I have been trying to find out how many units Mitsubishi plans on producing. I like the limitied production factor of this car. On www.body-blitz.com they had an article where they show a production of 5,000 uniits. Question is, is this for global sales (which seems low) or USA sales (which seems right). Either way they don't say. When I first bought my EVO VIII in April of 2003, the Dealer (which are friends of mine) said they heard 3000 units for 2003. When I bought my IX in November the dealer (the same dealer where I bought the VIII, which is a High Volume Mitsubishi Dealer) Said they were lucky to get 2 EVO's a month, and even then, they don't know color, model, ect. The dealer in town near where I live said they have not seen an EVO in their showroom in 6 months (low volume dealer). So, bottom line, Thanks Mitsubishi for keeping the car special and not mass produced, even considering your financial wows, you keep the EVO Evolving, and keep it a special Car. Thanks...........Jeff

 

Your link points to "Med Staff... Professional Healthcare Recruiting Firm" ??

Anyways, 5K is how many Evo's are sold in the USA yearly... most certainly not by Mitsubishi "keeping the car special and not mass produced...", but simply because of lack of demand. You can also bet that if they are to survive, they hope the sales of the re-designed Evo X far exceeds the measly 5K sales, and rubs off into far more spin-off sales for regular Lancers.

 

Well, the point of thinking the EVO X is going to save mitsubishi is hopeful thinking. The EVO will and should always be a limited production car, mainly because it doesn't suit everyone needs just the enthusiasts needs. I mean how many Z06 corvettes do you see? How many Viper SRT's do you see? its just these cars only appeal to a very small percentage of the populus. I think if you bring up the issue of saving Mits, its not just the cars, its the company as a whole. You see, Mits is like the japanese eqivilent to Ford here in the USA. They have been around for over 100 yrs. What hurt Mits is the lawsuits for sexual hurassment, and lieing about recalls. True that happends here in the USA more often no big deal right? Well its a very big deal in Asia, where it has hurt Mits's sales ever since. Then the President of Mits resignes because of it, and its all been downhill since. Mits needs to restucture their whole Automotive management. Not depend on one car to save them. But this is a whole other arguement........haha.............Jeff

 

seems very political? I just hope the US sees Evo Xs when we're supposed to. I'm holding out on a trade up until i see what the fuss is about.

 

An interesting article on the same subject is this recent Forbes article... it even mentions the EVO

Broken Halos
Jerry Flint, 12.20.05, 12:00 PM ET
DaimlerChrysler only sells fewer than 2,000 Dodge Vipers yearly, but the muscular two-seater helped save the old Chrysler when it was on the ropes in the early 1990s. Chrysler first displayed the Viper to the public as a show car, but the response was so positive that it put the V-10-powered car into production as a 1992 model. The Viper, and all the positive publicity it garnered, showed Chrysler’s winning spirit.

The auto industry often refers to vehicles like the Viper as halo cars. Automakers create such models to put a halo over an entire car line, to let buyers think that its ordinary cars have some of the attributes. In theory, halo cars lure people into the showroom.

Some cars might begin as halos but grow into high-volume popular models. The old Thunderbird was like that, starting as a limited production specialty car in 1954 with production getting up to 90,000 ten years later. Then Ford Motor began messing it up with terrible designs. The Chevrolet Corvette has been throwing a bright light over Chevy for a half-century. Mercedes’ SL roadster symbolizes the best in its lineup. Pontiac has a new halo, the Solstice roadster, and Volvo has a new convertible coming next year.

More specialty image cars are on the way. Next spring, General Motor's Saturn division will have a two-seat roadster, called Sky, a companion to the Pontiac Solstice. Automotive News says that Nissan will offer a 400+ horsepower coupe as a 2008 or 2009 model, probably labeled as an Infiniti. Toyota Motor's luxury Lexus division has been toying with the idea of a supercar, and Cadillac was definitely interested in a high-end vehicle modeled after the Cadillac 16 show car, but it delayed work on this project because GM has other priorities right now.

Halo vehicles often push the design, performance and engineering envelope. All those good things aside, many of those vehicles have a less-than-stellar record in enhancing a nameplate’s image or in boosting sales of its more prosaic models.

