380 series 2

[Smoked]

Just saw an ad for the new series 2 380.

I think its now safe to assume Mitsubishi is in real trouble.

Hope this isnt a repost.

[BPXR6T]

I saw what I think was a series one on the road today. It didn't look too bad. But yeah bitsash1ti are gonna go bust. Front wheel drive dungers will never work, when will they learn that simple fact...

[Poetic Justice]

you say that like front wheel drive is a new concept...

as i keep saying, if the base model looked like the vrx/gt then they would have a good seller

[BPXR6T]

Front wheel drive a new concept? Not likely. I can think of a certain 70's heap that had a 455 and transaxle. Fun for front wheel drive burnouts...

[Poetic Justice]

Originally Posted by FourBarrel

Front wheel drive dungers will never work, when will they learn that simple fact...

I remember a month last year where Toyota Corolla outsold the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore.

Nah, front wheel drive is a concept that would never ever work.

[BPXR6T]

Well, c'mon genius. Enlighten us all with your infinite wisdom on why you think Mistsbushi is doing so poorly in the sales stakes. For me its because its front wheel drive and I will never buy a front wheel drive car.

[Smoked]

Steady fellas, the FWD concept is what makes the Mitsubishi not sell well. The aussie market prefers rear wheel, toyota Avalon is a further example of this.

However, Camry's are ever popular. Mitsubishi has lost market share because their last model was but ugly and people were driven away.

[Redrum]

I think front wheel drives in a large car format are always going to struggle in the Aussie market. Small cars, different kettle of fish. As for series 2 380, tis the beginning of the end for Mitsubishi in Australia methinks.........

[BPXR6T]

I'm working with the government at the moment. Every second government car is a Camry. Surprisingly only falcon wagons. I’ve Never seen a Mitsubishi while I'm there.

Wonder what there procurement policies are and why Mitsubishi's seem to be excluded. Poor fuel consumption? Expensive to maintain? Can't say I've ever gotten past the front wheel drive thing to look at the rest of the package...

[Poetic Justice]

Probably the fleet deals Toyota can do over Mitsubishi because Toyota already have the upper hand.

Do Mitsubishi even have a RWD platform they could use to rectify it - if it is RWD that is hindering their sales?

[NZ]

It looks old. It looks too much like the magna when its supposed to be all new.

[Full Spectrum]

Many could say the same with the BA-AU. But when the AU first came out didn't Ford do a series 2 almost straight away?.
The 380 is OK in my book it's Mitsubishi people think there toast and if they bought one they wouldn't get covered.
Over the last 3 weeks i have spotted a couple more on the roads but manly the LE 380's. It was cheap who could blame them

[outback_ute]

SlickHolden has hit the nail on the head - about a decade of speculation that Mitsubishi will pull out of manufacturing in Australia has put people off buying a potential "orphan". That is part of the reason Magna (and now 380) resale values are so poor which is another disincentive to buy one.

The worst part it is a ridiculous fear - apart from being self-fulfilling, look what happened when Nissan pulled out of Australian manufacturing over 10 years ago, the Pulsars that were manufactured here were replaced seamlessly from overseas.

SlickHolden, the AU series 2 came out 20 months after the original AU, not exactly what I would call "straight away".

[Full Spectrum]

Thanks i thought it was closer i just remember faces when they seen the first grill.

[blackahcdx]

looks too much like a bloated lancer

[Lagom]

Originally Posted by FourBarrel

Well, c'mon genius. Enlighten us all with your infinite wisdom on why you think Mistsbushi is doing so poorly in the sales stakes. For me its because its front wheel drive and I will never buy a front wheel drive car.

Magna was FWD when they were pumping out 40,000 a year... (ie. triple what they are selling now). Avalon didn't sell just because it was FWD - it was poorly marketed, an outdated product with little appeal and offered little more than the similar sized Camry (arguably worse than the Camry).

It's a branding issue primarily in my eyes - people don't have confidence in Mitsubishi at the moment, they're worried they're going to pull out and have an orphan. Resale on large Mitsubishi's isn't great, people aren't willing to put their cash down for one.

There are also challenges when you introduce a new brand into the marketplace - people still talk about Lasers and Festivas (especially non car people, although it is embarassing how many 'car enthusiasts' still call Fiestas Festivas), and how long have we had the Focus on the market for now?

Finally, they were way too optimistic with their launch pricing. It would've been better if they launched at that pricing half a year before, but when the large car market went into freefall, and all the competitors were throwing discounts at their cars, launching the 380 at almost $40k on the road for an auto was pretty optimistic.

Will be interesting to see how the VE Commodore goes. I'm sure the people at Holden have had to sharpen their pricing pencil.

