End of a Era. Mitsubishi to Stop Production of the Pajero.

We just got confirmation today that Mitsubishi will be leaving the european market aswell, the Pajero hasn't been available here for 2 years or so.

Too bad as the current lineup has been 100% trouble free for us as a dealership. We haven't had a single issue with any L200 of the current and last generation, nothing with the Spacestar, no ASX issues in that same period aswell, and the older ones just the benign stuff like a leaky damper or a sticky brake. Same for the outlander. We had 1 eclipse cross with a fault in the paintwork, a fish eye on the drivers door
 
I had a Mitsubishi Galant. It ran fine, but nothing to write home about. I won't miss Mitsubishi.

Predictable post. Talk negative about Mitsubishi while not understanding that the vehicles in other markets are different than the junk they offered the U.S..
 
Mitsubishi has been a dying brand in the U.S. market for years, in the rare occasion I see one or someone talks about the brand I have to remind myself that the company is still in business making cars. I don't think they make bad cars either but they just don't offer anything that entices me to even consider buying one of their products.
 
Predictable post. Talk negative about Mitsubishi while not understanding that the vehicles in other markets are different than the junk they offered the U.S..

The issue is, they don't bring it over or they're completely out of touch with the US market. The mirage was way to late to the party where other car makers were already in for years. They never brought anything cool except for the Evo and VR4 stuff.
 
To me, it just seemed like the US was an afterthought for Mitsu - it was Mopar who brought them over here in the 1970s. They didn’t come into their own until the 1980s-1990s. I remember as a kid growing up seeing the Mitsubishi Mighty Max and Van - and the Eclipse was hot stuff back then. But their captive imports like the Dodge Colt and Precis(which was really a Hyundai Excel - and back them Hyundai was dependent on Mitsu) were forgettable efforts. The first Hyundai Equus/XG(now Azera) was a Mitsubishi- with a Mitsu-built V8 in FWD format, made in Korea.

I felt like the Mopar-Mitsubishi relationship was really to help the former. Mitsu had something Mopar needed, Mitsu wanted to break into the US. The Chrysler Sebring/200, Dodge Avenger and Journey were built on a Mitsu-Mopar platform. However, Mitsubishi did bring over some tech here - 4-wheel steering, active aerodynamics that was accessible, MCA-Jet which worked on a similar concept to Honda’s CVCC and fuzzy logic shifting.

Mitsubishi is popular in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong - Jackie Chan is their face there. While Daimler owns the truck business, it’s common to see a Mitsubishi van in Southeast Asia or the Philippines. They were common in Australia - what was the Diamante here is the Aussie Magna.
 
I had 1992 Mitsubishi Pajero 3.5 V6 that was our military vehicle. It was really good off-road vehicle, reliable, but t was obvious rust will be an issue.
Still, I loved that car. Later we had Nissan Patrol's, Land Cruisers, but Pajero was IMO most complete vehicle, at least in those years. Really sad day.
 
They started building the Pajero in 1982. It’s known in the US as the Montero and as the Shogun in Japan.

Pajero in Japan, we get a lot of used Japanese vehicles, and they are all Pajero, I've never seen a Shogun in NZ. I think they got the Shogun in the UK. The Pajero has been on very limited production the last few years...they said it was going to stop, but if people still wanted them they would still make them. We get the Pajero Sport now, which is not really a Pajero but a Challenger, which is based on the Triton chassis.

I don't know the US market at all, but Mitsubishi have a similar problem to Suzuki - a US manufacturer slapped their badges on them, and so they don't have a slot of their own in the market.

I had a 1990 Pajero, the long wheelbase 2.5 diesel with intercooler. I got it with a blown engine, and apart from an engine build and 4 cyl heads it was a tough reliable vehicle. I have a Volvo and everyone comments on how comfortable a Volvo is, but the Pajero was a great car to spend all day in - a sprung seat with arm rests, very plush. We also had a 1990 Diamante, it was the limo version, and have never seen one as high speced, had another runner for a donor.

I worked for a Mitsubishi dealer for a few years...4 times actually. There were issues with some vehicles in the '80's and '90's, but once they hit the 21st Century they were solid and reliable.
 
It's disheartening to see the Pajero go, and I'm holding on to my V43 for a very long time. Still can't believe it's been almost 21 years since driving it off the showroom floor.

