of you have not driven a Evo outside of Gran Turismo. But please believe me, there will indeed be a difference between Ralliart and MMC when it comes to this vehicle. Understand this, that the only reason the Evolution was any good in the first place is because of Ralliart being in control of it's creation, not MMC and the employees within.

Cheers,

Paul Hansen