General Motors’ chief executive, G. Richard "Rick" Wagoner, recently announced that the Chevrolet SSR, a $50,000 half roadster, half pickup truck, will go out of production and GM will shut the factory. With its over-the-top styling and limited practicality, the SSR never gained traction with consumers.

The Thunderbird, revived as a 2002 model, should have been a success, but Ford botched the program from the start. Ford rolled out the new T-Bird a year late, overpriced it and didn’t give it the performance, handling or interior to go with its attractive exterior. I think that this car could have been rejuvenated, but Ford killed it. The Lincoln Blackwood, an expensive combination of a sport utility vehicle and a pickup halo lasted just a year and a half on the market.

It is a good thing that Chrysler didn’t have to count on the Crossfire to help it revive its image in the new millennium. I thought that this European-built two-seater, based on Mercedes mechanicals, was doing well--15,000 sales per year--until I saw it being offered recently on a bargain basement Internet deal. Nor would I call the pricey Cadillac XLR roadster a flaming success, but then I wouldn’t call it a failure, either.

Among the halo failures of the recent past are the Buick Reatta, the Cadillac Allante, the Plymouth Prowler, the Isuzu VehiCross and the Chrysler TC by Maserati. A halo program needs perfect or near-perfect execution in order to be a success. Otherwise, it becomes an embarrassment. Take the Cadillac Allante, a $50,000 roadster (a lot of money back in ’94, when the car died) aimed at competing with the Mercedes SL. The Allante lacked a power roof, didn’t have enough of an engine and the top leaked, too. That is not the way to compete with Mercedes.

Nowadays there are just too many halos--especially expensive sports car and convertible models. Yet this doesn’t mean that car companies can’t do other things to jazz up their lineups. One recent success is the Mercedes CLS, a four-door sedan that looks like a coupe. It costs more than an E-Class, upon which it is based, but has been well received by the public and may set a design direction for future Mercedes models.

Another area where companies are winning is with high-performance derivatives of volume vehicles, such as Mercedes AMG and BMW M models. Other nameplates are now expanding their high-performance lineups. Jaguar has its R models; Audi, S models; Cadillac, V; and Chrysler, SRT. Mitsubishi has had success with its Evo badge and Subaru with WRX. Punchy versions of those two Japanese brands sticker for $30,000 or more, well over the price of the ordinary models on which they are based, but they excite the car crowd.

Overall, I like halo cars. But Detroit should put more effort into creating appealing volume models. Then it may be easier finding receptive buyers for high-performance derivatives of these vehicles.

 

When I bought my 04 at Manchester Mitsubishi (Manchester, New Hampshire) the salesman told me they made about 3500 for that year in the U.S. The day I bought the car there were three on the lot, two were already sold, I obiously got the last one. Did not get a straight answer on how many the get and when they get them.

 

What's up....I bought my Evo VIII from Manchester Mitsu as well. I originally ordered it in Nov of 2003, and I wanted Apex Silver. There was none anywhere. They did a complete east coast search and found one in Georgia. But the dealer there was unwilling to part with the car. Then I had to wait 4 months for the silver one to get to Manchester. At the time, there were only two Evo's on the lot. Red, and Blue. On March 27 I was able to bring my Evo in the color I wanted home. They also had another guy picking up an ordered white one as well. But the Same red VIII was now in the show room and they were discounting it at $27,995(3/04). The blue one was still on the lot. They just couldn't sell those two for one reason or another. But they were pushy as hell on trying to move the Red one. It didn't have the sunroof, and that's why I didn't take their offer on it. So for $1k more I got the color I wanted, and the sunroof. Worth every penny.

Peace!!

 

hey i had an izuzu vehicross and it was amazing off road (better than on road for sure)...even made a few jeeps look bad. although it didnt save the brand, it defiantely was and still is the best isuzu made and a successful albeit non profitable car.

 

Until the Evo VIII generated market interest in the US, it was intended to be the last model of the Evolution Lancer series. Previous generations of Evo's had only had production volumes worldwide of about 4-5000. sometimes more but not by much. The Evo VI TME had only 2500 made I think??

