When Mitsubishi abandoned you, you purchased......................

PirateMcGee

Expedition Leader
I would be happy to see the Montero Sport return....there's clearly room in the market against the 4runner and fuel economy and price needs could be realistically met over the Montero.
Mitsubishi_Pajero_Sport_L_1.jpg
 
Overall Mitsubishi's failure in the US is a brash corporate attitude in Japan, unwilling to understand the US market. From cup holders to being the world leader in off-road hobbies, and everything in between. We want junk Electric vehicles of no use except for a handful of big city duelers. But it also seems to me the un-willingness to compete in a segment, as they once did. It seems they fear having to compete with HP, options, technology, ect. Did they lose money in the 1990s? I dont think so, but it is true the licensing of technology of the time like ABS multi channel, 4 wheel steer, twin turbo tech, AWD tech, ect, ect was extremely lucrative, possibly more so then new car sales. Could we please go back to that model?

I also find it interesting that Nissan re-invented itself in 2004-2007 but seems to be reversing that trend its self, the new Titan is looking like a flop, the new Pathfinder was a flop,(car based) an Xterrra replacement will be a flop out the gate. Just read an on the Xterra article "Hampered by a terrible ride" .....so we need to roll out a me too hatch back??? No we need to fix the suspension and update an outdated model. Looks like Jeep and Toyota will keep laughing all the way to the bank, and those ridiculous off-road vehicles we dont want here like the new Raptor will just have to make all the profits.
 
Yes you are very correct about car reviews, but the Xterra has a ride so bad it tears itself apart from bottoming out on smooth roads....Its well known, hard to fix, known since 2005 and Nissan never even considered fixing the issue. They were forced to fix exploding diffs and trannies eventually, but they were not forced to fix the suspension. But could THAT be a part of why your rugged off-roader is only selling 15K units a year? I was so pissed about all the issues I dumped mine AFTER I built it up. You compete with Jeep by offering more room, more comfort and more reliability to start. Take away any of those and your toast.

Now to be fair, Toyota and Ford have built 2 MODERN rugged 4x4s that ride better on AND Off-road....So yes, it can be done.
 

Gruni14

Observer
Hummer's gone. H3 was mechanically the ZR2 Blazer with square sheet metal and less visibility.

Common misbelief but Not true.
The H3 was based on the new-at-the-time Colorado truck frame, but other than the side rails, not much of the frame is the same. Stiffer and more crossmembers. Less than 10% of Colorado parts are in an H3. This is according to H3 engineers and is well documented in the H3 book. Of those 10%, most pertain to the engine and parts around the firewall area. It is not a Zr2 with different sheet metal and chopped top, it's a wholly new vehicle -- GM dumped a ton into making the H3 a really amazing off-road vehicle. But yes, it was made at the same plant that built the Colorado so the reputation is that it's the same. Sadly, the market changed in 2008 and they continued the H3 until GM chopped Hummer (and No, it wasn't sold to a Chinese company). According to GM engineers, they took a lot of 'supposed' good stock vehicles as well as stock vehicles that were heavily modified with aftermarket parts like many people on this and other boards would modify their rigs and off-roaded them heavily in Moab and the Rubicon and found what designs were good and what things broke. Did the same things a couple times with pre-production H3's and beefed up the stuff that broke. It was a no holds barred off-road rig. When they were done, they took several H3's through the Rubicon and not one thing broke on them (according to the engineers). It's probably the best deal in a stock rig for trail work. The D-rings are mounted directly to the FRAME!

Might me my next rig :)
 
Last edited:
I do have to give some credit where credit is due. The H3 was a huge improvement over H1 and H2, the engine started out bad, but the platform was the best put forth by GM for off-road.
 

DR1665

Gearheads United
Yeah. I know. Which is to say they decided not to drop a bajillion dollars into retooling to sell a couple thousand $40k SUVs in a market where the most vocal minority - with no grasp of their truly progressive thinking - had likely never actually bought a new Mitsubishi.

I've been a DSMer since the Talon Digest. The myopic, armchair quarterbacking of MMC's business objectives is nothing new to me.

