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[BennyBlanco]

In the 90s and early 00s they made such cool cars.

Lancer Evos were cool as shit. 3000 GTs. Eclipses. Idk what happened exactly but anecdotally these cars were popular. Eclipses were everywhere. I knew multiple people with 3000 GTs. I always wanted an Evo since playing some rally game as a kid and thinking they were the coolest cars.

Now they only exist to pump out these gaudy pieces of shit and nothing else. I understand that only SUVs sell now but it’s sad to see them go from a unique and cool lineup to cranking out absolute slop like this and seemingly on the verge of exiting the business.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

Mitsubishi as a company is doing well overall I believe. But I agree OP, they need to revive the cars they built in the 90s.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

The best thing Mitsubishi ever built.

 

[wipeout364]

I think it’s crazy that nobody except subaru and Volvo go after the wagon market. Wagons are so much better than these “SUV” boxes. Really most people just want a big trunk and AWD.

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

The fall of Mitsubishi was 100% Nissan's doing. They betrayed Mitsubishi (who was and is still manufacturing probably half of their cars for them) with the supposed 'faking of emissions data' exposure, orchestrated the whole thing with the media and authorities with the end goal of a hostile takeover, which they successfully did. They then immediately canned a majority of what Mitsubishi Engineering was working on, stopped manufacture of spare parts for models over 5 years old, and transferred much of the tech (especially electric) over to Nissan.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

What downfall?

Company is doing well for itself. Times change, markets change, customer requirements and the ever tighening emmision regulations. This is the reason the STI is no longer produced. Also why big NA engines will die away. It's the reason you see manufacturers downsizing engines and adding electrification assistance to produce performance models. You're going to spend millions in R&D to develop a low volume seller like a new 3000GT (as an example). Which model could you share this new 3000GT platform with?
You see this is the reason why manufacturers share platforms across model lines. Example: The upcoming M5 shared its hybrid powerplant with the XM. The S58 in the M3 is shared across the M4, X3 M, X4 M, and M2.

Does a 3000GT, Eclipse or Evo make sense in todays market? Who will these vehicles cater to and how much will it cost to produce these vehicles? What is the target market?
Some of the quesitons you have to think about.

Mitsubishi may now be focusing on volume sellers like SUV's. The car industry is a dog eat dog world. You either survive on your own or you risk getting eaten up by a bigger fish. See how so many other car companies fall under one umbrella.

EDIT: Just to add, I too would like a revival of these older cars like the RX7, 3000 GT, Eclipse, STI, Celica GT4 and other popular performance Jap cars but I doubt we'd get them again. If you happen to come across one, don't let them go. Their value is skyrocketing.

I used to own a Celica GT4 WRC Edition (in carbon blue) and I bought it for $10 000 back in early 2000's. Now they're going for close to $60 000 and are so rare, I think there's only 1 or 2 for sale in the whole of NZ. Only ever seen a handful on the road over the past 6 years.

 

[Quasicat]

I knew a guy in college that had Lancer Evolution. He was a nice guy but never made it through the program due to his parents having money and not wanting him to go into public education.

On a side note: I liked the car commercial better on the Chappelle Show:

 

[newtypepilot]

downfall?? you do know that their auto division is just one small part of the company, right? It's like a hobby for them.

And the fact of the matter is that the car market is different today than it was in the 90s. Murica likes big ass SUVs and crossovers. Fun sedans are dying. It's sad but that's the reality. Part of the reason Nissan got into financial trouble is because they were wasting tons of resources with R&D on low volume sellers.

 

[daffyduck]

Station wagons are not made in huge numbers anymore, because the market doesn’t want them. Outback is essentially a crossover SUV.

And the Mitsu “glory days” were when they collaborated with Mopar. There aren’t too many cool Chryslers anymore either.

 

[RavageX]

Almost all car designs are safe now. No one really does crazy cool things unless they are supercars, which is a shame.

 

[TGO]

I loved their cars in the 90's/00's
The death of the that era really is at fault, they have no reason to make those cars anymore.
Although that era of cars are still highly popular with our generation and still turn heads.

 

[demigod]

Still have my 3000 GT sitting in the garage. AC messed up, need to fix the seats.

 

[Embearded]

downfall?? you do know that their auto division is just one small part of the company, right? It's like a hobby for them.

And the fact of the matter is that the car market is different today than it was in the 90s. Murica likes big ass SUVs and crossovers. Fun sedans are dying. It's sad but that's the reality. Part of the reason Nissan got into financial trouble is because they were wasting tons of resources with R&D on low volume sellers.

This.
Although, it's not just America that likes SUVs and Crossovers.
These god damn fake ass SUVs are taking over the entire world.

I hate it when i see cars taking up so much park space when there is an 1.0lt engine under the hood.

