I’m not sure what I’d been looking at on the internet for Facebook to decide that it was a good idea to advertise Mitsubishis to me, but considering it’s given me something to write about, I can’t be too agitated in the end. But despite the fact that it’s been available for the entire year thus far, I’d apparently been completely unaware that this car even existed, much less the fact that it was the vehicle that Mitsubishi decided to bestow the once-prized name of Eclipse.
Seeing this, I can’t help but wonder what the hell Mitsubishi is thinking these days; frankly, I’m often curious how they even survive in the automotive industry considering just how obscure they’ve become over the last few decades. I can’t even name any models outside of the Lancer Evolution, but I want to say that that car’s been retired now as well. Does the Gallant even exist anymore? The Diamante? And North America never got the FTO, and the 3000GT has been gone for ages now.
But bringing back the Eclipse name? And then putting it onto a baby-SUV that for whatever reason have all been rechristened as crossovers? I do not understand the logic. Does not compute.
The Eclipse was a name synonymous with sports cars throughout the 90s and even into the 2000s; I was a big fan of the first generation, which also shared production with Plymouth and Eagle, who released the Laser and Talon respectively, but all came available with a beastly top-end model that was equipped with the legendary 4G63 turbo-charged motor, and was all-wheel drive.
The second generation, Mitsubishi really outdid themselves, creating one of the most popular sports cars of the 90s, with a very tuner-friendly Eclipse that looked like a baby-Supra, but was like half the cost, that also came available in a GSX top-end that had the same turbo engine plus all-wheel drive; almost like it was a sleeker looking Evo, years before the Evo really exploded in popularity.
