Mitsubishi cars

[Johnny248]

I have owned three in the past, and I currently own one now. Mitsu larger market share in other parts of the world, the US is just not one of them.

The mitsu I own now is a UAW built car from their Normal plant, and I can say that over the 8 years that I've owned it, it has been an excellent car for me. I've never had any mechanical issues or anything like that.

There are some things I don't like about it, but the I can't complain too much. They seem to usually be behind the pack as far as new technology and fancy things in the car, and people have knocked things such as inexpensive interior trim etc.

But like I said, my current car has been wonderful. It runs great, it drives well, and I have not had one part actually fail. No leaks, no noise, nothing. Which is more than I can say for the other makes I've owned, both foreign and domestic.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Id LOVE to own a mint Talon TSI!

 

[kb01]

When I was in the service, the Mitsubishi Pajero seemed to be the vehicle of choice for special ops and CIA-types out in sector. I never drove one but they appeared incredibly capable and dependable.

 

[Johnny248]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Id LOVE to own a mint Talon TSI!


We had a 91 tsi and a 95 tsi. They were always one of my favorite cars. I also owned a '89 conquest tsi which I had built the heck out of. That car I loved. Rwd, IRS, limitedslip, 2.6 turbo that iI had pushing 376hp at the wheels and 428 ft lbs torque. I loved that car, always loved the styling and set up. Still my favorite all time map car

 

[Johnny248]

Originally Posted By: kb01
When I was in the service, the Mitsubishi Pajero seemed to be the vehicle of choice for special ops and CIA-types out in sector. I never drove one but they appeared incredibly capable and dependable.


We had them here as the Montero which was a pretty heavy duty truck. Would have been nice with a v8 but.... I really like Mitsus pick up that they offer in other countries. I had a chance to sit in one and check it out one day at work. Someone had a m plate truck.

http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com.au/vehicles/triton

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
There was a time,after Mitsubishi's reputation for high mileage cars (Colt/Champ) slightly faded,they became the darlings of the younger set.It was seen that Mitsubishis were sportier and "faster" than Corollas,Civics,Excels,Yugos,and Tercels of the day.This was spearheaded by Starion/Conquest,and Laser/Talon/Eclipse,and of course 3000GT/Stealth.Seemingly the excitement filtered down the line to Galant/Mirage/Lancer as well.As these models were dropped,so did their street cred and public image.Rule #1,never discontinue models without replacements.3000GT,Eclipse,Mirage coupe,Galant,Diamante all were dropped with no replacements.Not to mention Mighty Max pickups... And Mitsu never had a US minivan......just sad.


I agree with everything except the van part. They had a cabover "crackerbox" style van in the '80s

http://www.autobidmaster.com/carfinder-o...SAN_ANTONIO_TX/


And more recently the Expo micro van. That thing would seat 6 IIRC. But it was ahead of its time and didn't sell well. A friend of mine had it in mid 90's.

 

[Vikas]

My brother still has his 1990 Talon Turbo; still looks and drives well! But now that his daughter just became freshman in college, I wonder how long that car will remain pristine once she takes it to her dorm. My brother kept it running for 23 years but I am not sure if my niece can eek out four more years out of it.

The only thing broken on that car is the air conditioning. He could not get any of the mechanics to find or fix the leak on that R12 system. Now it will cost a lot more to do the full conversion and not many shops are willing to get in to it.

I had purchased my SHO at the same time he did is Talon and we had many memories of trying to out accelerate each other. I got rid of SHO in ten years but he kept his Talon. He always gets unsolicited offers to buy it from him when people see the car.

 

[kkreit01]

I had a '95 Talon TSI,and 97 TSI AWD. They were fun cars. Mitsu made a few nice ones along the way. However, I think they will soon join Suzuki.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Out of curiosity,what oil/oils did the Talon TSI spec? I'd love to see the oil/lubes page from the manual.

 

[Silk]

The badge engineering couldn't of helped - my brother who has lived in Canada for 35 years has had several Dodges that were just Mitsubishi. In New Zealand we get a full range - the Colt (now Mirage), Lancer, ASX, Outlander, Challenger, Pajero and Triton. 99% of Triton and Challenger are diesel, Pajero maybe 90%. We also get used Japanese imports, which further extends out options.

