Will Mitsubishi Leave the US Market?

[SR5]

In my part of Australia, it's fairly common to see a new Mitsubishi ASX / RVR / Outlander Sport CUV driving around the suburbs. Mostly with young family types inside. The base models are surprisingly well priced and all you really need to go to the store or drop the kids off at sport or school. The general feeling I get is a young couple with a new house and young kids who didn't want to over invest in a car, but didn't want to go down the Kia / Hyundai or second hand car path.

As a kid I remember seeing Mitsubishi Sigma / Galant everywhere.

 

[Silk]

As popular here as Toyota in the '70's and '80's here...you still see the odd late '80's L200 driving around, they were tough as. I was a bit anti Mitsi myself when they brought out the balance shafts - you didn't see them break a cambelt often, but you sure saw a balance belt break and then get caught in the cambelt and break that. So much complication and extra work that cost the customer money they shouldn't have to spend. We used to leave the balance belt off...but belts are better these days and breakage rare. Then we got the imports, and the auxiliary inlet valve that used to seize, we would braze them over and cut the arm off the rocker. Then the GDI, there are some still around...and we like to turn them around at the door. Mitsubishi was always more experimental and advanced than the other Japanese manufacturers, and sometimes they were bitten.

There seems to be always mention of low tech interiors or something - I don't see that myself, they appear quality and well built to me...unlike Euro interiors which have that nasty hard plastic that breaks and rattles. American interiors ? I won't go there and get the thread locked. Mitsubishi are all SUV now, that appears to be the hot market, but to me SUV is boring, boring , boring.

 

[cb450sc]

I had a 1989 Galant for 16 years. It was the most reliable can that I have ever owned. It would be second to my present Kia Optima. My wife's water broke in the Galant and I traded it when our son started to learn how to drive. It wasn't a big car but it was comfortable. Fond memories. I have looked at a few Mitsubishi products since and I don't think they have kept up with the competition on many vehicles.

 

[TrainingPolicy]

I would have never thought I'd see the day when Hyundai had a stronger hold on the market than Mitsubishi.