http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...811042157/1065

yes, this is a US spec model, and they state what accounted for the 165 additional lbs from the JDM model

"There is a weight gain of about 165 pounds, mostly due to enhanced safety equipment in the form of standard side curtain airbags and a steel (as opposed to aluminum) rear bumper beam. We also get American-sized versions of the extremely supportive yet comfy Recaro sport seats. "

 

Hmm...not bad. They mentioned in the article that the MR's Bilstein/Eibach combo will be an option on GSR? Interesting. Haven't heard that before.

 

hmm..i didnt even notice that, i kinda just skimmed through the article before posting

 

Sounds like they liked the car. Can't believe they only wrote 8 paragraphs about it. Did they run out of space on the internet and they couldn't fit more than 8 paragraphs

 

Yea...Autoweek articles usually remind me of my days back in university when you had to write a short story using 1000 words or less. They were always quick and to the point without much meat to them. But hey, they only have a week to write it, right?!

 

since Autoweek is a weekly mag, these short little blurbs common in the printed magazine seem so short when read online

 

40g's... wow. Reminds me of the days when the RX-7, Supra and ZX got bloated and pricey; they were gone a few years later. Hope the same is not about to happen.

 

Is autoweek confusing Japanese Bilstein options for GSR with USDM options?

 

+1 I keep saying the same thing, specially now that all this new Japanese sports cars are coming out. It is like 1992 all over again. Dealer mark up is going to be another bad thing. I hope they don't do this with the X. There are dealers already saying that they are going to put $100k+ price tags on their GTRs.

 

in any case there is no way X sales will be < than IX or VIII and mitsu have a WIN WIN situation with this new model evo

 

What evidence do you have to support the point Mitsu will sell more X's than IX's or VIII's?

They very well could find themselves selling fewer new cars and have a hot used car market.

Personally, the used IX at the local Mitsu dealer is becoming more and more attractive.

 

The only way I see the X selling more than the 8 or 9 is because the sale of the STi suffer. By the way I see it, it might. I think making the STi a wagon only sucks.

 

Well, there is no concrete evidence whether it will sell better or worse than Evo VIII/IX but to Evo X advantage, it seems to be a more civilized car, more refined, more quiet, offers more room inside, better safety equipment, less turbo lag, better interior, MUCH better looks on the outside, and the availability of the SST tranny to all the masses of manual transmission challenged. To sum it all up, I would really be surprised to see Evo X sell in lesser quantities than Evo VIII/IX.

Mitsubishi made Evo X less "hardcore" to appeal to a wider audience and I think this will translate to higher sales.

 

^^^yeh higher sales for a while and then destruction of the evo brand just like they destroyed the eclipse brand name... for mitsu to come back they need need to make solid attractive affordable cars that have good performance.. until they do that for 5 years in a row they will not regain any consumer confidence in their brand... EVO name plate is the last respected brand that mitsu has and one they kill it they are done in the US

 

Looking better is subjective for you will have 100 people say the new evo is ugly. We wil not know till next year for sure what the new evo will do. it's just nowa days you either do it full or go home and most people will not even look in mitsu's way for their so called refinement. Refinement goes with acura lexus infin ect, not mitsu. The evo was fine the way it was. We did not have ayc but the rest of the world did and mature audience's worldwide drove the evo long before it got to the states and it did fine. A good example, You make a few sportscars in the line up like acura and the nsx for you will not sell alot, and you refine the Tl. The Evo is just that, a car that goes fast and handles good. Mitsu might take it on the chin or they might have gold. All I can say is we will see Thats my take.