I spent over 5 years at a Mitsi dealership, leaving just a few months ago, the modern Mitsi is well appointed and reliable. But in the late 80's and 90's there were computer and oil burning problems. I never liked the balance shaft either, always something else to go wrong, and it often did.

 

[Johnny248]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Out of curiosity,what oil/oils did the Talon TSI spec? I'd love to see the oil/lubes page from the manual.


I'm pretty sure mine called for 10w30 if I can remember correctly. I have a vague memory of something mentioning 20w20 in one of the manuals.

 

[Johnny248]

Originally Posted By: Silk
The badge engineering couldn't of helped - my brother who has lived in Canada for 35 years has had several Dodges that were just Mitsubishi. In New Zealand we get a full range - the Colt (now Mirage), Lancer, ASX, Outlander, Challenger, Pajero and Triton. 99% of Triton and Challenger are diesel, Pajero maybe 90%. We also get used Japanese imports, which further extends out options.

I spent over 5 years at a Mitsi dealership, leaving just a few months ago, the modern Mitsi is well appointed and reliable. But in the late 80's and 90's there were computer and oil burning problems. I never liked the balance shaft either, always something else to go wrong, and it often did.


I wish I could get a Triton over here. What was your impressions of them?

 

[rjundi]

The lancer evolution is an amazing car. Better than an STI by a long shot on the track and bests many cars.

They remind of the acme car company otherwise currently. The Galant seems like a fleet or rental car and subpar at that. I imagine that keeps the churn of those US union built cars.

We have a really local dealer nestled between Porsche, BMW and Audi. It seems like they have way more used cars than new cars.

 

[morepwr]

You see so few that I didnt think Mitsubishi still made cars.

 

[Silk]

Originally Posted By: Johnny248

I wish I could get a Triton over here. What was your impressions of them?


As good as any of the other Japanese 4x4 pickups, you got more for your dollar than say a Toyota for the same price, but I think the weird styling hurt them a bit. The only problems were intake manifold deposits on the 3.2 engine, and in real rough use the front diff actuator would get smacked and break - we fitted a thicker bash plate for that sort of use. The new one doesn't have the same actuator, so I guess it filtered back to them after a few years, or they finally admitted it was a dumb idea. Being in a rural town the Triton was the biggest seller by far, then maybe the Outlander for the missus.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: Johnny248


I wish I could get a Triton over here. What was your impressions of them?


They don't sell them on the other side of the Ambassador Bridge?

They're sold in Mexico but it's called an L200. Uses the 3rd gen Eclipse gas engine.

 

[Silk]

Practically all diesel in the rest of the world. We had the 2.4 petrol engine in our workshop ute, because it couldn't be sold, no one wanted it. Compared to the 2.5 diesel it was gutless and went through fuel like a V8, horrible, just horrible. If all you can get is the petrol version no wonder they aren't popular.

 

[01rangerxl]

I think a big mistake for Mitsubishi in the US was dropping completely out of the pickup market for the entire duration of its peak. That made no sense. They let the Mighty Max become the most dated truck offering available, then when things took off in 1996/7 they just dropped out. The rebadged Dakota (Raider) was too little, too late.

When I was growing up in the 1990s Mitsubishi seemed to have a good reputation and a pretty full lineup for the time. By the early 2000s quality was suffering and their vehicles seemed to age really fast. I know someone who bought a 2003 Montero Sport new, and while it was a nice SUV, the trans was done by 75K miles with mostly highway driving. In the late 2000s I remember seeing 3-4 year old Galants and Eclipses with badly fading and oxidized paint. Now that they are down to the Lancer and Outlander/Outlander Sport in the US, I don't think they will hang on here much longer.

 

[Silk]

Where are they assembled ? We stopped local production in the late '90's, all are imported now. I don't know about the cars, but the Triton is made in Thailand. Quality is not an issue, paint and trim is perfect and nothing falls apart. We had a few recalls to do, nothing major.

If you see old old beat up pick up still on the road it'll either be an L200 or Hi Lux, both never stop running.

 

[Johnny248]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: Johnny248


I wish I could get a Triton over here. What was your impressions of them?


They don't sell them on the other side of the Ambassador Bridge?

They're sold in Mexico but it's called an L200. Uses the 3rd gen Eclipse gas engine.


I'm not sure, but importing it is a pita plus you are going to be stuck with service/warranty issues.