If you didn’t live through its introduction it’s hard to grasp just how big of an impact the Mitsubishi Eclipse made. The all-wheel-drive turbo sports coupe was so beloved that major magazines devoted extra pages to it beyond the typical test drives. Car and Driver borrowed one to drive cross-country from the Canadian border to Mexican border in a beautifully photographed spread that fueled my adolescent love of road trips. Even Motorweek in 1990 aired a very un-Motorweek-like episode where they took an Eclipse to Roebling Road Raceway and gave viewers a tutorial on how to flog it at the track.
This was beyond the typical Motorweek review, which tended to be more consumer-oriented. This was practically an episode of Best Motoring, describing turn-by-turn which gear to be in, how hard to brake, and how much turbo to let kick in. Looks like they weren’t just a bunch of PBS bookworms after all!
It’s also a prolonged view at an Eclipse GSX in La Salle Silver Metallic, a champagne-ish color offered in 1990-91 that I don’t ever recall seeing in real life. While Motorweek found fault with understeer tendencies due to the heavy nose, excessive power assist steering and soft brake pedal, the Eclipse’s razor-like handling and powerful engine more than made up for it. In the end the $16,500 GSX earned the Motorweek “Best Sports Coupe” award for 1990.
The only other cars I recall being given this extra treatment by magazines were the original Mazda Miata and the Acura NSX. Sure, there were the paeans to the Chevy Corvette, but those were routine and expected of American publications. Having Japanese imports being given special praise was unusual at the time. Sadly, while the Miata and NSX have gone on to become iconic sports cars, the Eclipse is all but extinct.
I wish they would bring them back. I have a 2007 model and she’s a beauty and still runs like brand new!