Mitsubishi 380: hanging in the balance

[fairBA]

Some one has made a complete site to Mitso bashing -

http://www.mitsubishisucks.com/

380 is the Gallant I believe

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by fairBA

Some one has made a complete site to Mitso bashing -

http://www.mitsubishisucks.com/

380 is the Gallant I believe

Based on the Gallant platform.

[Disciple]

Originally Posted by Steffo

I don't see how getting recall notices is worthy of respect. It means the car is no good.

What a completely ignorant comment to make, Steffo. It's no wonder people on here rubbish everything you say.

The 380 is loosely based off the American Mitsubishi Galant, but shares all of about zero parts. It's only coincidence they look similar - that's my understanding anyway.

[Roj Mugwump]

I've only ever driven a 380 as a hire car - for 5 days and was very impressed considering the amount of bad press i've heard about it...

dont know that I would buy one, however I wouldnt believe any bad words about it - apart from it being as ugly as sin ;)

perhaps the supercharged version will be more fun...

[Deanodriver]

Originally Posted by Ruger

Exactly cry about rwd all day they want but get in an xt put it through its paces and itll understeer all day and drive like a boat.

makes a good base for modding though.

Sure it'd make a good base for modding, but most people don't even do that.

After all, IMO RWD matters for sports models, utes, and possibly luxo models, the basic family pack versions wouldn't benefit as much from it. (don't go on about towing, because a Territory would on it for that use)

Originally Posted by vztrt

The initial costs in the setup of the production line (as it would be built on the same line as the 380) would be quite large. I dont believe that the lancer sells enough units to justify the expense (remember a small car doesn't make as much money as a large car). Mind you the 380 isn't doing well so maybe exploring the option of the lancer, or another one of thier models could be looked at. But I dont believe that Mitsubishi does model mixing so their quality would start to drop as its a completely different to a single model on one line.

They're selling probably twice as many Lancers as they are 380s as it is (and that's of the old model). What's more, they can't be making THAT much on the 380 at only $28990.

Actually, I'd lean towards killing the 380, import Galant and building the Lancer here. The large car segment is in decline, people want smaller cars these days. Whilst there will always be a place for large 6/8 cylinder sedans in the Aussie market, they will not be as dominant as they once were.

What's more, the Commodore and Falcon are the typical Aussie sedans with their loyal fan bases (and V8SC, etc), and the Camrion has the Toyota reputation for reliability, where does Mitsubishi fit in? The Lancer would have more of a sporting pedigree thanks to the Evo.

[Steffo]

Originally Posted by Disciple

What a completely ignorant comment to make, Steffo. It's no wonder people on here rubbish everything you say.

Finding faults and willingly fixing them should be standard procedure. It shouldn't be applauded, "Oh my what a good company."

Having lots of recalls = lots of faults. Lots of faults = bad.

[DanielXR8]

Originally Posted by Steffo

I don't see how getting recall notices is worthy of respect. It means the car is no good.

Thats why Ford has never sold a Falcon with a problem Steffo - just for you. Personally I think the BA brakes in the early days and the handbrake were both worthy of a recall - they were safety related as far as I was concerned. But I guess if enough people think like you do - then Ford made the right choice in its ongoing policy that they never sold a Falcon that didnt meet factory and your tolerances.

Better a car that needs wheels chocks and shudders at every application of the brakes. Those Toyotas on the other hand!

Dan

[Gobes32]

Originally Posted by Steffo

Finding faults and willingly fixing them should be standard procedure. It shouldn't be applauded, "Oh my what a good company."

Having lots of recalls = lots of faults. Lots of faults = bad.

The fact is Ford and Holden have a bad habit of not rectifying anything that in hindsight was not right or unsafe. My partners car was recalled once for rubber supports around the suspension? ( before i met her so don't know full story ) and another time for seatbelt pre tensioner. My parents have had trouble with their XR6 handbrake not fully releasing since they purchased the car new in '03 but Ford service say nothing is wrong it is all in your head!!!!!! In Holden's defence, with the VE they have been a bit better admitting to mistakes. There was problems with seat belts and fuel hoses if my memory is any good?

[Steffo]

Originally Posted by acosta32

The fact is Ford and Holden have a bad habit of not rectifying anything that in hindsight was not right or unsafe. My partners car was recalled once for rubber supports around the suspension? ( before i met her so don't know full story ) and another time for seatbelt pre tensioner. My parents have had trouble with their XR6 handbrake not fully releasing since they purchased the car new in '03 but Ford service say nothing is wrong it is all in your head!!!!!! In Holden's defence, with the VE they have been a bit better admitting to mistakes. There was problems with seat belts and fuel hoses if my memory is any good?

That's fine, but people saying "there are alot of recalls, so its a good car," are nuts!

Having lots and lots and lots of recalls means there are lots and lots and lots of problems with the car(s). Having none can either mean there are none, or the maker doesn't care.

Question to anyone who knows... does the Government force recalls onto automakers or not?

[Gobes32]

My partners car had 2 recalls in 11 years. Thats a pretty good record. And it pains me to say this because i actually work for an Australian car manufacturer, but the car is very well made with good components and ultra reliable to boot.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Steffo

Question to anyone who knows... does the Government force recalls onto automakers or not?

As far as I'm aware the only recal that is manditory is if it is a safety related issue.