And... we know exactly when that will be now that the TPP text is available:





So, who wants to speculate what the 2045 Montero will look like when it makes its triumphant return to the US?

Even if the TPP provided every driving age man, woman, and child the car of their dreams for a dollar, it's still otherwise terrible news. Even if it legalized all drugs and, to quote the late Rodney Dangerfield, "we're all gonna get laid," it's terrible news.

Need proof? Obama supports it. Which means republicans should be falling over each other to block it any way they can. They aren't. Which is precisely why every democrat should despise it as well.

It subverts national sovereignty to the whims of Wall Street. It does precisely what UN tinfoil hat-wearing kooks have feared for decades.

Nothing brings rich, old republicans and rich, old democrats together as quickly as screwing over the average, working stuff.

But in all seriousness, Mitsubishi is just a bit too far ahead of the curve right now. Their current electric efforts are akin to their turbo awd efforts in the early 80s.

Believe.
 

Toasty

Looking for that thing i just had in my hand...
I'd rock an Electric PAJ, think near unlimited torque and incredible wheel spin control.
 

Toasty

Looking for that thing i just had in my hand...
Just won't be able to drive out to the trail and back.
 

DR1665

Gearheads United
That's just the thing, dude. Right now, Tesla's the only one with a high performance EV. Everyone else is doing the hybrid thing (at least, when fuel prices increase). 10 years from now, when US fuel prices normalize with the rest of the world, and most manufacturers only offer $100k EVs, who do you think will have the small, affordable, performance oriented EV at an affordable price? Mitsubishi.

$10k. Right now. A $10k EV conversion of ANY platform you like - right now - will give you 60 miles range and F1-level performance (sub-3 second 0-60, 10-second quarter mile, 200mph).

It's coming, and Mitsubishi will be at the forefront.
 

PirateMcGee

Expedition Leader
:squint: uhh... I think maybe you took me a little too literally. When I said the H3 is basically the ZR2 with different sheet metal I didn't mean any of the parts were interchangeable or that the H3 was literally built on the ZR2 frame, I meant that the H3 is the effective successor to that market.

The ZR2 is based around the S10 drivetrain and sheet metal but has its own frame, has its own axle borrowed from the 1/2 ton trucks, etc. The H3 fits the same segment and since the Colorado succeeded the S10 platform obviously the H3 is based on that instead. No surprise they didn't make a ZR2 Colorado or or try to bastardize a GMT360 (Trailblazer/Envoy) into a ZR2 package - it would have competed with the Hummer brand - but that customer still existed (and still exists today).

Right now there's a ton of 90's and 2000's steel still out there serving that market, the guys willing to keep old steel on the road anyway - but I really am curious where these guys are going to turn as old steel rusts and crumbles with time. Personally I've ended up in a full size pickup, I don't really like it (the size..) but I need the utility and it's this or spend a disproportionate amount of my time worrying about reliability on some 15 year old junk.

Take care of the metal just like the rest of the vehicle.....
 

Gruni14

Observer
Shovel, Thanks for the FYI. I loved the ZR pickup concept, looks ...and package in general. They were on my "to-die-for" list for years, and I came fairly close to buying one. But I had commitments at the time. Who knows, maybe one of these days one will cross my path for a couple grand that just needs a decent paint job (my thing) and minor work. It'll be in my garage if it does!

Hard to say where people are going to turn in the future. From an SUV standpoint, there are plenty of Toyotas (FJ's??), Nissan (Armada) and Jeeps (Commander?) out there, and the H2's - H3's are coming down in price as are LR2's. None are perfect, but most are pretty robust. And who knows, maybe Mitsubishi ...or some other company will bring out the 'perfect' SUV that is Montero-esque! Things are cyclical, styles change, trends change, and tastes change. I remember old-timers saying the same thing about their cars of the 50's (60's stuff was crap), then in the 70's and 80's the new stuff was crap too. There's always something good out there...

Start hoarding 'Monty' parts!!
 
Last edited:

Toasty

Looking for that thing i just had in my hand...
You think they'd go back in their timeline and look at when they were doing their best, It's funny how MMC was positioned to become the top Japanese automaker and they just made stupid decisions over and over until they had almost nothing left.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,535
Messages
2,875,636
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top