Is Mitsubishi about to flop?

[Daniel]

Ok first of all check out this link:

http://www.ralliart.com.au/RalliartVehicles/ColtTurbo.aspx

Looks pretty good right? I mean the way to boost sales of a slow selling model is to bring out a more desirable spec and hook people in who will pay less for the basic model (eg: what Mazda does with the SP23/MPS). But will anyone actually buy this thing?

If your answer is yes then look at the price tag. $29990 + onroad!

Now VW has bought back a revival of turbo charged hatches. With its Gen V Golf GTI it spawned such competitors as the Focus SR5 and Mazda MPS (with hopefully a Tiida sport and turbo next gen corolla to come). All wanting their piece of the Gran Tourismo Generation. All priced less than the market leader VW.

VW then release another - The Polo GTI at $26990, and mitsubishi are dumb enough to price their's $3000 more? And this is not considering the imminent launch of the Suzuki GTI (expect around $20,000 and the sport version of the Ford Fiesta (more than likely mid 20s).

Honestly who is running this company?

Now all said and done the EVO is a brilliant car for those who can afford it. The technology is brilliant but at the end of the day its just a way overpriced WRX. Add this to the fact they rebadged an 8 year old Galant and called it the new 380 which didnt even sell 1000 units in the first 7 months of this year if you minus fleet sales.

Now the outlander isnt a bad looking car and competitively priced. Im also a fan of the new Lancer wagon. If I was in the market for a wagon it'd win me over a Astra or Corolla wagon. But you cant bank on survival on the back of a compact 4WD and a 4 cyl wagon.

I am appauled Mr Mitsubishi. Get some people with a clue in charge of Mitsubishi Australia and you might be in with a fighting chance. If not, say hello to Daihatsu, MG and Daewoo on the way out.

/end rant

[perthcamry]

For the good of the Aussie industry and parts manufacture I hope not

The 380 costs about 29 on the road for a 380 vs 42k (the price I was quoted for a base model new Commy) for a commodore I know where I would put the money if I had a family and a mortgage. A Camry :o

[Northy]

i dont think that 30K for the Ralliart Colt is too much or too cheap when you have a look at it its twice the price of the base model...

[gOODbOYz]

doesnt explain how long 0-100...

[RedLiner]

They flopped ages ago...

ever since they tried to invade kiama on cruise day lol

[Ashs Red Rolla]

First of all, it is Mitsubishi Australia that is in trouble i.e the South Australian plant, not Mitsubishi in Japan. This is due to the fact that Ozzies prefer there Commodores and Falcons to the Magna...

Secondly the Mitsubishi EVO, is streets adhead of ANY WRX, in technology, styling, and preformance. The WRX has always been a sad second to the EVO. I would NEVER buy a WRX, as i believe the EVO, even if more expensive is well worth the extra money.

Toyota brought out the Camry Sportivo to boost sales, and look how many THOUSANDS of those are around, its a proven formula. I am grateful that Oz is finally getting preformance cars, that a couple years ago would never even of been thought about by the car company exec's to bring here........

[DANZZT231]

Evolution 9 is a bargain with that price. Drive one and you will know how fantastic the car is.

[Daniel]

EVO's are great cars. Im not doubting that for a sec. They have a model with 400bhp that keeps up with a lambo around a race track (as seen in top gear).

I just think this colt was a good idea - it got me interested coz I thought "small car, turbo, probly be low to mid 20s" but turns out its 30 grand! Way over priced for a 1.5 small car with only 113 Kw. Its the same price as a brand new stivo. Suzuki Swift is also 15-16 grand for the base model. I bet the GTI wont be 30K!

I'd keep 3 grand in my pocket and buy the german made and worth over 30 grand Polo GTI for 26990 any day of the week. Atleast it doesnt look like a retarted honda jazz.

[ZEEROLLA]

EVO's are great cars. Im not doubting that for a sec. They have a model with 400bhp that keeps up with a lambo around a race track (as seen in top gear).

I just think this colt was a good idea - it got me interested coz I thought "small car, turbo, probly be low to mid 20s" but turns out its 30 grand! Way over priced for a 1.5 small car with only 113 Kw. Its the same price as a brand new stivo. Suzuki Swift is also 15-16 grand for the base model. I bet the GTI wont be 30K!

I'd keep 3 grand in my pocket and buy the german made and worth over 30 grand Polo GTI for 26990 any day of the week. Atleast it doesnt look like a retarted honda jazz.

i've seen one in the flesh and it carries some nice things like the 16inch Advan AD07 tyres which is nice, and the super sporty Recaros similar to Type R ones, not like the XR5 ones (and its XR5 not SR5 :P). pop the bonnet though and you will cringe.. cheap red painted engine cover, there is a strut bar and a small front mounted intercooler in front of the left wheel. For $29,990 i am not interested. It does come with 10year powertrain warranty though and 5 year bumper to bumper. I think end of day its still a 1500cc and with a bit of mods like bigger front mount etc (losing warranty of course!) it can produce some nice figures but then the money could get you a XR5 or MPS with much more cubic inches. So its pretty clear, this one won't be a seller. ;)

EVOs are nice, i would probably take it over the STI BUT for the price $62,000 driveaway i was quoted, its not little money for a Mitsubishi.

