Spin's piece on why Mitsubishi should quietly pass the baton of all-wheel-drive fun from the Evo drew a massive amount of response from the fans who care enough for their Evos to not crash them into mountains. Among those, EvoCS was the best:
I'll just leave this here, and then I'm done talking about it. I don't want to up my anti-depressant any higher than its already substantial dose-
Mike, I really appreciate the eulogy for the Evo and the stab at rationalizing why Mitsubishi is doing what they appear to be doing. I fully understand that the future of personal transportation is going to be a messy mish-mash of technologies. I understand the company's need to survive in that future. What I take issue with is the fact that Mitsubishi is basically starting from scratch. Square One. A valid argument could be made that they might as well because they have little recognition right now anyway, but that would be selling things just a little bit short. Mitsubishi does have a (admittedly incoherent) reputation for building performance in some way, shape, or form. People know the Eclipse (forget about the schism between 1/2 G vs. 3/4 G for the moment). They remember the 3000 GT. The Evo "halos" over the Lancer line-up (and the rest of the company no matter what MMC may like think). What I'm saying is this: There is more than enough to work with for the brand to define itself in this new era WITHOUT the complete disregarding of its history. I see no reason why Mitsubishi cannot solidify it's reason for being with a clever "evolution" of what it was with what it needs to become.
Starting over may seem like an attractive notion. But how hard is it going to be for a small car company with limited resources to get that message out to consumers? That takes money more than balls. Epic amounts of money and commitment. Does Mitsubishi Heavy, Electric, Bank, and Trading Co. have that level of determination to see this through? Mitsubishi Motors was spun off from them back in the Seventies, only to be reluctantly brought back into the fold about 6 years ago when Daimler kicked them to the curb. They have made a lot of noise about EV's for most of that time, yet Nissan got the Leaf to market, and still happens to sell a 370Z and GTR at the same time.
Mitsubishi is going about basically creating a new brand at a time when even established marques are either dead, dying, or withering into a shell. They'll need all the luck and loads of money that they have not been privy to during most of their existence. And even that won't guarantee success. They should at least start with something they have some recognition for.