But I still remember the list of options presented at the time of purchase; 4 engine choices ranging from a 2.4L L4, 3.0L V6, 3.5L DOHC V6 and even a 2.6L or 2.8L diesel for starters. The option of a 5-speed or an automatic, selectable or part time 4WD, rear drum brakes or drum-in-discs, adjustable or standard shock absorbers, locking center differential, you could opt for an ABS delete if you wanted. Body styles included three door or five door, 7 seater or 9 seater with a spare fuel tank and carrier mounted on the rear, You had 15" aluminum wheels with Yokohama Super Digger off-road tires or 16" aluminum wheels with Yokohama Geolandar highway tires on higher trim levels, the narrow bodies got 15" steel wheels by default - heck you could even choose leaf springs or coil springs in the rear and a wide body or narrow body. You even had the option of bouncy seats up front, a fridge, wrap around push bar or two different bumper covers up front, headlamp washers, single ton or two tone paint jobs. Felt like a kid in a candy store just going through the options list.

When the new version came out in 2001, a lot of the innovation and exciting options went the way of the dodo bird. Not saying the third generation was bad, but I personally didn't like it as much as the first and second.

That being said, Mitsubishi went from being a very innovative manufacturer to producing some of the most boring vehicles on the road. They started dying out towards the late 90s. I remember cars like the 3000GT, Diamante (or Magna in Australia and the Middle East), Starion, etc. Then you had specialty vehicles like the Evo series, and even the likes of the Galant VR-4. Even the little Colts they produced in the 80s and 90s were great little cars, and they were relatively fast for what they were.
 
The Magna wasn't a Diamante...well, some of them weren't. The first ones to look like a Diamante were based on the Sigma, stretched a bit here and there. The later ones were kinda Magna/Diamante, and all Diamante station wagons were Australian. The mid '90's on Diamante had the double lower arm front suspension, the Aussie Diamante just had McPherson struts, so much less to go wrong. I preferred the Aussie ones. Last Australian Mitsubishi was the 380, their version of what was sold in the US as a Galant I think.

The Gen III, and IV have been in production for over 20 years, generally bullet proof, even the GDI, and are very capable off road. There is an aussie Youtube channel that does very rugged 4x4 tests, putting all the fancy wagons through the tough stuff...one time they showed their photo truck, it was a Pajero, doing everything that was killing the big boys, you just didn't see it. Like Bear Grills, someone is right there with him to get those shots.
 
Mitsubishi has been a dying brand in the U.S. market for years, in the rare occasion I see one or someone talks about the brand I have to remind myself that the company is still in business making cars. I don't think they make bad cars either but they just don't offer anything that entices me to even consider buying one of their products.


They really never recovered in the US after that 0% with no payments scheme back around 2000. That really hurt them as a lot of people took them up on that offer, drove their cars for the 24 months and then sold them.
 
They really never recovered in the US after that 0% with no payments scheme back around 2000. That really hurt them as a lot of people took them up on that offer, drove their cars for the 24 months and then sold them.

I remember that because I came really close to buying a new Eclipse at that time. One of my friends from high school did in fact buy one at the time and it was very nice for that period.
 
I remember that because I came really close to buying a new Eclipse at that time. One of my friends from high school did in fact buy one at the time and it was very nice for that period.


I bought our 2000 Montero Sport during that time but I bucked the trend and made payments during those first two years.
 
I would say Mitsubishi's reputation in the US is certainly worse than the quality of their cars sold in the US. Most post are from people that haven't been in a new Mitsu for 10+ years.
 
and, you can't order new mitsubishis in europe now. Only stock left will be sold, and they will ensure parts supplies for at least 10 years yet
 
I would say Mitsubishi's reputation in the US is certainly worse than the quality of their cars sold in the US. Most post are from people that haven't been in a new Mitsu for 10+ years.

I honestly can't think of anyone I know who has purchased a new Mitsubishi vehicle since maybe 2008? They have no brand identify and no compelling products, only generic vehicles that are easily forgotten in a very large and competitive auto market. I know that the Evo was a niche vehicle but at least that was a product that stood out and waved a big flag for the brand. Discontinuing the Evo was a sign that the company is in its death throes in this market.
 
I don't know the US market at all, but Mitsubishi have a similar problem to Suzuki - a US manufacturer slapped their badges on them, and so they don't have a slot of their own in the market.
Yep - just like Opel, Isuzu and Suzuki made it to US shores wearing GM badges, the first few years of Mitsu in the US was under the Mopar brands. I found this ad which made full mention of Mitsubishi Motors but still mentioned Chrysler in smaller print.

Ironically, there was a Mitsu-labelled Hyundai. In the 1980s-1990s you open the hood of a Hyundai, it was more or less Mitsubishi. Now, Hyundai makes their own stuff. Maybe Hyundai Kia should have bought out Mitsu instead of Renault-Nissan.
 
Back
Top