Mitsubishi – Still a Contender

I used to work with a guy who told me that his wife worked for Colt Cars in Cirencester England. I remember at the time saying to him “Who the hell are they!” Which I suppose was a bit impolite but I thought I knew most car manufacturers and had never heard of them. Luckily he ignored my rudeness and explained that Colt Cars were a joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors, who I had heard of, and were established largely for the purposes of importing and distributing Mitsubishi vehicles in the UK.

I had forgotten that Britain used to have strict import quotas on foreign vehicles in a vain attempt to protect British manufacturers from the threat to their market from foreign imports. It wasn’t until the British public realised that British cars were in fact useless that they started buying foreign cars by the thousand which spelled the end of the road for the majority of UK manufacturers, sad but true.

There was a small backlash from people of a certain generation against buying foreign cars particularly Japanese ones but when their Austin Maxi’s and Morris Marinas finally rusted into oblivion they begrudgingly grasped the nettle and now wouldn’t be seen driving anything other than a Micra or Yaris or indeed a Mitsubishi Colt.

Mitsubishi have had mixed fortunes over the years with some successful models and of course you can’t really mention Mitsubishi without talking about their successes with the Ralliart division and the whole Evolution phenomenon. Aside from this though the history of Mitsubishi is quite complex and they have had business partnerships with companies you would not have expected, notably Volvo and Daimler Chrysler to name but two.

Mitsubishi Corporation is a huge concern in Japan of which Mitsubishi Motors are a subsidiary of and with a history that dates back as far as 1917. The logo of three red diamonds, which is shared with over forty other companies within the group, predates Mitsubishi Motors itself by nearly a century. It was chosen by Yataro Iwasaki who was the founder of Mitsubishi. Apparently it represented the emblem of the Tosa Clan who first employed him and because his own family crest was three diamonds stacked one on top of the other. The name Mitsubishi is an amalgamation of Mitsu ("three") and Hishi (literally meaning "water chestnut", which is often used in Japanese to denote a diamond or rhombus).

Mitsubishi are currently the seventh largest car manufacturer in Japan and seventeenth in the world which puts them as fairly large but not huge by any standards. Mitsubishi’s main problem has been a lack of models to choose from but in the last few years they have worked hard to address this and now have a fairly large range covering most sectors of the market.

After working with Chrysler since the 1970’s Mitsubishi were then involved with Daimler Chrysler until around 2005. They have als o had alliances with Proton and Hyundai but now after some quite drastic financial reorganisation the company seems to be more settled and were able to reveal the award winning I model in 2006. The new Mitsubishi Lancer has been received favourably and Mitsubishi has joined up with PSA Peugeot Citroen to produce the 4007 and C-Crosser which are SUV vehicles based on the Mitsubishi Outlander. The Outlander itself boasts favourable fuel economy combined with the lowest C02 emissions in its class.

The Shogun or Pajero whose name is rumoured to be rude in Spanish is another vehicle which has ensured Mitsubishi’s success over the years. The latest version is far more refined and is now pitched at the luxury SUV market.

A lesser known fact about Mitsubishi is that Jackie Chan has had a long association with the company so with him on their side I guess they will always be a contender!

Jon Barlow acknowledges that Mitsubishi has had mixed fortunes ove r the years but recently they have achieved successes with their improved range Mitsubishi