Thursday, March 6, 2008

Mitsubishi sales down, imports firm

Sales of Mitsubishi's locally made 380 sedan have taken a dive, a month after the car company announced plans to close its assembly plant in Adelaide.

But support for the company's range of imported vehicles remains strong with a seven per cent rise in its overall market performance in February.

According to official figures released Wednesday, Mitsubishi sold just 471 of its 380s in February, a 53.6 per cent slide on the 1,014 retailed in the same month last year.

The result was also 32 per cent down on the 692 sold in January.

But Mitsubishi spokeswoman Lenore Fletcher said that was the result the company forecast after announcing the model would be discontinued once the assembly plant was closed at the end of this month.

"In fact, we're in a situation of not having any vehicles left, they have all been allocated," she said.

"We're basically building in February and March to our commitments and that was what we expected.

"Those vehicles are basically accounted for with dealerships taking them or through our fleet commitments."

Overall, Mitsubishi's seven per cent rise in demand last month to 5,423 vehicles came on strong demand for its imported models, particularly the Lancer and its light commercial range.

That took the company's year-to-date sales to 10,507, a 9.2 per cent improvement compared to the same period in 2007.

Its performance reflected the overall strength of the vehicle market which was also up just over nine per cent as customers shrugged off concerns over rising interest rates.

Mitsubishi's results seem to vindicate the company's view that a decision to close the Tonsley Park manufacturing plant at the end of March, with the loss of about 1,000 jobs, would not adversely impact on the company's retail performance.

At the time the decision was taken, president and chief executive Rob McEniry said Mitsubishi did not expect a major consumer backlash.

He pointed to rising demand for its imported vehicles and said sales of the 380 accounted for less than 10 per cent of the company's business.

Ms Fletcher said February had been an outstanding month for the company considering the circumstances surrounding the announcement of its plans to close Tonsley Park.

"We didn't show any slackening off during February at all, in terms of sales," she said.

"That is a very heartening result for Mitsubishi."

In fact, excluding the 380, Mitsubishi enjoyed an increase in sales across the bulk of its vehicle range. Only the Grandis people mover bucked the trend with one less sold in February this year compared to February 2007.

Of its bigger selling models, sales of the Lancer were up 5.8 per cent to 1,682 and demand for the Colt rose 35 per cent to 325.

The company also did well among commercial buyers with its two Triton models and sold 702 Outlander sports utility vehicles.

Source


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Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Fifth Gear - Season 13, Episode 7 - 2008.03.03

Jason goes offroading with England rugby captain, Phil Vickery on a Mitsubishi New L200/Strada/Triton.


Download link:
Click here


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Saturday, February 23, 2008

10 Good things about the Evo X?

KNOWN as the supercar slayer, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X is packed with cutting-edge technology and enough acronyms to match, such as Super – Active Yaw Control (S-AYC), Active Centre Differential (ACD), and the phenomenal Twin Clutch Sports Shift Transmission (SST).

Here are ten facts about the Lancer Evolution X that prove the designers have thought of everything to make this the best Evolution yet:

1. No Reverse Gear –To save weight, the five-speed manual transmission has no dedicated reverse gear. Instead, it uses an arrangement in which first and third gears engage with an idler gear on a separate shaft to reverse the direction of rotation.

2. Spoilers In The Wheel Arch - The wheel houses have a miniscule spoiler lip around the curve of the wheel to prevent the wind from swirling in the wheel housing thus improving the aerodynamics of the vehicle.

3. Energy Saving Glass - Solar control glass uses an infrared absorbing material in its intermediate layer to reduce transmission of solar heat by 66-100%. The glass also cuts out transmission of ultra-violet light but transmits all visible light to keep the interior airy and light.

4. Stainless Steel Manifold - The exhaust system uses a stainless steel manifold, which is smoother than other alternatives to maximise airflow. An Inconel turbocharger is located downstream and optimisation of the compressor wheel has improved response by 18% over the Lancer Evolution IX.

5. Your Car, The Way You Want It - Mitsubishi’s ETACs (Electronic Total Automobile Control) system allows you to personalise the set up of your car, just the way you want it. You can decide how long the interior light stays on after door closure, if at all. You decide when the wing mirrors fold in and out – at the tough of a button, or automatically when the door is closed and ignition switched on or off. You choose.

6. Acoustic Engineering – The latest in lightweight acoustic and vibration dampening materials, including foam filling for the pillars, have been strategically placed throughout the body of the Lancer Evolution X. This ensures noise and vibration performance that befits a new generation high performance saloon, while minimising any weight increase.

7. Lights That Look Around Corners – The Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS) uses high intensity discharge (HID) headlights increase the driver’s field of vision to make night driving safer. The clever bit is that the car detects when the driver turns the steering wheel and automatically switches on an additional beam to light up the oncoming corner.

8. External Vents Improve Breathing – Two bonnet vents release engine heat, as with previous Evolutions, but a new feature is the central air intake to help the engine breath and increase power output. New vents have also been added behind the front wheel to let engine heat escape more efficiently.

9. F1 Floating Piston Technology - The all-new aluminium engine is not only 12KG lighter than the previous 2.0 straight four unit, but also uses full floating pistons made by Mahle, renowned for use in F1 cars. Made of a very hard and strong alloy the pistons are able to handle the higher power produced by this road-ready performance car.

10. Mitsubishi Service Plan - The Lancer Evolution X is the first Evolution to ever be made available with the Mitsubishi Service Plan - for just £400. This covers the vehicle’s first three scheduled services and a once-only 1,000 mile oil change.

Source


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Sunday, February 10, 2008

MSN First Drives' Evo X

Mr. Perry Stern of MSN Auto tested the new EVO X from Mitsubishi. He asked himself, is it any better than the last generation?

