Did Kia and Mitsubishi swap places?

The year is 1995 - Mitsubishi has a premium entry luxury sedan, the Diamante, an upscale SUV, the Montero, and the 3000 GT sports car. Meanwhile, a new Korean company, Kia, is in its second model year in the US – producing just two vehicles, the Sephia and the Sportage which are among the cheapest cars you can buy. Fast forward a decade and Kia is pulling head, go a full 25 years and 2020 is giving you two starkly different companies.

In the early 1990s, Mitsubishi was rumored to acquire a struggling Honda. How insane does that sound? Mitsubishi saw increased profitability after correctly gambling on SUVs. Honda was caught off-guard leading to a partnership with Isuzu to market rebadged versions of their Rodeo and Trooper before launching the now wildly successful CR-V.

1995 Montero SR, Source: Edmunds

Meanwhile, Kia was essentially competing with models historically targeted towards developing markets. Direct competitors were GM’s now defunct entry brand Geo, Suzuki, as well as Korean counterparts Hyundai and eventually Daewoo. However, given that its first vehicle sold in America, the Sephia, was benchmarked with the Corolla and Civic from over 5 years earlier, Kia’s primary draw was that it was an opportunity to purchase a new car at a used price.

The 2008 financial crisis expedited the end of many storied nameplates. For the most part, only the strongest automotive brands survived. However, Mitsubishi is the outlier and has dragged on despite an antiquated lineup and dismal reviews. I am willing to bet if you ask a car expert which brand they are least likely to recommend, the resounding response would be Mitsubishi. There are many “non-car people” that might not even realize the brand is still in production.

90s innovation and luxury aspirations:

In the 1990s, Mitsubishi had an impressive lineup with their higher-end offerings competing with the Japanese luxury makes. In fact, the Diamante was inspired by the success of the Acura Legend in 1986. Eager to launch a premium sedan, Mitsubishi leveraged the Diamante to demonstrate the brand’s capability to not only match but exceed competitors’ features.

1994 Mitsubishi Diamante LS. Source: Edmunds

Showcasing many technological advances, the Japanese version included All Wheel Drive, 4-wheel steering, and even adaptive cruise control. U.S. models could be optioned with Adjustable ride height as well as an early form of stability control, ‘Trace Control”, which reduced engine power in corners to limit understeer.

Riding on the same platform as the iconic 3000GT sportscar, it’s not surprising that Motor Week noted that the Diamante handled as well as smaller European sports sedans such as the Mercedes-Benz 190E and Audi 90. In addition to lauding the Diamante’s German ride characteristics, Motor Week said that “All acknowledged that it will redefine its class. No other sedan of any distinction so successfully combines European style with Asian technology”. Hearing this quote agnostic of the vehicle, one might guess it was about the debut of the 2003 Infiniti G35, or perhaps a 2004 Acura TL, or the original Lexus IS – something more memorable than the Diamante.

So what went wrong?

Mistaken brand identity, unsuccessful replacements for some of its most iconic models, the lack of a solid volume model, and bad publicity all contributed to the downfall of Mitsubishi’s presence in the American automotive market.

In many regards, Mitsubishi had a lot of things going for it: sporty lineup, decent styling, aspirational models, and a youthful appeal – with some models not-yet available in the states, like the Lancer EVO, reaching audiences through Sony PlayStation video games. Paul Walking driving the Mitsubishi Eclipse in the Fast and Furious film didn’t hurt its image either.

However, despite having a presence in most segments, the brand never had a strong bread-and-butter model like Toyota had with the Corolla and Camry. Mitsubishi’s compact Mirage and midsize Gallant were never standouts nor as competitive as the brand’s more niche models. At the time, Mazda had a similarly sporty image which they were able to successfully convey in their well-rounded Protégé which became a volume model Mitsubishi never had.

Unclear value model and identity

Despite partnerships with Chrysler, Mitsubishi lacked the funding of its primary competitors Toyota and Nissan. Thus, delivering more value per dollar was the brand’s strategy to lure buyers into the dealership. However, Korean upstarts Hyundai and Kia had value ingrained in their identity from the start by offering even more features along with an impressive then unheard of 10-year warranty to foster buyer confidence.

Unfortunately, Mitsubishi was further disadvantaged competing at the upper end of the market. Without a separate premium brand, Mitsubishi was handicapped like Mazda as both of their flagship sedans competed with Infiniti, Lexus, and Acura rather than their mainstream counterparts. Purchasing a Diamante meant sharing the dealership experience with Mirage owners whereas clairvoyant rivals Infiniti and Lexus were already promoting their experiential interpretation of luxury by rolling out the red carpet.

