Automaker Mitsubishi to end US production

[FastEd]

Mitsubishi has been hit by a decline in US car sales and their plant manufactured just 60,000 vehicles last year, about half its capacity, public broadcaster NHK reported.

The company, which withdrew from production in Europe three years ago, will be the first major Japanese automaker to stop building in both the US and Europe, it added.

Mitsubishi has been struggling to stay in business since 1945 when their aircraft production took a sudden nosedive and never recovered. I think it was called a "ZERO".

 

[WIL TERRY]

AND GEN Joe Foss' glee becomes true. He told me personally he lined up every Mitsubishi car he saw with the hood ornament on his Oldsmoble and shot 'em down !!! L O L...!!
And so it goes...

 

[RSIno1]

They were closely tied to Chrysler. Now that Fiat took over they want to push their junk.

 

[stevemb]

My Dad's ship-board battle station was a quad-40, it horrified him to see vehicles with that name on American roads. He participated in the Mariannna's Turkey Shoot.

 

[blume357]

Off topic slightly.... the amazing thing is how many planes the Japs could produce so fast.... I read in one of our Karma books... that the way they kept the number of losses from being know to their pilots and crews were that they took off from one air strip and then were all directed to return to a different one and that was secret.... so, no body except the higher ups could calculate the losses, which were astronomical....

 

[mohavesam]

For the record - MItsubishi made one of the best cars on the road. I had a 1991 GTO - 3000GT VR-4 - the grand-daddy of the Dodge Stealth. But the VR-4 was another animal. 8) It was the 1991 Indy Pace Car (in Dodge trim) among other distinctions.
:oops:
When I sold the GTO it started within 2 revs, ran like new, and the guy drove from Nashville to northern AZ to get it.
Mitsubishi made a car ahead of its time and probably much too much car for the general public. Mine was pearl white and I wish I had it today! Forgive my enthusiasm, but they did some great work. But all good car companies fold eventually, lots of factors at work.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

When those 3000 GTs came out, they were pretty impressive, an affordable mid-life crisis machine that could hold its own with many pricier offerings. I was following a bright red one down the freeway one day, and got a chuckle from the vanity plate on it: 1FSTZRO.

A few of my older friends got it (though not as many as I'd thought would.) None of the younger ones did. So I doubt Mitsubishi's current fortunes in this country are tied to what they were doing 3/4 of a century ago nearly as much as the fact the slices of our automotive pie have simply gotten too thin to keep trying for one.

Rick C

 

[ProfessorWes]

One of the best cars I ever owned was a '97 Dodge Avenger, which was a coupe version of Mitsubishi's hot Eclipse hatchback built in that same Normal, IL plant. Great handling and reliability, good performance, stylish and solid. I still miss my "Emma Teal," so-named for her metallic teal-green paint (a one-year-only option for Dodge that year) and because she was, well, an Avenger.

And yes, the irony of an "Avenger" being built by the same company that manufactured the Zero wasn't lost on me . . . :wink:

Mitsubishi's problem in the US market is that for the past ten or more years they haven't been building anything Americans want to drive, and by most accounts the few cars they do sell here - mostly SUVs, and some sort of heavily-subsidized, electric commuter go-kart that was supposed to "save" the Normal plant and all those UAW jobs - left the factory with lemonish build quality and significantly worse fuel economy than most of its competition.

For that matter, the few Mitsubishi cars Americans found interesting, like the Eclipse and the Lancer EVO, got canceled (although to be fair, the Eclipse wasn't anything special for the last few years of its existence, either. I've had one of those as well, in Plymouth Laser guise, and it was OK for what it was).

The last time I shopped for a new car, I cross-shopped a Mitsu Lancer in both sedan and Sportback (hatch) versions. I thought it was a decent car in terms of performance, styling and features . . . for the 1990s. Especially when compared to the new-for-2012 Ford Focus and the new-for-2011 Elantra which had just been released at the time.

 

[bobski]

oddly enough, if you were ask me to pick a mitsu-whatever in a lot of cars, i couldnt.
i no longer can tell what cars are what.

 

[737tdi]

For the record - MItsubishi made one of the best cars on the road. I had a 1991 GTO - 3000GT VR-4 - the grand-daddy of the Dodge Stealth. But the VR-4 was another animal. 8) It was the 1991 Indy Pace Car (in Dodge trim) among other distinctions.
A twin turbo dual intercooler 181ci engine that made at least 320 rated hp and a real-life, every day redline of 7000 on a 6-speed w/OD tranny. In a 3700# car.
4WD and 4WS (all-wheel steering) with all-disc brakes using 4 calipers per wheel, speed-active (motorized) front & rear spoilers (the car had an airflow co-efficient rating under .35!), AC clutch could be switched off above 60MPH for less engine load. The car simply outclassed anything similar, including the NSX, 300ZX Nissan, etc. One '69 426 Dodge GTX got me out of the hole once, but after 1/4 mile he only saw my taillights.
With 45000 miles on it and all-synthetic racing oil since new, I had it to 140+ many times, and I had it to 130+ for almost 40 miles on a lonely AZ highway - not a hiccup. I slowed only because of deer... 8) THAT is a ride, friends!
Now mine (the only one I ever drove) was probably the nicest, tightest, fastest car I ever drove until the 2014 F1, but the Jag as twice the car compared to ANYTHING.
When I sold the GTO it started within 2 revs, ran like new, and the guy drove from Nashville to northern AZ to get it.
Mitsubishi made a car ahead of its time and probably much too much car for the general public. Mine was pearl white and I wish I had it today! Forgive my enthusiasm, but they did some great work. But all good car companies fold eventually, lots of factors at work.

mohavesam: I know somewhat of which you speak. I had a 1991 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX turbo. All wheel drive and that thing would scream. A couple of buddies and me decided to go to Bossier City for some horse racing at about 0300. Heading east on IH20 out around Marshall TX I decided to see just how fast this car would go. Well, we were flying along at 140mph and I swear that if I would have pulled back on the steering wheel we would have flown. Boy could that car take a curve, I think if it was built today it would be the favorite among the drifter crowd. It was way ahead of it's time.


Karl

 

[Bear Paw Jack]

I bought a brand new Mitsubishi in the mid 80's. Nice sedan. Lasted just a few months as a lady pulled out in front of me and I hit her going about 50 mph. And I lived. (as the subaru comercial says) but had a broken wrist, broken sternum, broken nose and a lot of bruises. My knee left a major dent in the dash but I didn't seem to hurt it too badly. Car was totaled. went back to a pickup after that. :) Can't say it was a bad vehicle.