[RG]

It will be interseting to see how the Aurion V6 goes since it also is a FWD.

[Falcon Coupe]

No FWD will compete will with Falcon and Commodore full stop.
Camry's are a different market segment look at Avalon ?

[Lagom]

Originally Posted by Falcon Coupe

No FWD will compete will with Falcon and Commodore full stop.
Camry's are a different market segment look at Avalon ?

Well, sort of, sort of technically.

VFACTS classes the Camry 4 cylinder as a medium car, whereas the Camry V6 is a large car (never mind they're the same size). The 380 is basically the same size as the Magna.

The thing is, the Camry is actually wider than the Avalon, has the same wheelbase and only 5cm shorter. The Camry is a heavier car too.

I can't help but think that there were many people who went into Toyota showrooms and inevitably cross shopped both. People who bought an Avalon probably did so on a price basis, given the lack of demand for them.

I think Aurion will sell better than Avalon, but there is a good part of the large car market that are pretty Ford/Holden loyal - that segment has had so little competition for such a long time, people have had the time to really have rusted on affiliations.

[Polyal]

I thought a VRX/GT was reatialing for $35k on a TV add I saw the other day, how cheap is that!! What does a XT sell for? I would have though nearly $38k!

I agree though, the VRX is a good looker IMO. That should be base model, and then the real VRX/GT needs a bit more power and features.

[Smoked]

Poor resale values can really destroy a model. Falcon suffers from it a fair bit.

[PH47]

Another thing that scares people off mitsu's (coming from someone who's owned 2 magnas) is reliability. The 380 just seems too much like another magna with a diff name, and since the magna's have so many damn problems, it scares people off.

They needed to seperate the 380 from the magna more visually then people would have more confidence that it truly is a completely new car.

[rhysy_boi]

i can't comment on experience of driving the car but isaw a white 380 VRX a few weeks ago. blackened headlights with the euro style HID sort of thing, big rims and black tint.

even if it is not a sports car i reckon it was an awesome pimping sort of car for the price. i was gobsmacked at how good it looked!

though for me i'd never buy a big FWD car.

Rhyso

[McobraR]

From what everyone i kno are saying, no one is buying the 380 because they think mitsubishi will go down and that buying a 380 is a waste of time. Its NOT because its FWD, or ugly. I find the VRX very noice to the eye.
And the majority of people who buy the car dont care if its FWD or RWD, its mainly enthusiasts that prefer RWD. Like someone stated before, the corolla and camry are selling VERY GOOD yet they're FWD.

[Smoked]

Exactly, people think "why would i want a car with a 5 year warranty if there is no company to do the work?"

[Yaw]

Originally Posted by PH47

They needed to seperate the 380 from the magna more visually then people would have more confidence that it truly is a completely new car.

I thought they did a pretty good job of this, what your saying is like the Taurus and AU falcon look too much alike, thats how different they are!!!!!!!!

[Bossxr8]

Resale value of 33% for the last Magnas will carry over to 380, so fleets wouldn't want to touch them as within 3 years they will be worth peanuts, especially now they are discounting the out of them.

[Windsor220]

Originally Posted by PH47

Another thing that scares people off mitsu's (coming from someone who's owned 2 magnas) is reliability. The 380 just seems too much like another magna with a diff name, and since the magna's have so many damn problems, it scares people off.

They needed to seperate the 380 from the magna more visually then people would have more confidence that it truly is a completely new car.

Dont know what Magnas your referring to there. If its the really old TM - TP then fair enough but the later model stuff was actually quite good.

[Smoked]

Very hard to improve opinino once burnt though. Alot of people still believe that psot E-series Falcon have Head Gasket issues. Further still believe later series commodores have similar issues to the orginal VN.

[PH47]

Originally Posted by KJLynx

Dont know what Magnas your referring to there. If its the really old TM - TP then fair enough but the later model stuff was actually quite good.

Had a '94 and a '99..

Both had problems with persistant oil leaks, power steering fluid leaks, and random electrical failures (electric windows would stop working, gauges would stop working, central locking would stop working, etc)..

Idle issues on both.. on the 95 ended up needing the ICS replaced which cost a fortune due to it being in some messed up place (not a mechanical-person so can't remember details sorry.. something about it being inside another part rather than easily accessible).. should've been a cheap fix.. the 99's idle issues persisted till when I sold it..

Even though they were COMPLETELY different models/platforms, they had similar issues.. and from the feedback I got on mitsu and magna-specific forums they were common probs not just bad luck on my part..

Mums 01 magna is now having gearbox issues and random electrical issues as well..