2005 Mitsubishi Eclipse. 2 Owners. Non Smoker. 79k Miles. on 2040-cars

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Yes, the Mitsubishi Evo could become an electrified crossover, but don't panic

By now, many of you have seen that Mitsubishi will reveal a concept with the Evolution name at the Tokyo Motor Show, and it will be an electrified crossover. On the surface, that sounds like heresy when the Evolution name has always stood for an uncompromising, rally-bred, turbocharged sports sedan. But don't jump to the conclusion that this will be a terrible, halfhearted product that ruins the Evo name. It's a smart move for Mitsubishi, it could be the only way we get a performance vehicle from the company, and there's no reason it can't be good. Creating an Evo version of a crossover, or even a standalone Evo model, simply makes the most sense for Mitsubishi right now. There's no sign that people are getting tired of little lifted automobiles, which means that's where the sales and money are. Because of that, crossovers are the only product that Mitsubishi can safely afford to invest in right now. As much as we'd like to see another Evo sedan, the company can't afford to sink a big development budget into a one-off sedan for the very small enthusiast market. Investing in a basic sedan to use as a base isn't a good idea either, since that market also continues to shrink, and it's populated with very competitive models. Those facts won't comfort Mitsubishi fans, but looking at it another way could. Rather than looking at this concept as Evolution blasphemy, consider it a sign that the company wants to make something exciting again. Since most of the news from Mitsubishi has been the discontinuation of really old models, and updates to the less-old models still in the lineup, it's been hard to tell if any of the Mitsubishi that fans loved was left. Look at this crossover as a gateway to getting a fun Mitsubishi again. And this possible future Evo could genuinely be fun. We're not exactly raving fans of crossovers, either, since they're often heavy, expensive, slow and inefficient compared with similarly sized hatchbacks and sedans. But that's not a hard and fast rule. Nissan proved this with the Juke Nismo. Despite its tall body, it had a healthy amount of power and entertaining dynamics. There's no reason Mitsubishi couldn't do the same with a small crossover. It might even be better, because Mitsubishi clearly has some wizards when it comes to weight and cost, as evidenced by the one-ton, ultra-affordable Mitsubishi Mirage. The same goes for electrification.

Junkyard Gem: 1989 Mitsubishi Galant Sedan

The history of the Mitsubishi Galant in North America goes all the way back to the 1971 model year, when Chrysler imported the first-generation Galant and badged it as the Dodge Colt. Later in the 1970s, we got Galant coupes badged as Dodge Challengers and Plymouth Sapporos, and Mitsubishi began selling Galants (now with front-wheel-drive) with the company's own badging starting in the 1985 model year. The sixth-generation Galant arrived here for the 1989 model year, as a stylish and technology-packed competitor to the Taurus, Camry, and Accord, and it made a fair-sized splash in the automotive world. You'd have a tough time finding one of these cars today, but this '89 appeared in a self-service yard in Phoenix a couple of months back and I was there to document it. 159,385 miles is a respectable total for a 1980s car, and this one looks clean enough to indicate that it had conscientious owners for most of its 31-year life. Check out the dual analog trip counters, the sort of cool little feature Mitsubishi did so well during this era. One of this car's owners (probably its final owner) applied glue-on bling to many locations inside the car. A fairly typical Japanese sedan interior for the late 1980s and early 1990s, though a bit flashier than what Toyota and Honda were doing at the time. The base Galant sedan listed at $10,971 in 1989, versus $12,400 for a Ford Taurus L sedan, $12,105 for a base Chevrolet Celebrity sedan, $11,488 for a base Toyota Camry sedan, and $11,770 for a Honda Accord DX sedan. That was a good price for a competent and fuel-efficient sedan with a modicum of sportiness. Power came from a 2.0-liter 4G63 Sirius four-cylinder rated at 102 horsepower. This engine went into a list of vehicles longer than a Mitsubishi HIIB rocket, everything from the Eclipse to the Great Wall Coolbear, and you can buy a brand-new BAW BJ2022 Brave Warrior with 4G63 power to this day. Protected by the Nassau County PBA and Radio Shack. This car must have begun its career in New York, then moved to Arizona. Some Americans still bought midsize sedans with manual transmissions during this era, but their numbers were in steep decline (Ford stopped selling three-pedal Tauruses, other than the SHO after 1988). This car has an automatic, though I have found a bullet-riddled '91 Galant with a 5-speed during my junkyard travels. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Mitsubishi has 6 all-new models in the works, plus 5 redesigns

Mitsubishi has revealed its plans for the next three years, and they're all focused on expansion. The company wants to improve unit sales and revenue by 30 percent, which would have it selling 1.3 million cars worldwide. It also plans to improve profit margins from 0.3 percent to 6 percent. This will entail an investment of nearly $5.3 billion. To do this, the company will work on reducing development and manufacturing costs and concentrating on improving in existing markets. But the most interesting part for consumers and enthusiasts: its expanding product plans. Mitsubishi says it will have 11 new model launches over the three-year expansion period. Of these models, six of them are completely new, and the other five will be significant updates and redesigns of existing models. Two of the new vehicles have been shown already including the Eclipse Cross, a compact crossover we'll get in America, and the Xpander (shown below), a minivan-type thing that won't come to the States. The addition of redesigned and new models should be great news for Mitsubishi dealers, especially in America where the company only offers two flavors of aging Outlander, and the bargain-basement Mirage. Fans of Mitsubishi cars might not have much to be excited for, though, since the company says it will be focusing on SUVs and trucks. In fact, it expects that its five best-selling models and 70 percent of its sales will be SUVs, trucks, and plug-in hybrids. If we had to guess what the next four Mitsubishi models could be, we imagine that at least one of them will be some type of full-size crossover. Something sized similarly to the foreign-market Pajero SUV, but designed for pavement pounding. This would especially make sense given other companies entering that space such as VW with the Atlas, and Subaru with its Ascent. As for the three other slots, it's harder to guess. The future Outlander will grow, and the Outlander Sport will shrink, so Mitsubishi will have its midsize and subcompact bases covered, and with a hypothetical full-size crossover, it would have a full line. Those three other slots could be cars, or perhaps specialty crossovers, maybe even a sporty one based on the e-Evolution. But they could also be vehicles aimed at other regions in segments that don't really exist in the U.S. For instance, they could include new microcars for Japan's Kei class of vehicles, or possibly ultra-bare bones, low-cost compacts for Southeast Asia, India and China. Related Video: