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Why Mitsubishi is No Longer Making Performance Cars

Old Mar 11, 2019, 10:03 AM
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Why Mitsubishi is No Longer Making Performance Cars

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/her...formance-cars/
Old Mar 11, 2019, 10:24 AM
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Funny they cite the nsx sales as "poor" and that people aren't buying those types of cars anymore. The nsx sales suck because the nsx basically sucks...lol
Old Mar 11, 2019, 11:15 AM
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I doubt that focusing on "AWD SUV's and crossovers" is going to put Mitsu in any better position than before, but I wish them luck!

Most car companies make and sell less sports cars today because there is no demand at this time. Have you ever met the guy that you know has a lot of money, but decides to buy the Nissan Leaf or the Honda Accord instead of an exciting car?.......because practically trumps all in his mind? Sadly, there are a lot of those guys now...and they ALL have a hard time finding a girlfriend.
Old Mar 11, 2019, 12:18 PM
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I don't thin Mitsu is looking at increased market share. I think what they're saying is that, as a brand that only sells ~1.2mil vehicles world wide they simply can't justify the development costs of a performance car that would likely sell less than 50k units annually world wide. So it's not about "improving" position, its about keeping the company afloat. They're putting the development money into vehicles they think will sell at a much leger scale with higher margin..
Old Mar 11, 2019, 06:36 PM
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The NSX is a decent car, it's just $155,000 and not at all comparable to anything Mitsubishi should be doing. I get why Mitsubishi is sour on building a new Lancer, since the last one wasn't a very good car and didn't sell well. Mitsubishi can't afford to develop a new sedan from scratch, and can't afford to make a big mistake again. They're going for high-probability, low-effort success because they're BROKE, and haven't been given much room to innovate. Renault/Nissan didn't buy Mitsubishi to lose money, but instead to extract whatever technology they could get and try to get some value out of the company. If it's true about the sedan market shrinking, I get it, but sedans will always sell. I think Ford is making a big mistake by cutting off all sedan sales, so there may be a void worth filling for other manufacturers. Basically for a new Evo to happen, Mitsubishi needs to step up to design a good base model Lancer that is reliable, innovative, and sells well. I just don't see them doing it.
Old Mar 12, 2019, 06:53 AM
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More reason for anyone with a Evo to hold onto theirs. I don't think we'll see anything like it again honestly, but I could be wrong. Sure there are better cars out there, but the new cars just don't deliver the same engaging driver experience that these cars deliver and past performance cars.
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Old Mar 12, 2019, 07:21 AM
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Originally Posted by jayevo23
More reason for anyone with a Evo to hold onto theirs. I don't think we'll see anything like it again honestly, but I could be wrong. Sure there are better cars out there, but the new cars just don't deliver the same engaging driver experience that these cars deliver and past performance cars.
Well said @jayevo23 . The CT9A is certainly becoming a rare bird out there on the streets. Its not an investment, but great to see the value increasing w/time
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Old Mar 12, 2019, 07:40 AM
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I would bet that Mitsubishi lost money on every Evo they made because it used so many unique parts and they sold so few of them. They couldn't charge more $ for the car because they had to compete with Subaru who sold many more WRXs and STIs.
Old Mar 12, 2019, 08:36 AM
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how do they explain Porsche sales, and their performance line up ? Looking at NSX, and incoming Supra doesn't represent the whole picture. Build a good sports car, and people will buy.

Originally Posted by letsgetthisdone
Funny they cite the nsx sales as "poor" and that people aren't buying those types of cars anymore. The nsx sales suck because the nsx basically sucks...lol

Last edited by letMeIn; Mar 12, 2019 at 08:41 AM.
Old Mar 12, 2019, 01:01 PM
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Originally Posted by letMeIn
how do they explain Porsche sales, and their performance line up ? Looking at NSX, and incoming Supra doesn't represent the whole picture. Build a good sports car, and people will buy.
Porsches don't suck. So theres that...
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Old Mar 12, 2019, 07:20 PM
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Will there ever never be a Jeep Wrangler? Will there ever never be a Land Cruiser. Will there ever never be a 911. There's currently 25 different models of the Porsche 911 according to the Porsche company web page. When producing an iconic car some manufacturers are smart enough to figure that out and keep making them forever. Not Mitsubishi.
Old Mar 13, 2019, 01:08 AM
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Self fulfiling prophicy, don't make performance cars cause they don't sell, so let's focus on selling a mil cheapo SUVs a year and try to survive. I've worked for companies run by Accountants and instead of creating a vision of the products of the future to make you proud of their products they roll out internal strategies to save money like taking your milk supply away. I know plenty of Ford, Holden, Nissen, Toyota lovers even Kia and Hyundai cause of their new performance cars but not one mitsu lover!
Old Mar 13, 2019, 07:33 AM
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I'm pretty sure even if mitsu came out with a new evo, almost everyone here would just be dumping on it. Maybe it's better to die a legend then live to become a sad shadow of your former self.
Old Mar 13, 2019, 08:31 AM
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ie the eclipse...
Old Mar 13, 2019, 08:41 AM
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Originally Posted by barneyb
Will there ever never be a Jeep Wrangler? Will there ever never be a Land Cruiser. Will there ever never be a 911. There's currently 25 different models of the Porsche 911 according to the Porsche company web page. When producing an iconic car some manufacturers are smart enough to figure that out and keep making them forever. Not Mitsubishi.
Mitsubishi is not as iconic as perhaps you think. Porsche is on another level. And their margins are likely insane. Do you think the cost difference to build a Carrera S vs a GT2 is actually reflected in the retail price difference of ~$100k vs $290k? I guarantee you the cost to build the GT2 is not triple the cost of a base Carrera.

And they're both still Porsche's. Both are VERY nice cars to drive. A lancer is a border line ****box for the price. The Evo is a border high performance borderline **** box for the price.

Originally Posted by Jonno99
Self fulfiling prophicy, don't make performance cars cause they don't sell, so let's focus on selling a mil cheapo SUVs a year and try to survive. I've worked for companies run by Accountants and instead of creating a vision of the products of the future to make you proud of their products they roll out internal strategies to save money like taking your milk supply away. I know plenty of Ford, Holden, Nissen, Toyota lovers even Kia and Hyundai cause of their new performance cars but not one mitsu lover!
You're a car enthusiast, you hang out with other car enthusiasts. Average *******s don't buy a standard/base model ford fiesta/focus/mustang/F150 because Ford has the ST/RS models, the GT350, and the raptor.

It may be a self fulfilling prophecy, but if the money isn't there to develop a new platform, the money simply isn't there. And they're never going to secure a loan for it if they can't show it's going to make money.

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