Danger to Manifold! The rumors we feared were true. Scarcely believable, but true. Mitsubishi announced today that it is reviving the name of a beloved sport coupe to use on a new crossover model called the — are you ready? — Eclipse Cross. This leads to the obvious question of, “Why, for the love of Amaterasu, why!?!?!?”
The company acknowledges the name’s cachet — “the Eclipse Cross name references the Eclipse sports car which amassed more than 1.4 million sales, mainly in North America between 1989 and 2012” — before drenching it with some Grade A bullshit linking the name to the actual astronomical event:
Eclipse Cross’s beautiful, dynamic form serves to bring about the same sense of excitement and inspiration as the diamond ring seen immediately before and after a total solar eclipse does. The high-saturation red body color newly developed for the model is also reflected in the name to evoke the brilliance of the prominence seen during the total solar eclipse.
Clearly words don’t matter any more, so why not? Just go ahead and burn any remaining shred of faith enthusiasts may have been clinging onto and accept your destiny as Nissan’s B. Next up, a Starion i-MiEV.
Now we know how all those muscle car fans felt when the Big Three were bringing back names like Malibu, Le Mans, and, yes, Challenger. Maybe this is some sort of karmic revenge? The The Eclipse Cross will slot in between the Outlander Sport and actual Outlander (which makes even less sense) and debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
I can’t help but think that Eclipse Cross is just redundant. Name-wise…maybe car-wise, too.
From what I can see it will be a nice car. I hope there will be an evo. First time there will be an Eclipse Evo (-:
Simple. They own the name, no need to deal with the time and expense of trying to come up another name. “Aww, why not Debonair?”
The times are a-changing, get used to it.
People get too hung-up on names. A good car is a good car, a bad car is a bad one. The Eclipse itself hardly died out in a blaze of glory and it’s unlikely Mitsubishi will suddenly re-enter the coupe market and need to find a name for it, so may as well use one they already have on a new product.
And as I mentioned last time, Mitsubishi’s sales are actually increasing at the moment, so whether we as enthusiasts dislike its product range is pretty immaterial.
Can’t blame a company for making something that sells – and given all the fuss people made about a car we *do* want like the Toyota GT86, before complaining that it was too expensive and not quick enough, it’s not like there’s much incentive for manufacturers to make fun stuff right now. If Mitsubishi brought back the Eclipse as a coupe people would probably complain about it anyway…
This saddens me. Another one bites the dust. C&D joked about an Eclipse Cross Spyder. Please, don’t.
Should have been the “Montero Sport” at the least. I’m not digging the “Eclipse” name for this car. I think it is just cheap and lazy marketing.
What a terrible decision. Mitsu has been making terrible moves for a long time now. All they need is a 6 car line up like so. A mirage for people who like tiny, rental like cars, a eclipse as a sports coupe that can compete with the civic/rolla Should have a basic and turbo variant. A galant 4wd turbo that can compete with the accord/camry/subaru crowd. An outlander for the CUV crowd and a outlander sport with the same eclipse/galant turbo drivetrain for a little more power. A true montero sport to compete with the larger suv market a true 4×4 and a 4 door version of the eclipse called the evo with some good parts thrown at it. Thats it.
That’s no eclipse haha that’s just some hunk of shit for some spoiled cocksucker sweet 16 rip 1&2 gen eclipse you will be for ever missed and love by car enthusiast all over the world dsm all day! !! F.a.o.c
Charming.
Probably a bit much saying it will be missed by “car enthusiasts all over the world” too, given it mainly sold in North America and a handful of eastern markets. I miss the Mitsubishi FTO much more, and at least that didn’t gradually devolve into a bloated mess.
They need to test it first if it work but it is a good looking vehicle
Yaaaaayyyy! Another crossover!
Might be a nice vehicle, but still, the wrong name. I get that yeah, they already own the name, but I doubt it would cost much to research a name and get it registered. They still own – I suppose – “Pajero Sport,” so I’d say go with that, though with that name, and its history, I’d prefer a REAL off-roader, like a competitor to the Jeep Wrangler or “upcoming” Ford Bronco (if the Bronco is to be a smaller design, and not a short-wheelbase F-150…)
I can’t say I WOULDN’T buy one, but as with their other CUVs, I’m having a hard time warming up to that “Predator” face. (“Predator,” as in the movie; not like a bird-of-prey.)
Let’s see how it’s equipped, performance levels, etc., though I honestly don’t see it doing more “off-road” than a suburban driveway. About as “U” as all the others…
My cordia is the father of the eclipse and he gave way for an excellent sports car not a crappy crossover