So why are other carmakers achieving record months of sales while Mitsubishi languishes in obscurity? Well, just that.
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| So if the Galant is so good, why isn't Mitsubishi burning up the sales charts? The first reason is that the North American midsize market is basically owned and operated by Toyota and Honda. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Unfortunately for somewhat obscure Mitsubishi, the midsize car market in North America is owned and operated by the aforementioned Toyota and Honda, with the Camry and Accord respectively, plus a mix of Nissan Altimas and Mazda6s thrown in for good measure. The domestics do a pretty good job of pulling in customers too, mostly due to good marketing and hard to pass up incentives, other than Chrysler which is finally making conquest deals on the backs of great products, such as the 300-series sedan. There's another dozen or so midsize models in the pipeline, including the highly-touted Hyundai Sonata and recently revised Subaru Legacy, which leaves Mitsubishi doing its best to get noticed, at least for the right reasons.
While the adage may go, "Any news is good news", the kind of publicity Mitsubishi has faced this year hasn't exactly
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| The second stumbling block to Galant sales has nothing to do with the car itself, but with the perception of Mitsubishi's financial viability. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
helped to increase consumer confidence. It's not that the cars come under fire, but quite the opposite really. Most, including the Galant, have been given rave reviews by auto journalists like myself and, even more importantly, a 5-star frontal impact crash test rating as tested by the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Galant also acheived the best possible score in Europe's 2004 model year New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) (see automotive news section for Feb 14, 2004: Mitsubishi's All-New Galant Sedan Joined Acura's TL for Top 5-Star Crash Test Rating). No, the Galant's troubles have more to do with Mitsubishi's financial viability, struggling to maintain its fiscal composure after partial shareholder DaimlerChrysler walked away from the bargaining table earlier this year, plus a run of recalls in its non-North American truck division having been previously covered up, causing much embarrassment, firings and then lawsuits and potential criminal charges. This last item has nothing to do Mitsubishi Motors' car division, but nevertheless a wide, somewhat careless stroke of a brush has painted anything with the tri-diamond logo black - and not with ink unfortunately. The ink is red, and will remain so until the automaker sees the fruits of its bold spending cuts, that include large-scale layoffs, the reduction in operating plants, and a general downsizing.