He stated,
On an autocross course, this system really demonstrated its abilities — in
high-speed turns control was impressive, and drivers can almost feel the car
grappling for the best traction. Add in a longer wheelbase, sweeter
suspension
tuning, and it becomes the best-handling EVO ever from
Mitsubishi. So to answer
the question originally posed — Is the new EVO
better than before? — The answer
is a resounding "'yes."

Full Story: Here

Interesting Evo X Dyno Results

Source & Discussion link: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2759237


AMS, that crazy chicago based 4G63 tuning company (think 8 second, 1000whp+ EVO VIII), got there hands on a new EVO X.



President/Chief Tuner/Expert Crank-Walker's thoughts after some dyno runs:



"The first pull I thought we had a boost leak. The A/F went off the
scale rich and I can feel the engine bucking from inside the car as it
was choking up on fuel. The dyno graph showed a rough power curve and
to my surprise low power. A boost leak will cause a MAF car to run rich
so just to be certain I did a boost leak test on the car and it was
tight, not one leak. After a few pulls the power climbed and leveled
out at about 238-240whp. On average a stock EVO IX puts down around
255-260whp on our dyno, so about 15-20whp more than the EVO X. Peak
torque is about the same but as expected drops off up top compared to
the IX. After searching the forums this looks about right as other EVO
X’s are down about the same amount to the IX’s. So it looks like bad
news right? Well before we get all upset there are a few things that
look very promising.



We logged a bunch of parameters and found two interesting things. The
biggest surprise is how rich the car is running. I feel that by leaning
it out we’ll find a bunch of power, I’d guess 15-25whp just from that
alone. The next thing we noticed was boost. Boost peaked out at 22psi
and dropped down to only 13.5 psi at redline! A stock IX runs about 16
psi up top. If we can hold boost to 16-17psi I think that alone will be
worth an extra 25-30whp. Timing was very consistent and it never pulled
any timing during the pulls. If anything the timing seems to be a
little bit on the aggressive side so it will be interesting to see if
any gains can be had with timing adjustments. From just the air fuel
ratio and boost level adjustments I’m confident that we can put down
another 40-60whp. That would bring the EVO X to 280-300whp, which would
be very respectable with only those modifications. The team at AMS will
be working hard to bring you the latest information and improvements
regarding the EVO X."

I found that pretty weird especially since mitsubishi rated the X
higher than the IX. Even more interesting is the fact that around the
track the X still keeps up with the IX (not as fast, but not too far
behind), despite the lack of advantage in the horsepower and weight
departments.



But, there seems to be a pretty good uh... fix...



"Well we quickly bypassed the factory boost control system, which
oddly enough has two boost control solenoids. We set boost to peak at
the same factory level of 22psi but this time it held to 16-17psi at
redline. Peak power now climbed to 265-270whp, that’s more like it! So
now we’re holding roughly the same boost or 1psi more than an EVO IX
and we’re making 10-15whp more, looking good"






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Friday, February 8, 2008

Tokyo Auto Salon introduces the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X with a tuner touch...

Three main show cars that graced the whole show. The new Godzilla GT-R, Subaru Impreza STI and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.

The tuned Evo X was fitted with a new intercooler, a complete coilover suspension and upgraded brakes. The team of HKS and Camp featured an Evo with an exposed carbon fiber splitter, side skirts and rear diffuser, but, more impressively, Camp integrated its new Computerized Automobile Multi Player, which acts similar to the GT-R's dash-mounted screen that displays a variety of engine parameters in lieu of a row of analog gauges.

Pictures:









Source: Autoblog

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Best Motoring Video feat. Lancer Evo X vs. Impreza WRX STi

Best Motoring Feb 2008 - Lan-Evo X vs 2008 STi battle!!!! And Godzilla's back!
Three Japanese dream cars in one go!

Download link: http://www.mininova.org/tor/1096821


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Thursday, February 7, 2008

Mitsubishi unveils the face lifted 2009 Galant

Mitsubishi has revealed its updated 2009 Galant sedan, which the company has on display at the Chicago Auto Show this week. While the Galant's new design isn't revolutionary, it does give the car a fresher look.

Things that are new in the 2009 Galant are as follows:
  • Removed Boulay Grilles

  • Lower intake, sporty hood
  • New tail lights
  • New shift gate
  • Power Sunroof - Sport models
  • Heated Seats - Sport models

The 2009 U.S. Galant will be available in four trims — four-cylinder ES, four-cylinder Sport, V6 Sport and guess... a Ralliart version. Both four cylinder version is a 160hp 2.4L MIVEC four-cylinder — mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. The more expensive V6 uses a 230 horsepower 3.8L V6 where the Ralliart version will provide a 258hp from a 3.8L V6. The two, V6 Sport and Ralliart will shift through a 5-speed Invecs automatic transmission.




Good: Are you sure this will sell?
Bad: It's not the Galant I used to know...
Verdict: The 380 pulled out its sales in Australia... How much more hope could there be for the U.S. market?

Tribute to Mitsubishi Australia Plant & its employers...

Three messages arrived on my inbox this month from Mitsubishi Motors Press Mail. It states that "Adelaide production facility, which manufactures only the large 380 sedan, will cease operations."

Though I feel sad, but I feel much remorse to the 930 employers who lost their jobs. The 380 is a US Galant-based sedan. In its launch, the car had very slow sales even with a following 20% discount and newer face lifted versions. I guess I can say that the AU$600 million dollar is wasted.
Hang on Mitsubishi! I hope you'll find the time to remember your employees' need for a new job, retraining etc.

This blog can only send e-flowers dedicated to the Mitsubishi employers in Adelaide Factory.


Iris - symbol for hope.