| Thanks everyone! I passed the showroom again yesterday evening -
it's full title is "Eclipse 2000 GTI 16V". It looks like a baby
(well, junior maybe) version of the 3000, without as many curves,
but with 150 bhp. It was smaller than I'd thought at first, but
definitely a 4 seater. Seems a practical, reasonably priced
competitor in it's class, at DM 42,000 (the model I saw for
DM 39,500 was ex-demo).
Cheers!
Diane
|
| Hello from the Colonies,
The Mitsubishi Eclipse is, as stated in a previous note, built by a
joint venture with Chrysler. In the U.S. the car is marketed under 3
different nameplates: Mitsubishi Eclipse, Plymouth Laser, Eagle Talon
(Plymouth and Eagle being divisions of Chrysler). The cars have
slightly different front and back ends and paint schemes but are
otherwise identical.
They come in 3 "flavors": the base car has 115hp and is front-wheel
drive, the next up has a turbo and puts out approximately 190hp, the
top of the line is all-wheel-drive with the turbo and puts out 200hp.
Prices in the U.S range from $12,000 - $20,000 (U.S. dollars) depending
on the model and options. It's a fairly popular car here.
My daughter's boyfriend had a 1990 Eagle all-wheel-drive turbo. It
was pretty quick. Handled very well. Just traded it in on a Nissan
300ZX twin-turbo (300hp!). Now THAT's quick!
Cheers...
Thom...
|
| I just noticed this note and can add a few things.
I own a 1992 Mitsu Eclipse GSX and have had it since new. As noted,
these cars are badged differently, but all come from the same place.
The engineering effort was the result of an agrrement between Mitsu and
Chrysler. The engines and some other bits come from Mitsu in Japan, and
all the cars are assembled at a plant in, you'll love the name, Normal,
Illinois, USA. The plant was originally a joint ownership between the
two companies, but Chrysler sold its interest to Mitsubishi when it was
strapped for cash about 2 or so years ago.
My car is the top of the line model. It has a 2.0 liter dohc, turbo
charged, intercooled engine that makes 195 bhp and 205 lb ft of torque.
The GSX has AWD, a 5-speed (autop available), and 16x6" wheels with
205-55 V-rated Goodyears. It weighs about 3,000 lbs.
I live in the mile-high city of Denver where all cars are down on
horsepower due to the altitude. But this car IS quick. It was tested in
the various car mags with a 0-60 speed of 6.7 sec. Its steering and
cornering are quick - it feels like it's on rails. Having lived with it
for nearly 2 years I can report that it has been trouble free - I've
had no service other than the normal oil change. The car has a rear
seat that will hold kids, but I would never put adults there unless it
was for a very short drive. The split rear seat will fold down giving
me room for my golf bag. With the V-rated tires, the car is a bit
noisy, but heck, it's not supposed to be a luxury car. My biggest
complaint is the gearbox - the shifter uses cables to move the gears
around and they make for a somewhat vague feel, especially when
compared to something like the BMW 325i my friend has. In the
mountains, this car is great fun, very surefooted and quick. And the
AWD option makes it a viable winter car, though I'm sure that the
normal FWD cars are pretty good in the snow.
Is it worth the $20k? Yes, I think so. The Honda Prelude is probably
about equal, maybe ahead since it is a newer design. The Mazda 626
Coupe is sure nice. (I think the Mazda really looks like the Calibra.)
There are a bunch of these Eclipse/Talon etc. here in the US. They've
made about 500,000 of them! I didn't know they were exporting them to
Europe. I would think they'd be competitive there if the price isn't
outrageous.
Paul
|