Back in the 1980s, Mitsubishi built funky vehicles that were at least on the technological cutting edge. Cars such as the Starion ESI-R, the first-generation Diamond Star Eclipses and the Diamante were definitely off the beaten path, but they offered solid value, good performance and gizmos galore for the day.
Then came the Lost Decade in Japan: Starting around 1991, the economic climate gradually eroded Mitsubishi's cash flow and consequently their ability to develop competitive new products. Worse still, even the minor facelifts the company's limited budget allowed seemed to go drastically wrong: witness the final Diamantes imported to the U.S. or the progressive uglification of the Galant sedan.
The Outlander crossover took something of a reverse path: It started life here in 2003 cursed with a strikingly bad proboscis, gradually morphing through generic, before ending at vaguely sporty with a Lancer-like grille and familiar SUV side lines. Unfortunately, the Outlander's interior remained mired in “strikingly bad,” convincing the handful of buyers who stumbled upon a Mitsubishi dealership that Subaru, Hyundai and, we suspect in a few cases, Suzuki would better fit the bill.
Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130318/carreviews/130319820#ixzz2NuOX3YTD
