2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse

[BMWDave]

2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse: Out of the Darkness, a Flash of Color

By DAN CARNEY
Published: August 14, 2005
AN eclipse occurs when one celestial body obscures the view of another, just as the redesigned 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse has begun to overshadow the previous-generation car, a coupe that some sporting enthusiasts never fully embraced.

Mitsubishi hopes the new Eclipse will also obscure the company's troubled reputation, a result of dismal financial results, corporate scandals in Japan and the United States and an exodus of top executives.

Sporty V-6 CoupesIn a summer when bad auto industry news has been as thick as a freshly poured Slurpee, Mitsubishi finally has a fresh model in its showrooms. It has also found a positive example that it hopes to emulate as it plots a recovery: the remarkable rebound of Nissan, over just a few years, from near insolvency. Nissan built its turnaround on a basic but stylish S.U.V., the Xterra, that became a hit with young buyers and propped up the company until other new products were developed. Mitsubishi sees the arrival of the Eclipse as a similar turning point.

"I point at Nissan as an example of the situation that is most similar to ours," Dave Schembri, executive vice president of Mitsubishi Motors North America, said in a recent interview. "We are at that point now with our new Eclipse."

The company needs this redesigned car to keep customers coming to showrooms while ir prepares the rest of its parade of new models. "We'll have six new products in 26 months," Mr. Schembri said. Actually, the company is bringing out four new vehicles, along with two variations of them, including a convertible version of the Eclipse that is due to arrive, inexplicably, in January. There are two new sport utilities and a redesigned Lancer economy sedan. The next ultra-high-performance variation on the Lancer, the Evolution X, comes in 2007.

In the United States, Mitsubishi paid a steep price for having bolstered its sales with interest-free financing and deferred-payment plans, often extended to customers with substandard credit. When the payments finally came due, many buyers just walked away from their cars.

Also, in its darkest hours, the company dumped nearly half of its production into car-rental fleets. When those marked-down vehicles eventually arrived in the used-car market, resale values plunged.

Now, Mr. Schembri said, the company is selling only 15 percent of its production to fleet operators, and much of that is strategically planned: the aim is to expose potential customers to Mitsubishi's cars by offering them as rentals. Wholesale auction prices have climbed as a result, Mr. Schembri said.

While the new Eclipse may give Mitsubishi a foundation for a turnaround, it should be noted that this fourth-generation coupe, like the one that came before it, is not a pocket rocket intended for the hard-core performance crowd, as the first two generations were. Instead, it is a plush, smooth, stylish and nicely equipped sporty coupe that will appeal to the young fashionistas who still gravitate toward two-door cars.

The curvaceous hatchback body is more daring and should age better than the slab-sided third-generation car. Indeed, the design is a fairly faithful reproduction of the smart Concept-E design study unveiled at the 2004 Detroit auto show, with a few concessions for production and practicality.

Fender arches are drawn taut over the 17-inch wheels (18-inch wheels are optional), emphasizing the muscular design. Inside, color choices include an adventurous orange that highlights the modern-look instrument panel. Buyers will not have to fret much about whether their friends will hate the loud interior color, since the back seat is utterly useless for carrying passengers.

The target audience ought to be pleased by the optional 650-watt Rockford Fosgate audio system. But young audiophiles will not like this: the curved center section of the dashboard will not easily accept aftermarket stereo units, a significant accessory in the modern youth culture.

The base Eclipse GS comes with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 162 horsepower. Paired with the standard five-speed manual transmission, the GS is plenty quick and has the added benefit of being less expensive and more economical than the available V-6. Young drivers are likely to find, too, that the insurance bills will be lower for the four-cylinder car.

A four-speed automatic is available with the four-cylinder engine, extracting a penalty in mileage and performance.

The Eclipse GS should compete solidly in head-to-head comparisons with youth-oriented economy coupes like the Scion tC and Saturn Ion. If looks count and among the intended base of customers they surely do - the Eclipse should easily overshadow such comparatively plain-looking alternatives.


The Eclipse GT has a responsive 3.8-liter V-6. With 263 horsepower, the GT scoots quickly off the line - Car and Driver magazine clocked it at 6.1 seconds to 60 m.p.h. Do-it-yourselfers will enjoy the easy-shifting six-speed manual gearbox; with the V-6, the automatic transmission has five gears.

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Sporty V-6 CoupesEnthusiasts have long grumbled that the last, departing Eclipse dropped the performance torch that had been passed to it by the first two generations. But the company notes that while those previous turbocharged, all-wheel-drive models had their fans, the boy racers who liked them most are not the sort who buy a lot of new cars.