 

[Kittehkraken]

I want an Evo 3.

Which reminds me, i need to go rewatch Thunderbolt.

 

[eddie4]

I used to own a lancer in 03, very reliable and ok looking, i drove it for over 250k miles and never an issue, friend had a 3000gt. I used to like the eclipse styling, and they did have some decent cars and decent reliability. I purchased an outlander two years ago, which was basically a Nissan rogue wrapped in Mitsubishi makeup. Within the first week, hood was recalled due to wobble, fuel pump recall, camera and sensor system recall, then entertainment system recall, the cvt was shit, very rubbery, i hated it. For the price, the features were great, but the reliability was just not there. I ended up trading it in after two years. I miss the old Mitsubishi days.

 

[Panajev2001a]

In the 90s and early 00s they made such cool cars.

Lancer Evos were cool as shit. 3000 GTs. Eclipses. Idk what happened exactly but anecdotally these cars were popular. Eclipses were everywhere. I knew multiple people with 3000 GTs. I always wanted an Evo since playing some rally game as a kid and thinking they were the coolest cars.

Now they only exist to pump out these gaudy pieces of shit and nothing else. I understand that only SUVs sell now but it’s sad to see them go from a unique and cool lineup to cranking out absolute slop like this and seemingly on the verge of exiting the business.

The signs were there when they chickened out of the console gaming market with the Lord given M2 architecture … then so remember Matshushita != Mitsubishi.

Jokes aside, I remember a 2000 green Mitsubishi Eclipse I used to drive… nice car, unfortunately it was an automatic so sometimes you were fighting with the transmission more than you wanted to. It could have been a kickass chassis for an electric vehicle though… .

 

[thefool]

They also made some really cool vcr's. I have a HS-421UR (same as the pic) and it's still the best looking equipment i have in my house. My videogame consoles next to it look like cheap monstrosities.

 

[winjer]

Truth be told, the whole car industry has been in decline in Japan.
In the 90s, there was so much cool stuff coming out of Japan. But today, that is the exception.

 

[willothedog]

I think it’s crazy that nobody except subaru and Volvo go after the wagon market. Wagons are so much better than these “SUV” boxes. Really most people just want a big trunk and AWD.

Audi RS4?

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Chinese EVs from companies such as BYD are a huge threat to the global car market.

 

[Doczu]

I think it’s crazy that nobody except subaru and Volvo go after the wagon market. Wagons are so much better than these “SUV” boxes. Really most people just want a big trunk and AWD.

True. Volvo (V/XC70) and Subarus are way out of my price range and good luck finding a awd wagon with a V6 for a reasonable price in Europe. And i'm talking about used. No new cars for me. I'd either need to get Mercedes E, Audi 6 or BMW 5 to meet my criteria (based on trunk size alone) and i can't afford one thatcaint like 15+ years old. I had to get a Dodge Journey clone as it was cheaper and surely more reliable than those cars. For Europe it has a "ridiculous" big trunk for a SUV.

 

[Smiggs]

Mitsubishi makes awesome machining tools. Their drills, insertable tools, indexable cutters and everything else is all top notch stuff. They're doing fine.

 

[Toots]

If you ever feel nostalgic again OP, blast this while doing donuts in your 1995 eclipse.

 

[DGrayson]

should get back into ecstasy

 

[Doczu]

should get back into ecstasy

Good days. Mitsubishi was always sign of a good night ahead

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

80/90's Japanese sport cars are my favorite.

This hybrid SUV can't tell them apart shit is sad af.

Ugly ass cars.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Mitsubishi has a large shipyard in Nagasaki that hires a lot of foreign workers. I believe it's over 150 years old.

When I was teaching English in the city I'd often get a local asking what I was did for work and they'd assume I was a Mitsubishi employee. This was always amusing to me as I'm basically useless when it comes to doing any kind of slightly complex manual work.

 

[drganon]

My mom had this white Mitsubishi sedan when I was growing up. Can't remember the year or model, just that it was boxy looking and lasted around 10 years.

 

[Mossybrew]

These god damn fake ass SUVs are taking over the entire world.

Yeah this type of vehicle has become the default car. All very similar looking fat blob looking vehicles. So boring, there are so many of them.

 

[GladiusFrog]

Owned a 99 Eclipse GSX, had a racing trans, Evo headers and big 16g turbo. That blow off valve sound was music to my ears, was awesome car, except it was expensive to maintain.

Was fun kicking Camaro SS and Mustang GTs asses in a 4 cylinder. One of the best looking cars ever made imo.

I miss Old Mitsubishi.

* NOT THE CAR I OWNED, LOOKS IDENTICAL*

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

All cars these days are anonymous and blur together, I could never pick out one company from the next without logos, it's all the same exact shit, the same design motifs, with nothing that stands out or is interesting, just totally anonymous.

