At least Subaru is trying to maintain its sporting credentials. Witness the upgrades to the STi and the deletion of added gadgetry. Mitsubishi? They're trying to sell us yet another "Evo" with an automatic.

 

Well considering the MR has beaten the GSR around tracks, and the lux models have been selling okay, it would seem to me that Mitsubishi is bringing its best to the people rather then just chasing a blurb for today's blog or some minor internet buzz that will be forgotten in a couple of months.

But that's just the way I see it. Don't let me get in the way of your rant.

 

Selling OK? In what country? Even with dealer incentives and financing offers, there still may be a chance of finding a 08 unsold. Hell, the cars are selling so badly, Mitsu completely omitted the 09 model year, altogether. You know all this better than I do. Sure, folks are just lining up to buy an "Evo" with an auto gearbox that needs massaging just to take off from a light. C'mon.

 

F1 transmissions are usually rebuilt after each race, not comparing a TC-SST to a F1's but if you track your MR frequently I can see a rebuild or failure coming sooner than later. The purposeful 5-speed probably won't require as frequent rebuilds or changes, though it can be strengthened cheaper and rebuilt cheaper as well.

Even the GT-R has issues with its transmission especially under a lot of load and stress, and that car is in supercar territory. I just rather see a 6 speed version for a little cheaper and not have to worry about breaking it at any point, that is if I could actually afford one.

 

Relatively. By building the "autos" as you call them and going after the luxury market, they are selling a few more Evos then they would if they just had GSRs (or built any RSs) Stis aren't flying off the lot either and have a bunch of cash and incentives on the hood.

There's no body lining up to buy anything in this market.

 

A transmission that shifts automatically is an automatic transmission. One can call it anything he likes, but it's still an automatic.

You seem to be arguing my point in a roundabout way. If Mitsu introduced a marketable, desirable car to begin with, they wouldn't need to dilute it even further just to garner some extra sales. That was rarely an issue in the past, when folks were offered a car they actually wanted to buy. Same goes for the STI. It was not a car the STI buyer wanted to purchase, especially with the revised WRX getting similar numbers. It's all about street cred. That's what sells these cars.

The incentives, pointing to a distinct lack of demand for the car by the faithful, failed to clear the lots in time. The same incentives also didn't attract enough civilians, if you will, to buy the small number of cars allocated to the USDM, again pointing to a unique position in the marketplace. Folks have made tremendous sacrifices to buy previous Evolutions and they're still making them today while shopping on the used market. Those same buyers just aren't willing to make the sacrifices for the X, even though some could buy a new one for just a bit more as they paid for a 4 year old IX. It's not a car the Evo buyer wants, and it's not a car that's competitive with milder, yet more luxurious and buttoned-down sedans. Hell, just the vast expanses of hard plastic surfaces, coupled with creaks, rattles driven by poor material selection guarantee a lack of sales in the segment. Lose-lose.

Getting back to my original comment, instead of offering an Evo that would sell, Mitsu is giving us another one that won't. Perhaps the SE's 300 unit distribution will guarantee a sellout followed by pathetically misguided braggadocio of a press release, like the one they issued after introducing the X claiming a large increase in sales over the previous year's model. Looking at all this as a somewhat educated outsider, Mitsu's current actions are on par with calling a car a Starion, because they misspelled the word.

Let's have a look at how Mitsu and Subaru are handling thse issues. Subaru, after being faced with the prospect of a competing Ralliart, revises its WRX, and brings back its sporting credentials in spades. Mitsubishi does nothing. Subaru, confronted with fading STI sales, revises the model in a more sporting direction. Mitsubishi does the opposite by offering a version with heated seats and (yes) and automatic gearbox. Great.

Strictly from a personal perspective, I'm fascinated by Mitsu's corporate decisions.

 

can we take into account the fact that a PROFESSIONAL X Rally driver is driving? I mean ****.. through your average STI owner into that car and I bet a HUGE difference will result

 

Awsome video i would tear the Tommi Graphics right off that car. And if they stoped me i would cross out the subaru with a sharpie when no one was looking.

 

OK, that one got me raughing pretty good.
That poor, unrucky Starion.

I took Japanese for a year in HS and college each. Major tough language to learn.

 

I have no personal hangups about the MR transmission. Apparently you do.


And people said this when the 8 came out, when the 7 came out. Every iteration some "purist" comes out and says he misses the older "raw" Evos.

Apparently not or not enough, since both Mitsu and Subaru are chasing buyers who want a more refined ride.

That will all be determined by Mitsu's sales results, won't it?

I'm under the impression that is just an urban legend. And considering their naming conventions involving constellations would seem to confirm that.

I have seen the WRX encroach on STI territory, but I have not seen this "more sporting direction" that you do. Could it be a difference of opinion? Or are you saying this is fact? I haven't seen anything but positive press about Mitu's new gearbox, I've also seen it out perform the same car with a manual gearbox, have you not? Or are you conveniently leaving this out of this discussion because it blows your line of thinking out of the water?

I have also read that because of budget concerns, Mitsu's Evo development team is disapointed they did not get to "complete" the X, as in we are only seeing about 80% of the "final" product. I can totally understand them going after more dollars for the bottom line rather then try to appease the hardcore crowd by releasing low volume and low selling RS type vehicles. But beyond that I get the impression there is more hardware we are missing out on because they just don't have the cash.

 

An Automatic Transmission has a Torque Converter.. Just because the Ecu Shifts the car does not make it an Auto..

Mike

 

lol, thank you

 

Sorry, Mike, that's not how the concept is defined. Regardless, what's the big deal about having an automatic transmission or a transmission that shifts automatically? Call it whatever you wish; it's the same thing. Is it such a shame that X-MR owners have to rationalize their purchase by constantly insisting on a use of an acronym? It's almost self-defeating when semantics take precedent.

 

I wish you wouldn't put words in my mouth just because I choose to call it what is is.


You're joking, right? All these replies would be completely rational, if Mitsu were selling the X. But, they're not. Evo buyers are telling them why by voting with their money.

Here's what a perspective Evo owner sees upon entering the buyer's arena:

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/8390810-post22.html

It was written by a non-traditional (at least as it pertains the USDM) Evolution buyer, a middle-aged car guy like myself who isn't influenced by street cred and the acknowledgment of his peers. That partially explains his dismay when faced with a prospect of a used IX costing as a much as a new X. Let's not lose the point. Clearly, there's demand for Evolutions, just not Evo Xs.

It's not an urban legend.

Of course. The gobs of extra power via a revised powerplant and the suspension tuning have nothing to do with a more sporting direction. This is starting to get silly.

I'm not sure what you're arguing here. Evo buyers aren't asking for the auto, Mitsu isn't selling enough to avoid skipping a whole model year and heavily discounting the remaining stock. Where is the demand?

Really, who cares? I'm talking about the car's impact on the marketplace. It is what it is. Excuses are irrelevant. If Mitsu completes the design, as per your assertion, the buyers may return. Or, they may not. It's all up to Mitsu and the effort they put into diluting the Evolution marque. No street cred, no sales.

 

If anything, semantics is taking precedent on your part. As mentioned, autos and manual are mechanically different.

Consider it this way, if you had a machine in the cabin that stepped on the clutch and pushed the gear shift lever every time you push a button, would this now be an automatic transmission? Or how about if i had an automatic transmission but I had to tell the computer when to shift? Is it suddenly a manual transmission? A manual transmission that shifts automatically is not at all the same as an automatic transmission you shift manually. It's an important distinction worth maintaining the acronym over.