The struggling automaker is looking for another hit and it hopes that its new version of the Lancer compact will be the answer it needs to light a fire to those sagging sales figures.
The new Lancer is lower, wider, and more powerful than the current model. It is scheduled to be introduced in January at the Detroit Auto Show next year. Plans now call for it to go on sale in March or April, 2008. Pricing has yet to be established; the current Lancer sells for $14,600 to $20,000.
U.S. analysts say that the company needs to sell more than 50,000 units a year for the car to be a success.
Our take? What a fall. Mitsubishi, once renowned for cutting age design and technology, saw sales in the U.S. plummeting 54 percent from its peak in 2002. Can the Lancer follow up with such hits as the Eclipse, the Spyder, and the Outlander? We have grave reservations about the company.