[Dave_au]

Originally Posted by vztrt

As far as I'm aware the only recal that is manditory is if it is a safety related issue.

Correct, but it is up to the manufacturer to make the government aware.

As for Toyota's large amounts of recalls, another factor no one has mentioned would be the quite diverse model line up, compared with say Ford.

And besides, we would be pulling the wool over our own eyes if we are to sit here and preach that the Ford, or for that matter our Falcon doesn't have issues (often common to all) for which they should have been recalled, and if they were a Toyota, would have been recalled.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Dave_au

As for Toyota's large amounts of recalls, another factor no one has mentioned would be the quite diverse model line up, compared with say Ford.

Diverse model line up? They have the camry and the aurion which is the same platform.

Ford have the Falcon, the utes, the wagon, LWB (soon to go), and the Terri all on one line. I can tell you Ford have a much harder job in building cars then Toyota ever will as they dont do 'real' model mix. The king manufactures in this area are BMW.

[Dave_au]

Originally Posted by vztrt

Diverse model line up? They have the camry and the aurion which is the same platform.

This is a diverse model line up:
Yaris
Corolla
Camry
Aurion
Avensis
Pirus
Tarago
Rav4
Kluger
Prado
Hilux
Hiace
Coaster
Landcruiser 75
Landcruiser 200

This is a not as diverse model lineup:
Fiesta
Focus
Mondeo
Falcon
Territory
Escape
Ranger
Transit

Its effectively 14 unique models (even when combining Aurion/Camry) vs 8 from Ford.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Dave_au

This is a diverse model line up:
Yaris
Corolla
Camry
Aurion
Avensis
Pirus
Tarago
Rav4
Kluger
Prado
Hilux
Hiace
Coaster
Landcruiser 75
Landcruiser 200

This is a not as diverse model lineup:
Fiesta
Focus
Mondeo
Falcon
Territory
Escape
Ranger
Transit

Its effectively 14 unique models (even when combining Aurion/Camry) vs 8 from Ford.

Which of those models are built her in Oz, and how many of those models are built on the same production line? Toyota have the capacity to build one model on a line (sometimes they split the higher and lower spec models on different lines).

[Dave_au]

Originally Posted by vztrt

Which of those models are built her in Oz, and how many of those models are built on the same production line? Toyota have the capacity to build one model on a line (sometimes they split the higher and lower spec models on different lines).

What has where the car was built got anything to do with our discussion on recall notices?

Toyota Motor Corp Australia is responsible for issuing recalls for any Toyota in Australia. I am arguing that you would probably expect Toyota to have more recalls on average given the larger model variety of cars that they sell in Australia, not to mention the thousands and thousands of cars they produce per year - they are afterall our largest car manufacturer

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Dave_au

What has where the car was built got anything to do with our discussion on recall notices?

Toyota Motor Corp Australia is responsible for issuing recalls for any Toyota in Australia. I am arguing that you would probably expect Toyota to have more recalls on average given the larger model variety of cars that they sell in Australia, not to mention the thousands and thousands of cars they produce per year - they are afterall our largest car manufacturer

I've taken what you intially said differently, so dont mind me.

[t2te50]

All mitsubishi have done is put a new wrapper over an ageing driveline and an ugly one at that. I know Oldsmobile toranado was a 7L front wheel driver!! Simple, theres just too much torque going to the front wheels. Makes a mess of engine mounts and makes for an unruley ride when punished.

[Disciple]

Originally Posted by t2te50

All mitsubishi have done is put a new wrapper over an ageing driveline and an ugly one at that. I know Oldsmobile toranado was a 7L front wheel driver!! Simple, theres just too much torque going to the front wheels. Makes a mess of engine mounts and makes for an unruley ride when punished.

Have you actually driven one man? Because it doesn't sound like you have. Ageing driveline? I thought it was new?

[BAGT514]

I was working at Mitsubishi Tonsley Park bodybuild maintenance when the 380 was being planned. Every single decision that effects MM Australia gets made in Japan. The large presses (that do the whole side panels) were being installed when the Japanese bosses came to visit. Apparently, if they were not so far through the structural work, the presses would have been canned and the plant shut down. Because the capital expense was so large - they canned their "world class" engine line, sent all the small parts manufacturing offshore and prayed that the sales of the 380 would pull them out of the . At the same time they stopped production of a plant in South America. Mitsubishi Motors worldwide is in strife - not just MMA. MMA could actually export a whole lot more Magna's to the states but for some strange reason they try to make more Australian models.
MMA knows that Australians don't really want a large front wheel drive, hence the AWD Magna. MMA also know the stigmata attatched to the Magna name - hence the 380 name for their new car.
When RalliArt brought out the TJ AWD - MMA purchased RalliArt Australia. They were going to build an XR/SS killer with Mivtec heads, and a little turbo. The Japanese asked them to resubmit the proposal - (Too expensive). They then subbmitted a Mivtec head and PD supercharger - guess what - (resubmit). They then put forward a proposal for just the Mivtec head which the Japs use on their V6 anyway. And the response.....Resubmit..

What hope does Mitsubishi Motors Australia have....

[GTP534]

Here's about 23 they just sold to the Brunei Government. They are all the same spec and black in colour, BG number plates. I have also seen a white one with chequer blue and white striping which the Brunei Police use to cruise the coastal highway here.