The US market for Evo's has basically saved the Evo market for the world.

 

Relevant article:

 

On the sales side for the evo's, I think we have to remember, and realize, that I feel never intended on a mass production of this car since its inception in the early 90's to be more of a means of well I can't think of the word right now, but you know when manufactuers make cars so they can race. Indeed if the public demanded it, there would be more evo's and sti's out there, but in reality, there isn't that much of a demand because most people see cars as just transportation. Its only a very small percentage of the population of the planet that appreciate a true drivers car like the evo. The evo IX will indeed be an end of what we have grown to admire for over a decade. A small compact pocket rocket with a robust engine, awd, and the "its just perfect" mentality. The USA had cars like the evo in the 60's, small cars (for the time) with powerful engines, but only produced in limited quanities. Now a days, the term SS is seen on almost everything, but back in the day, it meant a limited run, hot rod edition. Then they evolved into so so hot rods, then, just average cars, and SS kinda dissapeared. THe X reminds me of that. The IX will be the last run of what I feel is the true roots rally car. Its not exotic looking or tries to be, its just so damn good, that in the end, even the engineers must realize there is only so much they can do. The X will be bigger, wiegh more, had more gadgets, and automatic, and the look of a european sports sedan...YEAH! Just what the masses want. Its just what true enthusiasts don't want. You will see it happen. They are just slowly taking the rallyness out of the Rally car and replacing high end gadgets and sportyness. Some may see it as good thing, some not. I have wanted an evo as long as I can remember, and owning one of these special cars, at least for an american that has only personally seen these cars for a little over 2 yrs appreciates this machine. I love it like a person. Its my friend. This car, makes me enjoy my drive to work. Makes me take no drive for granted. Did the USA save the EVO? Nah, Europe is number one there, but if any people read this post, all I can say is thanks for bringing over here. Its one hell of a machine. You did an excellent job building it, and engineering it. Just keep on racing in WRC, don't give up, and your followers will not give up on you.........Just my ten cents folks......

 

Agree with most of what you say Jeff, but I think your wrong on the X. It WON'T weigh much more, it WON'T be much larger, it WON'T just be offered as an automatic, it WILL be more powerful, it WILL handle better, it WILL look more like a true sports car and be more appealing to the vast majority of car enthusiasts worldwide, and the interior WILL be immensely improved.

It's about damn time Mitsu entered the 21st century!!

 

I agree with Axel based on 2 things: 1. the concept of evolution and, 2. Mitsu already has a car that adresses the part of the market that wants a "really neat sports car" --the Eclipse.

Let me add to that by saying I'm disappointed Mitsu isn't rallying this year and has canceled its participation indefinitely. The Evo has always been a rally car but how can the X be so if Mitsu doesn't rally it? Where is the real world testing going to take place. Rumors say the X will have a host of changes; a true redesign. Maybe a Camry won't need podium finishes to prove its worthiness as a CAR but an Evo needs them to prove its worthiness as a RACE CAR. For me one of the coolest things about my Evo has always been its heritage. Every piece on the car (less the CD changer) has been proven in racing and adds function. How can you say that about the X if it isn't raced?

I give the X an 89% probability of being a better performer than the IX. Given Mitsubishi's financial problems (may cut corners) and the X's development taking place out of the WRC there has to be a small possibility the X will be a "really neat sports car". I can't wait to see what happens!

 

The Evo is not intended to be a big seller and bring Mitsubishi out of its financial troubles. It is a halo car for a company in need of an image change in the US.

Neither is it a limited production model - they will make as many Evos as they can sell. They are mostly breaking even on selling them because of the low volume and relatively low demand here because 99% of drivers out there would not be interested in an Evo.

If they do make the Evo X this big, more refined vehicle (read - more expensive), they may have trouble selling it as it will price itself outside of the current market for the vehicle. The new people they would want to lure into the Evo X with its hefty price tag would not be interested in a Mitsubishi at that kind of price.

 

you have no (read: ZERO) information to support this, your wet dreams notwithstanding.