Mitsu in peril

[4wheeldrift]

Mitsu could be in deep dung now, DaimlerChrysler is withdrawing financial support.

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040422.wchry0422/BNStory/Business/

[hjr]

well, thats the nature of the beast. If you aint profitable, you aint gonna be 'round for long.

[CKY]

they WOULD of had a better sales if the evo was legal here:whipped:

[BigMass]

The EVO is pretty much the only car they have that isnt overpriced for what it does. Their overall lineup is terrible.

[Ducati]

I heard rumblings of that back last year when I worked at the Mitsu dealership. Mercedes instigated that, as I understand.

[hjr]

Originally posted by CKY
they WOULD of had a better sales if the evo was legal here:whipped: that would make minimal difference.

[Seanith]

My gfs uncle got a brand new eclipse, i was shocked and amazed when i heard it cost him like $37k or so..

[HOK]

RIP

[infamous]

well i hate to say it, but they just can't compare to any other companies out there. they have nothing good going for them in canada, and so it doesn't surprise me that they are going to be rip....

[4wheeldrift]

It was more they made a stupid mistake in easing their rules for financing, it got to the point where anyone could walk in and get dealer financing, with the result that the company lost close to a billion dollars last year from people who defaulted on their loans ALONE.

[1badPT]

Mitsu has been great from an engineering perspective, but they've never been able to pull it together from a marketing perspective. I thought with DC's interest that perhaps they could influence them to market a better product.

As it is right now, Mitsu doesn't really have anything in their lineup that's special (except for the evo and it wouldn't make much of a difference anyways).

The lancer isn't the lowest cost, nor is it the most power, nor does it have the best value or quality. Its just average, and while that may work for an established company, it doesn't work for the new kid on the block. Why buy a Mitsu Lancer?

You can get a lower cost J-body, a higher quality Civic, better value in the SX 2.0 or Golf, better styling in the Ford Focus. Almost all of them except for the Civic have more power. No matter what your criteria is, Mitsu isn't on top and that spells trouble for them. The rest of their product line is similarly underwhelming.

I kind of hoped they could hang on until they engineer the shared platform but now it looks like they'll have to get there on their own money. The way I see it, they either have to make a remarkable car or they'll see their car business go under.

[95TsiAWD]

Two words, Lancer Ralliart. They're selling like crazy because no one else comes close to the quality/performance/price package.
The EVO up here would have created a nice buzz for them too as it did in the US, but pretty much all their problems came from the easy financing like 4wheeldrift posted. When you have a billion dollars in defaulted loans it's kinda hard to make profits. Big mistake there.
Hopefully some of the new products and redesigns they launched this year and were planning on over the next few are able to be launched. Nissan had simliar problems awhile back and Renault had to bail them out I beleive. They seem to be better for it. Hopefully Mitsu just needs some serious management restructuring and they can pull out of it, It would be a sad day when North America no longer has mitsubishi.

[thich]

Originally posted by 1badPT
Mitsu has been great from an engineering perspective, but they've never been able to pull it together from a marketing perspective. I thought with DC's interest that perhaps they could influence them to market a better product.


this has been my argument from day one... financing problems are only an offshoot of the greater marketing problem.

had they been smart, they would have revamped their entire marketing department - whoever is on that department seriously blows goats. :thumbsdow

[pr0]

Serves them right, after taking the turbo eclipse of the market. They got nothing special in their lineups.