http://www.autoblog.com/2011/04/25/r...n-august-gala/

Mitsubishi is stopping production of the Eclipse, if anyone even remembers this car. Here is a great example of how an automaker can take a great car and kill it with mediocracy.

 

Loved the old turbo DSM's. Used to have one. But good riddance of the newer models imo.

 

The only real eclipses where the boosted ones. I won't miss em.

 

Agreed. The Gen 2 GS-T was a classy ride that was a lot of fun to help my stepson mod.

 

thank god... 2000 and up was all downhill for them... the 06 ones are a monstrosity... sooo freaking fugly haha... so were the 00+... the gsx's werent bad and same with the 1st gen ones

 

I would really like to know why they moved from the good car to the POS it became. Was it a case of the product planners were dumb or did external issues such as market preference shifts, increased manufacturing costs (the Yen was gaining on the dollar in those days) etc make the old version too expensive or make the old market segment too small. I mean just about everyone dropped out of the sports coupe market which was hot in the early 90s. Perhaps the only mistake Mitsubishi made was trying to remain in an otherwise dead segment.

Perhaps a good follow up question is what ever became of the sports coupe market?

 

interesting

 

I loved the first gen, but they seemed to go steadily downhill after that. Too bad, it could have been a great car had they not let it drift in the wrong direction.

 

Maybe it's just me, but the Eclipse has never been that great after say the first gen. Yes, the DSM motors were great at the time, but sorry, that's about it in terms of substance imo. Yes, the 2g was a nice looking car, but my Lord it handled like shit. The suspension was incredibly soft/it just felt like you were floating. The dash was kinda neat, but I always found the driving experience of the eclipses to be subpar. The shifter? We won't go there..

My brother had a 2g eclipse "back in the day," and yes it was a beast in a straight line (at the time), but that's it. I guess I have to give it credit for what it was. My point I guess is after they opted to ditch the DSM turbo motors for NA, it lost ALL its appeal.

 

99 GSX with Paul Walker driving in lime green <3