There are some Japanese car brands that are respected for their reliability and performance. However, there is one you might want to steer clear of.
While some could argue that Japanese car brands overall may have fallen a bit from their 1980s and 1990s period of industry dominance, the major players like Toyota and Honda for the most part, continue to deliver on their reputations. They regularly top the sales charts and have happy, loyal customers. Even the smaller Japanese brands like Subaru and Mazda have done well in establishing their own identities and building loyal customer bases. But that’s not the case for every Japanese brand selling cars in America right now.
Mitsubishi – the once proud and ambitious Japanese car brand now seems to be hanging on by a thread, especially in America. It’s a brand that continues to suffer through scandals, diminished reputation, poor resale value, and an absence of exciting offerings. Few can seriously argue that Mitsubishi is in a good place at the moment. And there’s now growing concern among those on the front lines that the brand’s long-term existence in the ultra-competitive American car market is in danger. Remember the good times
Historically, Mitsubishi Motors, especially in America, never operated at the same level or with the same volume as Toyota or Honda. Mitsubishi never had Toyota’s bulletproof reputation or Honda’s way of punching above its weight. But that was okay. For years, Mitsubishi got along well with a large and varied vehicle line that was bolstered by its long-running corporate partnership with Chrysler. A partnership that resulted in classics like the Mitsubishi Starion/Chrysler Conquest and later the Mitsubishi 3000GT/Dodge Stealth and Mitsubishi Eclipse/Eagle Talon.
Internationally, Mitsubishi had a rugged, tech-heavy reputation built by SUVs like the Pajero, along with early rally success with cars like the Colt Galant. Culturally, there was Jackie Chan’s partnership with the brand that resulted in movies like ‘Thunderbolt’. Later, Mitsubishi brought to mind Tommi Makinen’s WRC-winning machines and Paul Walker’s bright green Eclipse from ‘The Fast and the Furious’. Though it arrived late to the American market, the Lancer Evolution served as the brand’s hardcore performance flagship through the 2000s and into the 2010s.
But even as Mitsubishi’s enthusiast offerings kept interest up, the brand had begun sailing through rough financial waters. In the early 2000s, without the resources, product line or reputation to compete with Toyota or Honda, Mitsubishi began an aggressive program targeting low-credit buyers with things like zero-down financing programs and deferred payments.