The last time cars had any sort of style to them was the 2000s, but there's something wrong with people, cars like the PT Cruiser or Honda Element got shit, especially the Cruiser, but at least had SOME sense of style, now we get nothing at all.

You see this a lot these days, from cars to store design, restaurant design, anything with a sense of style was "tacky" so now we get nothing at all, I don't get people.

 

[poodaddy]

I'm not a car guy, so I feel like I'm not in the position to completely empathize OP, but I kinda get what you're saying. That being said, I always just think of what's the most useful vehicle as a parent, and that tends to be SUV's for me, so I must begrudgingly admit to preferring the SUV in that image over the cars.

I'm not crazy though, I know the cars would be funner to drive. I had a Mercury Cougar back in the day and it was much funner to drive than the various SUV's I've had over the past two decades. That's life though, driving just isn't gonna be as fun as an adult. I hardly ever even look at my speed in the car now when I'm driving, I just look at the miles per gallon efficiency gauge in the center of my Subaru to make sure I'm getting the best gas mileage I can lol. I'm just a boring old dude trying to save money these days.

 

[wondermega]

1997, I was fresh out of college, and in the market for (my 1st) car. Got a job and 3 months under my belt and I fell in love with 3000 GT, it just looked incredible. But, a bit out of my price range. I "settled" for a Eclipse RS instead, paid $500 extra for a spoiler (and didn't get an AC because I lived in the Northeast - this would come back to haunt me a couple years later after moving to SoCal). I loved that thing, in my head I was cruising around town in the Batmobile..

I killed the transmission twice and it was gone after a decade and change. Now I look out on the freeway and every car design looks dull and uninspired. Why did the future turn out like this?

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I mean OP is talking about 20-30 years ago. The decline of Mitsubishi has generally run parallel to the decline of Japan in general

 

[TwiztidElf]

History goes back to the 1600's and the Yamauchi clan.

 

[dorkimoe]

was a huge fan of the Eclipse and the 3000 GT, they also made a huge like 80 inch tv back in the 90s

 

[EverydayBeast]

Mitsubishi had an identity during the 90s and 00s times are different now

 

[xrnzaaas]

Mitsubishi has been a complete joke since Lancer X went out of production and that was around 7-8 years ago. They can't even make attractive new crossovers despite the segment being so popular... Eclipse Cross is Aztek levels ugly and the new ASX is the Renault Captur in disguise.

 

[sankt-Antonio]

Hasn't the Japanese car industry been found to have cheated crash tests on a massive scale just recently? Could be the final nail in the coffin for Mitsubishi.

 

[mclaren777]

I'm still pretty salty that we never got the FTO here in the States.

 

[BlackTron]

I used to own a Celica GT4 WRC Edition (in carbon blue) and I bought it for $10 000 back in early 2000's. Now they're going for close to $60 000 and are so rare, I think there's only 1 or 2 for sale in the whole of NZ. Only ever seen a handful on the road over the past 6 years.

I always liked the Celica and my friend into Nissans made fun of me for liking a girl car lol.

I ended up with a Scion TC and he also said every one he sees on the road has a girl in it. Freaking asshole

 

[tamago84]

Almost all car designs are safe now. No one really does crazy cool things unless they are supercars, which is a shame.

Bmw has been doing some pretty controversial designs and they are selling insanely well for it. I like their designs overall, maybe the xm a little too radical tho

 

[SoloCamo]

I always liked the Celica and my friend into Nissans made fun of me for liking a girl car lol.

I ended up with a Scion TC and he also said every one he sees on the road has a girl in it. Freaking asshole

On topic, one day I'll have an Evo 9. Actually ran into a modded Dodge Stealth RT (3000GT VR-4 equivalent) recently. He must have made decent power out of it on as on a roll I couldn't keep up.

 

[Soltype]

The downfall of the auto industry is sad.Cars have become so neutered, the only tactile metric they have left is horsepower

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

Cars nowadays, at least around my area are just ugly copies of ugly cars.

Here and there you get and Golf GTI or whatever (not a car guy so we) acting cool but that's all.

It's like they put "dimising taste" in the water lol.

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

My dad's is a hardcore Honda guy. Love his Jazz.

Then again I'm a sucker for white and black rims or whatever.
Just a family car but the front looks mean.

Sorry for the offtopic

 

[-Minsc-]

*Drives away in my wife's 2023 Hyundai Elantra*

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

I always found it funny that cars are simultaneously a gemstone and a tool

 

[Hudo]

The best thing Mitsubishi ever built.

Best Mitsubishi product ever made.

 

[Doczu]

Just remembered i knew a guy who had a Galant VIII VR-4 station wagon. Bit modded that had 300+ HP. Now that car could fly (for it's time)