Making matters worse, in a quest for increased sales, the brand stripped away its uniqueness in favor of universal appeal. The first 2 generations of the Eclipse delivered sporty driving dynamics, hatchback versatility, and distinct styling at an attractive price. However, the 3rd generation Eclipse went more mainstream losing the all-wheel drive and turbo option. In becoming more of a coupe version of its Gallant platform-mate than sports car, the excitement among its cult following was suddenly “Eclipsed”. Without a replacement for its 3000 GT sportscar, the brand further abandoned its sporting heritage. Likewise, a forgettable 1997 redesign of the Diamante diminished Mitsubishi’s premium presence.

Uncredited Technological Advancement

Despite having many technological “firsts”, Mitsubishi was never thought of as an innovation leader.

1995 Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4 Spyder source: www.motorious.com

The late 90s heralded a new era in open top driving with a shift towards retractable hardtops replacing soft tops on many convertibles. The 1995 3000 GT Spyder VR4 was the first US production model since 1959 to feature a retractable hardtop and yet even the most informed car enthusiasts would probably credit this innovation to the Mercedes SLK which found immediate success upon its 1997 launch.

Modern Safety Leader by today’s standards

While many of Mitsubishi’s advances made it to our shores like the first iteration of stability control in 1991 which later became a crucial preventive safety measure and a 2012 NHTSA requirement in the US, a number of innovations did not.

With the imminence of AVs, a crucial element of autonomous driving, lidar has captured the headlines which was first employed in the 1992 Mitsubishi Debonair as part of a “distance warning” feature. This was further refined in the 1995 Diamante’s laser “Preview Distance Control” which reduced speed through downshifting and throttle control and became the first Adaptive Cruise Control which is a sought-after safety feature in 2020. While these innovations were limited to Japanese market Mitsubishi models, groundbreaking technology is typically reserved for luxury brand flagships making it unsurprising that Americans were introduced to these features by the Mercedes S-Class and Lexus LS.

Bad publicity

As an early innovator in crash prevention technologies such as Stability Control which is estimated to have saved 15,000 lives in the EU alone, Mitsubishi was ahead of its time and contributed to safety advancements that impact the world today.

Unfortunately, the brand gravely missed the mark on consumer safety concerns of the time and one of their most iconic vehicles became publicly classified as dangerous.

As SUVs began to dominate by the new millennium, Mitsubishi redesigned the Montero. With the rapid interest in SUVs came concern roll over risks. In June, 2001, the 3rd generation Montero went up on 2 wheels in 8 out of 9 Consumer Reports emergency handling tests leading to the publication giving the rarely issued and most scarring rating of “Not Acceptable”. The Ford Explorer Firestone scandal occurred just one year prior. However, the Explorer was already the top-selling SUV in America benefiting from the Ford brand and funding which helped solidify its market resiliency against the controversy. The Explorer also had an imminent redesign whereas the Montero was a brand-new design that failed immediately at launch.

The timing for the Montero scandal could not have been worse. While Mitsubishi had early entries in the booming SUV segments, it quickly became lost in the shuffle as other OEMs launched more competitive models that better met US consumer needs such as the Acura MDX, Toyota Highlander, and Honda Pilot. Mitsubishi eventually launched the uniquely styled Endeavor and compact Outlander SUVs.

Rebirth

The Outlander is the brand’s only surviving model from the 2000s and is finally getting a redesign 9 years after the currently generation hit the market. In the highly competitive compact crossover market, this is where Mitsubishi needs to thrive to survive. Sharing a platform with the Rogue from its new partner company, Nissan, the Outlander and Mitsubishi finally appear to be getting a long deserved second chance.

It's rare that a company can hold on as long as Mitsubishi has in the U.S. One can only wonder if Mitsubishi had maintained the momentum of its 1990s lineup, effectively embraced its uniqueness to foster loyalty, prioritized value, and received due acknowledgement for their advances, how the brand’s US presence would have been different. Could it have become the powerhouse that Kia is today?

Kia and new EV brands like Tesla and Rivian have taught us how quickly automakers can establish themselves. Things are more competitive than ever, but there are many millennials like myself that grew up during the Mitsubishi heyday and still dream of owning a 3000 GT. Mitsubishi might not fully recapture the magic it once had, but with Nissan funding and a brand new entry in the most competitive automotive segment, it’s building a foundation to make that a possibility.