For all the hardship Mitsubishi Motors has been going through, it was the only Japanese carmaker to officially welcome its owners and fans to its US headquarters for a big car show and party every year. Sadly, after 15 years, Mitsubishi Owners’ Day is no more. Mitsubishi has announced via a press release that the event has been canceled for 2019, and its is future uncertain.
Mitsubishi Owners’ Day began in 2005 at the Mitsubishi Motors North America headquarters in Cypress, California. They held 15 events there, and long the way even expanded celebrations to fans further east with a MOD East show in Philadelphia and a midwest MOD at the company’s US factory in Normal, Illinois.
Though we were never able to attend the other shows, the original MOD was enormous, with hundreds of Mitsubishi fans making the pilgrimage to Cypress. Cars ranged from the ubiquitous Lancer Evos to 3000GTs to Eclipses, Dodge-branded captive imports, as well as actual import Pajeros and Delicas. There really wasn’t another OEM-held event quite like it.
Before times got really bad, Mitsubishi would even bring in a few cars from its collection in Japan every year. The 2008 MOD saw cars like the Starion Group B rally car and Tommi Mäkinen Evo VI in the US for the first time, but the global financial crisis pretty much killed any hope of that continuing. The shuttering of Mitsubishi’s Normal, Illinois plant in 2016 ended the event held there as well.
Ironically, news of the MOD’s cancellation comes just as the company is seeing an upswing in sales. “With so much positive change happening at MMNA in the last couple of years, now seems like the right time to update and improve the way we engage with our owners, too,” Mitsubishi Motors said in a press release. “Consequently, MMNA will not host our annual July MOD gathering or our traditional MOD East event in 2019. But fear not, we’re hatching a plan to make MOD even better and more accessible than ever, and we’ll share our plans just as soon as they’re ready.”
Hopefully, that will come sooner than later. We will keep you updated of new developments.
Well, someone should pick up the gauntlet and have a Toyotafest-style event. It’s not an official Toyota event as well.
I’m just waiting for someone to widebody a Mirage…
Yet, another disappointment from the guys at 3 Diamonds…I hope they bring it back!
I miss my Galant VR4.
I’ve been to the California MOD and the Factory MOD. Great events. And even though Mitsubishi is stopping them, there are still cool Mitsu events to attend. I’ll be putting on the 21st annual All Mitsubishi Cookout and Car Show in Minnesota. Not as big as MOD, but just as passionate owners. http://cookout.mn3s.org
Nice to see that their numbers are climbing. I was waiting for the announcement that they too would pull out of the market.
Having owned 6 different Mitsubishi’s throughout my lifetime..eclipse’s lancer’s and the EvoX, we attended MOD from 2008 until we moved out of state in 2016.. i’m sad to hear that they’re not having one this year. Even though I can’t be there I’m always happy to see all of my friends posts and pictures. The staff that was there was always amazing and did a great job we definitely appreciated all Mitsubishi did for us owners! We are in Kentucky now so maybe next time, if you decide to do them again will be able to go to the East Coast.
PS… Mitsubishi you need to bring the evolution back ❤️??
Bs! Exactly why Mitsubishi has and is failing in the auto market changing the names of the vehicles discontinued and models and ended m.o.d just stupidity! I guess they can keep making air conditioners and elevators and escalators. sad