It's amazing how much of a joke the Mitsubishi lineup has become (including the Evo). Hopefully the Ralliart is at least priced accordingly.

They should have used the GT-R-esqe grille on this thing too. It wouldnt have hurt. (yawn)

let us never speak of this again. i know the public won't.

Wow, that's ... Nope, I got nothing.

I think the line is, "That's like pouring perfume on a pig."
(a la They Live)

...And if you take the special lens off the camera, does it look more like an EVO X?

If Hyundai and Mitsubishi got into a boring fight who would win?

@danms6:

"(including the Evo)" I dunno about that, the Evo is something of a automotive journo darling.

Anyhow, Mitsu needs to figure out what sort of car company they are. Nissan is already making the Altima, why should they?

The only good thing about the Galant is that the seats are comfortable...that's it. Everything else is par for the course; interiors, powertrains, and economy are oh-hum.

Maybe one day they'll achive the allure of the Hyundai Sonata -- if they keep working away at it. SOMEday.

It's funny, there was a time that I thought the Gallant was a really great, solid car (c 1990).

Remember the Diamante? When Mitsu made a great looking midsize sedan. OK, the engine burned oil, and the gearboxes were suspect, but they looked good, were reasonably quick, and only slightly overpriced. Kinda like the Isuzu Impulse.

Mitsu jumped the shark when they offered that god-awful no payments for a year financing, which instantly put all there customers way upside down in 6 year car note and simultaneously killed resale.

Galant = Sonata = Malibu = Optima = Corolla, etc.

Yawn. At least they all saved money by sharing the same Play-Do mold, right?

@eastaboga: I think it all started going downhill when the Galant was named Motor Trend Car of the Year. There was time that qualified as a curse.

@TriShield: would anybody know that this fight existed? maybe it's already happened...

@brandegee: "there was a time"? i don't think this has been disproved, my friend.

It was once explained to me like this: Mitsubishi is really two car companies.

On the "Project America" side (their term for their USA-built platform), they have the ultra-boring Galant, Eclipse, and Endeavor.

On the Japan-built side, they have the Outlander (which as CUVs go, rides pretty nice, has a nice interior, and has less-bland styling than most) and the Lancer (which looks sharp inside and out, and drives great in Evo and presumably Ralliart variants).

If they drop "Project America", I think tey could be ok. Drop the Galant for whatever midsize sedan they have in Japan. Design a RWD Eclipse. Drop the Endeavor altogether.

I like the controls/center stack, but that display cluster is a little crowded and cramped... and that wheel is HORRIBLE

(sorry, i'm big on steering wheels)

Yawn. I have seen lots of plain vanilla in my days of implementing software, but this absolutely wins the award for plain, vanilla, bland nothing. Even the Taurus at its most boring had more edge than this.

Mitsubishi should just pack in their consumer car division and call it a day. Nothing left here that even Chrysler could use to apply the pentabortion styling.

@TriShield: I don't know, nobody would notice.

The old Galant VR-4 was cool. In fact, I'd put the VR-4 in Burglar's Jalopnik Could Be Reality Garage.

Actually, come to think of it, the BJCBRG would be a lot like PCH...

looks like the top-shelf model at least has some kind of stitched leather wheel and "shifter" and drilled aluminum pedals.

but still... that center plastic of the wheel... yeesh.

It looks like a reworked Sebring sedan. Bring back the glorious days of Galant! Bring back the VR4!

@eastaboga: You're right, the Diamante was a great product, but the R&D was lacking. It was a good looking car and would have benefitted from a AWD layout and a more reliable powerplant. Every Diamante I've seen spews out smoke at start up. But I've driven a '97, and the interior is quite nice.

Cripes, that centre stack now looks like a high tech breadmaker.

nothing a proper VR4 couldn't fix :)

too bad...they were once great little cars

This car is a real shame. Mitsubishi can do better (they HAVE done better with the Lancer and Eclipse), so why don't they? Why so bland?

Cadillac called, they want their boring front end back!

@BMRFILE: This is off topic, but who cares: The Diamante shares chassis bits with a certain 3000GT. It would be beyond cool to do a little VR-4 drivetrain swap and create quite the sleeper. Food for thought.

mmmm..... soy vanilla....

(soy vanilla ice flavor is even 1/10 the tasty of normal vanilla, so I'm super clever, REALLY)

I think this is what they were shooting for, here:

@lascauxcaveman:
...and they missed by a mile.

Oh well... at least I know what my next rental car will look like.

Mitsubishi, although Americans will buy bland, unimaginative automobiles of questionable engineering and build quality from "good old 'Merican car companies," they draw the line buying them from foreign invaders. Yes it's a double standard!

Fancy that, someone doing boring better than Toyota..

@combat chuck: Too true. I thought it was a competition winner for auto design mashups:

Who can put the most design cues from all different manufacturers into one car?

@lascauxcaveman: That car looks like it desperately wants to be a C-class Mercedes. The Lexus badge and the grill depth were the only giveaways.

This car may well be a rentall car, because it practically defines anonymous. Even a Canadian in East L.A couldn't get highjacked in this thing, because it's so inoffensive.

Mitsubishi used to have distinctive cars. This has no identity, and is a motorized marshmallow.

Pass. If I want to drive a Taurus, I'll go and buy one, right after I get a vasectomy/lobotomy combo.

BMRfile are you serious? the first generation diamante engine is renowned for its reliability. many cars with that engine are still around today pushing two or three hundred thousand miles. the transmission yeah definitely not the most reliable. far to complex. but what do you expect from a transmission that actively adapts to your driving habits