Hence the shift in the third generation to V-6 power and front drive, a combination more appealing to young grownups with jobs and house payments. Although the Eclipse's strong new V-6 appears to have them outgunned on paper, agile competitors like the Acura RSX and Mini Cooper will remain the choice of true enthusiasts.

The Eclipse has already been the subject of two recalls, both related to its brakes. The first involved a problem with the vacuum brake booster that could cause brake failure. Last month, the car was recalled to fix improperly installed brake-cylinder seals that could cause the brakes to feel spongy.

The Eclipse GT is built in Illinois and shares its underlying architecture with two vehicles that might seem like unlikely bedfellows, the Endeavor utility wagon and Galant midsize sedan.

As a consequence, the Eclipse GT weighs in at a porky 3,538 pounds with the automatic transmission, with 63 percent of the weight over the front wheels. That front-heaviness and the suspension's bias toward a comfortable ride extracts a penalty in handling, which can get strange when the car is pressed hard.

The most disconcerting effect comes over crests and rises, or even when changing lanes on a crowned road - one that is highest at the center. When you pull out to pass, the car's front tires struggle for grip so they can put the car's substantial power to the pavement. Suddenly, the course turns as unpredictable as the track of a hurricane, the car veering in the opposite direction from the tire with the most traction.

The company is considering the addition of a Ralliart performance version of the Eclipse, and one can only hope such a car would have a better-sorted suspension.

Meanwhile, enthusiasts who long for turbo power and all-wheel drive, need only cast their eyes toward the fearsome Lancer Evolution IX, a four-door beast based on Mitsubishi's rally-racing cars. By shunning such exotic hardware for the Eclipse, Mitsubishi has kept the focus on affordability, an essential aspect of coupes aimed at young people.

Prices start below $20,000 for the GS. Throw in the trendy orange ("sunset pearlescent") paint job and the Sun and Sound package (a sunroof and the thumping Rockford Fosgate stereo), and the list price is a reasonable $21,029. The GT, with its smooth V-6, starts at $24,294.

A hotter, lighter, crisper Eclipse would be nice, but Mitsubishi stands a better chance of scoring a much-needed sales success by making the car look fast while keeping it within reach of its intended customers.

INSIDE TRACK: Not a street racer, but a hot-looking street cruiser.

[Raghavan]

fugly, front drive, and porky. what a great combo.

[ifcar]

Why do they think that a sporty-looking coupe would outsell a sporty coupe?

[MX793]

Why do they think that a sporty-looking coupe would outsell a sporty coupe?

Probably has something to do with the fact that the bulk of previous generation Eclipses sold were lower end RS and GS models (looks before performance).  Same goes for the Mustang, the sales of which are mostly V6/Automatic equipped cars.  Most Acura RSXs I see are base models as well (I presume because the Type S isn't available with an automatic and these cars are all auto equipped).  Fact of the matter is that for the bulk of the buying public, sporty looks count more than true sportiness.

[ifcar]

But the RSX actually IS a sporty car, even with less power. And the previous Eclipse wasn't all that popular.

The Eclipse is just a quick coupe, and it's big and expensive to boot. It's not going to appeal to the automatic RSX market.

[MX793]

But the RSX actually IS a sporty car, even with less power. And the previous Eclipse wasn't all that popular.

The Eclipse is just a quick coupe, and it's big and expensive to boot. It's not going to appeal to the automatic RSX market.

I wasn't just talking about the last generation Eclipse.  I was talking about the 1st and 2nd generation cars as well.  The 2nd generation car has a bit of a "chick car" image because so many were sold as base models to women who favored the car for it's curvy looks instead of the performance potential of the turbo versions of the car.

[ifcar]

The new Eclipse is both bigger and more expensive than that generation.  

[MX793]

The new Eclipse is both bigger and more expensive than that generation.

So?  Doesn't negate the point that looks very often outweigh true sporting character in the eyes of the typical American consumer, hence why Mitsu felt that a sporty looking car would do better than a truly sporty one.

And factoring in inflation and such, I'd wager that a base 96 or 97 Eclipse wouldn't be that much less than a base 2006 Eclipse in today's dollars.

[Raza]

Why do they think that a sporty-looking coupe would outsell a sporty coupe?

Women and ricers.

The car is so ugly, I just threw up a little.

[ifcar]

The new Eclipse is both bigger and more expensive than that generation.

So?  Doesn't negate the point that looks very often outweigh true sporting character in the eyes of the typical American consumer, hence why Mitsu felt that a sporty looking car would do better than a truly sporty one.

And factoring in inflation and such, I'd wager that a base 96 or 97 Eclipse wouldn't be that much less than a base 2006 Eclipse in today's dollars.

If they made an RSX-type vehicle instead of an Accord coupe-type vehicle, it would sell far better. Ricers want a sport compact, not midsize.