Edited September 4, 2006 by ZEEROLLA

[Mello]

on top gear u should have also seen that a wrx and a evo cannot be compared,

evo has active yaw

sti has adjustable differential and better build quality at a slightly cheaper price

both completely different.

Actually its quite wrong. Mitsubishi japan is also haveing huge problems due to unsatisfactory customer service etc... in japan (plus we all know that the quality of mitsubishi is not as great) There was a huge documentary on this a couple of years ago.

Ill also point out that the colt was not designed for the australian market, it was designed for the asia market and stupidly enough mitsuOOsutoraria decided to bring it here.

U never know i mean as Ash Red Rolla said the stivo sold heaps, You see more stivos then levin's now a days. All depends. However i have a slight prediction that toyota is heading down the same path as mitsubishi with its aurion =P. i mean... that reminds me of the mitsubishi magna aka 380.

MG is now owned by china

daihatsu still exists in japan (they only pulled out of australia due to poor figures and druggies kept using them in melbourne.)

daewoo (was that really a company? it was just another hyundai i reckon)

Has any1 also noticed that FIAT has opened up their branches in aussie.. thats gonna end up same as daihatsu and

hopefully ferrari will be sold to general motors and we can all afford cheap ferrari's =P

Edited September 4, 2006 by Mello

[selyaT]

Take a look at the corporate structure of these companys, what does market intelligence suggest the consumer wants at this point in time? Mitsubishi Australia don't care anymore, they're panicked and they're throwing every little thing they have in a vain attempt to achieve greater market share. Check out who the CEO's are now and where they came from...

What happened to Nissan? In the good ol' 90's they were producing a great range of turbocharged rockets from factory, backed up by bulletproof RB and SR series engines... Where are they now? How many boy-racers in Japan are forking out $50,000 worth of Yen to buy the 350Z - The non-turbo mid-life-crisis car that 50 year old Western males have made their own... Oh and V35 GT-R?? Coming in 2003, no sorry 2004, wait 2005... what is it now? 2010? Do some research about the recently-appointed (I think it's been a few years now) CEO of Nissan Corporation and find out something interesting...

Also, our performance/hot hatch interest is now only a small niche market... What do people want? Fuel economy, a cost effective ride that can carry their obese wife and 2.7 kids to Maccas on the weekend for Burgers with sugar free buns... It's pretty much the end of the world now :)

[CAP]

Unfortunately for Mitsubishi Aus, the 380 is a fantastic car, that is highly under rated and highly overlooked.

People need to drive it before judging it.

[DANZZT231]

The 380 looks cool in my opinion, I saw one the other day with growling exhaust, lowered with one of those simpled well mannered looking 19 inch wheels.

[CAP]

380 GT looks great

[RME1]

From a production side perspective - although it's unfair to compare sometimes

Damiler Chrylser Plant in USA - 1000 300c's a week

Mitsubishi Plant South Australia - 300 380's a week

Holden VE approx - 500-600 (to increase during release) a week

All three of these cars export overseas --- obviously the 300c has already hit cult status, but Mitsubishi Australia is hoping the 380 is a hit in the export market - i.e. for some reason, the arabian's love the 380?

hehehe, it helps to be a third party logistics provider :D

[perthcamry]

I think if any of the big aussie cars came with LPG standard they would have a winner. 380 with LPG std for 29k drive away say 31 for the VRX and I would think about it ;)

[steve_g]

wouldn't it be more fair to compare an evo with an sti

and wouldn't surprise me to see mitsubishi not making any cars in not to distance future, unless some drastic reversal occurs

[evo]

a little something..

(not-run in) colt ralliart driven by scott pedder at wakefield netted a 1:18

how does that compare to the stivo? so far from searching i see a 1.18 before coilies but with crappy turanza tyres?

[Ashs Red Rolla]

I agree with PerthCamry, if they came standard on gas, they would fly out the door. But with all the news earlier this year about Mitsubishi, people are far too scared to buy one because they think they will be left in the dark, if Mitsu do go bust. The level of finish in the Mitsu range is far better then others, I previously owned a CH Lancer, i had it for 18 months, only ever had one problem. Every time i went back for a service it was always a pleasent experiance, unlike the sh!t i have to put up with from Toyota.

