Need 4 Lancer

Participation in major auto shows is coming down like a house of cards for some automakers. The latest nail in the coffin: Mitsubishi is pulling out of the Frankfurt Motor Show. But that’s just the tip of the clichéd iceberg, as the Japanese automaker has revealed a new strategy towards participating in car shows.

From here on in, Mitsubishi will only attend one major auto show on any given continent each year. In Europe, Mitsu is already locked in Geneva, where it will unveil its cap-tastic new i Miev SPORT AIR concept. In North America, Mitsubishi already sat out the Detroit Auto Show and didn’t have much to show us in Chicago, so its new strategy will force it to choose between New York and Los Angeles, while across the Pacific it’s bound to stick to its home-turf at the Tokyo Motor Show. Between the new car show strategy and its withdrawal from Dakar, Mitsu should be saving some serious coin, however we can’t help but wonder what effect it will bear on its corporate image in the long term. But if things keep up the way they have been, we wouldn’t be surprised to see more cash-strapped automakers following Mitsubishi’s lead.
Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/12/mitsubishi-pulls-out-of-frankfurt-motor-show/

Just because Mitsubishi is pulling out of Dakar and throttling back on its motorsports campaigns doesn’t mean the automaker is going to limit the development and sales of its performance models. The Ralliart Sportback is on its way to the States, the Evolution X FQ400 is due to arrive at UK dealerships later this year and in addition to the Colt Ralliart Version R, Mitsubishi is planning another version of the hot hatch for our friends abroad.

The Colt Ralliart TWR Walkinshaw edition, which gets its name from touring car legend Tom Walkinshaw, will come equipped with a new suspension, lowered ride height and more aggressive body kit. The 147 hp, 1.5-liter engine will carry over, along with the close-ratio six-speed manual gearbox and pricing is expected to be set £2,000 over the stock £12,049 Colt Ralliart. Sales should begin sometime this April.

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/06/mitsubishi-working-on-twr-walkinshaw-colt-ralliart/

Evo X:

Evo 9:

Mitsubishi has put production of the Lancer Evolution X on hold, saying there’s enough inventory to make it through the end of the year when the 2010 model is released. Mitsubishi spokesperson Christine Jew told KickingTires that no changes were planned for the 2009 model, but the 2010 variant would benefit from a few minor revisions. Inventory tracking through Cars.com confirms that there are plenty of Evos available (887 2008 models, to be specific), but that doesn’t mean the new Evo X is a flop; sales of Mitsu’s rally rocket were up over 50% in 2008.

UPDATE: We spoke with Christine from Mitsubishi about Evo production, and it’s hardly a “halt.” The 2009 Evo will continue to be produced for Canada and Puerto Rico, so Mitsubishi is only skipping the U.S. market for the 2009 model year. As some of you pointed out, this is primarily due to the late launch the Evo received last year. The 2010 model will go on sale this summer and will feature some “minor,” undisclosed tweaks.

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/03/production-of-mitsubishi-lancer-evolution-x-halted-for-2009/

When the average enthusiast thinks of Mitsubishi, the first thing that jumps to mind is likely the Evolution, but the Japanese automaker’s bread is buttered by the sales of large SUVs. This means that profits are pretty tough to come by these days as anything that guzzles gas has rapidly seen itself falling out of favor. In light of this fact, Mitsubishi now says that it has halted development of everything that isn’t eco-friendly. SUVs and large cars are out; electric cars, plug-in hybrids and small cars are in. What does this mean for future developments for the Evo platform? We don’t know, but it doesn’t sound promising.

According to CEO Osamu Masuko, the automaker can’t abandon its SUV roots entirely, so the future strategy will be two-fold: continue to offer larger cars like the Lancer and Galant and four-wheel drive SUVs in hybrid form, while focusing on fully electric machines on the smaller end. The first fruits of Mitsubishi’s new green plans may be production versions of the i MiEV electric car, but plug-in hybrid versions of its larger cars and SUVs are likely by 2013.

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/02/mitsubishi-focuses-development-on-green-cars-plug-in-hybrid-c/