Archive for Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi’s last hand of cards in the US is it’s latest facelifted Mitsubishi Outlander SUV which goes on sale this fall. If it does not do well, Mitsubishi might have to pull out of the US market.

Mitsubishi’s fate in the US hangs on the hopes that it’s newly redesigned Outlander, Lancer and other vehicles sell well. Sales for Mitsubishi in the US were 123,995 units in 2005, down from 345,111 in 2002. That is a huge drop. Every product development dollar counts now. Sales are already down 16% this year. Hopefully the numbers will be boosted again when the Outlander SUV goes on sale. Mitsubishi has a good image as a four wheel drive vehicle manufacturer globally, especially with the hugely successful Pajero model. It hopes to re-establish it’s SUV image in the USA.

Mitsubishi dealers in the US have cited lack of advertising as one of the problems which contributed to dropping sales figures. “We have some of the finest automobiles in the U.S., such as the Eclipse and Eclipse Spyder, but nobody knows about them. I don’t think they have enough funds to spend in the U.S. As a franchise, we’re not moving and shaking,” says Bill Seidie who has a Mitsubishi dealership in Miami.

Proton has completed it’s technical feasibility studies with Mitsubishi, and is now waiting for commercial feasibility studies to finish. These feasibility studies are part of an MoU signed in February 2006 to explore the feasibility of cooperation between Mitsubishi and Proton in the development of new vehicles and components supply.

Proton also said it has identified the product ranges suitable for implementation with Petronas. They signed an agreement end-January this year to develop larger-capacity engines and an environmentally friendly alternative fuel system.

Related Posts:
Proton-Mitsubishi Partnership Outline
Mitsubishi 380 to be exported to Malaysia
Proton to use Petronas E01 family engines?

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Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia has lowered the price of it’s Mitsubishi Lancer GLX 1.6 sedan by 2%, which translates to a reduction of RM2000 to RM97,425.30, excluding insurance. Buyers who have booked the car but have yet to register it will also get to enjoy the new price. The Mitsubishi Lancer GLX is a CBU model.

Prices of other Mitsubishi cars distributed by Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia like the Grandis, Outlander, Colt and Evolution 9 will not change.

A team of Proton engineers met with Mitsubishi officials at Mitsubishi Australia’s Adelaide assembly plant last week to discuss the possible import of the Mitsubishi 380 large sedan into Malaysia. This followed the shipment of a single Mitsubishi 380 here last month for climate and government regulation approval testing.

The Mitsubishi 380 is a large sedan based on the North American Mitsubishi Galant and is powered by a 3.8 liter SOHC V6 engine making 235 horsepower at 5250rpm and 343Nm of torque at 4000rpm. Malaysia and other Asia Pacific countries as an export market could relieve the pressure that Mitsubishi Australia is facing as sales on their home grounds for the car isn’t very encouraging.

More details on the Mitsubishi 380 in my previous post.

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In another of Top Gear’s crazy stunts, they pitch a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution against a bobsled in harsh icy terrain.

Good chance for you to see an Evo go wild rally style on ice. Video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Top Gear: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution on ice

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m abit bored of small 2-door hatchbacks, but my current tastes of cars seem to be leaning towards medium to large executive saloons lately, even though people would probably think this guy is driving his father’s car if I roll in driving one. This is the Mitsubishi 380, the successor to the Magna line in Australia.

Click here to read the rest of Mitsubishi 380 3.8L V6

The Edge Daily carries a story with the main points of the new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation signed between Proton and Mitsubishi.

1. Product development of new Proton vehicles
2. Supply of components between Proton and Mitsubishi
3. Technical support for production, engineering and quality control from Mitsubishi to Proton and Proton’s vendors

How will Proton benefit from this partnership?

1. Diversified product range with shorter time to market for development
2. Plug holes in production line-up, mainly for MPV and luxury car segments
3. Use of Mitsubishi parts
4. Technical support and QC help by Mitsubishi

What’s in it for Mitsubishi?

1. Manufacturing facilities at Proton Tanjung Malim, which is sort of good for Proton too as QC at the factory will have to be up to Mitsubishi’s standards.

Top Gear reviews the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR FQ400. A ferocious “family saloon”. Then they proceed to pitch it against something that looks much more like a traditional sports car - a Lamborghini Murcielago.

Click here to read the rest of Top Gear Mitsubishi Evolution VIII Review

Although Mitsubishi has denied any future joint venture plans with Proton, it’s CEO Osamu Masuko said on Tuesday that it would still be open to forming technology-based alliances with Malaysia’s national carmaker. However he said Proton had not made such a request.

Currently Mitsubishi is already providing parts for a total of 70,000 Proton cars yearly. The Proton Gen2 which uses the Campro engine is not entirely Mitsubishi-free as it still uses a Mitsubishi gearbox.

In other news, Edaran Otomobil Nasional believes Proton can still resolve any uncertainly over its relationship with Volkswagen AG. A tech alliance should still be possible. 2.0 turbocharged FSI Satria Replacement Model anyone? Hehe.

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Sorry for not having much text posts lately, but here’s another video post. This time using Google Video, hopefully loading performance will be better. I believe Google should have better network infrastructure than YouTube.

The title explains it all, the ultimate showdown between the 4WD turbocharged rally sedan kings!

Click here to read the rest of Top Gear Video: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution vs Subaru Impreza WRX