The finish the Lancer had was great, couldnt fault it. My sister has a CG Lancer, its finish is great. My dad drives a Magna VRX and its finish is awesome. When he brought his first Magna (he was a diehard Commodore fan, our last one stuffed its gearbox and altanator with in the first 3 years), we looked at both the VT Commodore (Berlina), and the AU Falcon (Fairmont). The Magna or Verada which was the equivilent to the others just sh!t all over the other 2 finish wise. And my dad has never looked back....

I think it comes down to just some poor styling, bad choices when releasing a new model, and the economy that has let mitsu and others down. An example is the Nissan Tiida, what a fark up that was to get rid of the Pulsar name.....

[Daniel]

I think the market in Australia is heavily influenced by hot hatches. People like myself that played gran tourismo on Playstation when I was a teenager using cars like GTR's, Escudos and 3000GT's. We are now in our 20's, in decent jobs and got some money behind us, and because of petrol prices are look at small turbo charged cars. Hence the car companies call us "The Gran Tourismo" generation of buyer.

Ok base model Focus - 20K, XR5 - 35K

Corolla Ascent - 19K, Stivo - 30K

Mazda 3 - 22K, SP23 - 30K, MPS - 40K

Impreza - 24K, WRX - 40K

Now... Colt - 16K, Ralliart Colt - 30K

Lancer 20K, Lancer EVO 62K

Do you see how these are just over priced and only true enthusiasts will buy? Bad move Mitsubishi.

If Nissan bring out the Tiida sport concept it will boost sales for the base Tiida. Either that or bring back the pulsar badge!

[Ashs Red Rolla]

I think the market in Australia is heavily influenced by hot hatches. People like myself that played gran tourismo on Playstation when I was a teenager using cars like GTR's, Escudos and 3000GT's. We are now in our 20's, in decent jobs and got some money behind us, and because of petrol prices are look at small turbo charged cars. Hence the car companies call us "The Gran Tourismo" generation of buyer.

Ok base model Focus - 20K, XR5 - 35K

Corolla Ascent - 19K, Stivo - 30K

Mazda 3 - 22K, SP23 - 30K, MPS - 40K

Impreza - 24K, WRX - 40K

Now... Colt - 16K, Ralliart Colt - 30K

Lancer 20K, Lancer EVO 62K

Do you see how these are just over priced and only true enthusiasts will buy? Bad move Mitsubishi.

If Nissan bring out the Tiida sport concept it will boost sales for the base Tiida. Either that or bring back the pulsar badge!

You are comparing apples with oranges with the Lancer and EVO. Comparing a 2.4Ltr front drive car, with a 2Ltr turbo, all wheel drive and all the technology and pedigree of the EVO is way to harsh. If mitsubishi released a 2.4Ltr turbo front drive Lancer for around $40k like the other car makers fair enough....

The Focus XR5 still works out to be over $40k when yo get the on road costs. The Ralliart Colt does seem slightly over priced, but just wait until the Swift GTi is released to be able to compare. I have said before the Golf GTi seems way over priced for my likeing when for an extra 5-10k i could get an EVO....

If we even get the Tiida Sport concept it will be soo watered down compared to the concept. Considering the concept is rolling on i think it was 20's, they will most likely come down to 18's. And still be priced to compete with the MPS, XR5 etc. Dont forget HSV still have the VXR to come....

[sportiyo]

Unfortunately for Mitsubishi Aus, the 380 is a fantastic car, that is highly under rated and highly overlooked.

People need to drive it before judging it.

most of the mitsubishi's overlooked and underated, 3000gt, fto, marage coburg,

[DANZZT231]

Mirage Cyborg you meant.

You see, most manufacturers who produced car for general crowd will last, take a good look at Toyota. There's a reason why they are soft on their performance car - to make sure everyone can live with it. Except for the Supra, but where are they now? Turbo MR2?

Nissan made fantastic sports car, but not everyone would wants one - as a result they struggled to stay alive and Renault came to the rescue. Same goes to Mazda, but Mazda is always poor about their design except for the MX-5 and RX-7 - but not many people would want one and then they too are struggling, until Ford bought them. Mitsubishi? Well, we know what happened with them.

Honda? Well, their cars are now more civilised I must say and its not as performance oriented anymore compared to the past. Where's the hot VTI-R range? What happened with Type R badge? Apart from manufacturing location and export exchange rates, I think Honda realised it won't make it if it to keep their sports image to the level back years ago.

Out of all the car manufacturer I mentioned above, only Toyota have this common people's car. The rest have strong performance oriented image. While enthutiast likes it, the accountant don't. Now that Mitsubishi tried to fix its image, nobody really care anymore, and the enthutiast are getting upset. Win some, Lose some. Mitsubishi is facing identity crisis. Resources are limited, so they have to sacrifice something to favor the other.

The question is, which will they favor?

[CAP]

The way I see it, this car is priced similar to a Levin and had more power and features...

Don't see why it wont sell.

[DANZZT231]

Its smaller though. Swift Sport in Japan, is 4wd and looks so cool. Colt turbo looks very aggressive too.