Mitsubishi President Says He Wants Mitsubishi To Be A Company That Can Produce Lancer Evos Again

Hollywood has so blurred the line between nostalgia and creative torpor that I immediately recoil at the thought of a remake, even if many of them turn out to be fine. I would much rather someone create something new than try to do the nth bad reboot of Tron or whatever. I don’t feel that way about cars. I want all the old badges back, and I just want them to be on cars that aren’t terrible.

Mitsubishi keeps rebooting the Eclipse, and every reboot is somehow worse, or at least very different, than the car that came before it. It means that I don’t exactly trust Mitsubishi in its current state to bring back all the classics without ruining them. Thankfully, Mitsubishi also agrees that–Eclipse aside–it is not yet the company that has earned the right to reboot its most prized names. It wants to get there, and I want Mitsubishi to get there, too.

The Morning Dump today is going to a journey across the globe to visit automakers in various states of building or rebuilding. Mitsubishi is definitely in a rebuilding mode, whereas Ferrari is still near the top of its game. The Luce, though, is a strange move, and the company is now out having to deny that it’s forcing people to buy the electric car. Rivian doesn’t need threats to sell its EVs, though a lawsuit alleges the company isn’t living up to its self-driving promises. BYD is about to make a big statement at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

‘I Love Driving Cars’ Explained Mitsubishi President Keisuke Kishiura

It’s hard to be a Japanese car exec when you’ve got to compete with Akio Toyoda, the former CEO and current Chairman of Toyota. Not only has he successfully led the company from beige-to-fun, he’s done it in a way that’s kept the company profitable while he goes on fun racing adventures. If you’re running a car company in Japan you have to prove you can compete on the bottom line and still cross the finish line first.

Mitsubishi held its general meeting for shareholders at the end of last week, and there were a lot of questions about what Mitsubishi means, and there were more specific questions for newly-minted President Keisuke Kishiura about his bonafides.

From Japanese news site Car Watch (translated), Kishiura-san had to prove himself worthy:

[H]e was asked questions with the management of competing companies in mind, such as Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda, who is also known by the nickname “Morizo” and has many fans, including, “Do you like cars and driving?” and “Do you have any plans to re-enter the WRC as a factory team?”

In response, President Kishiura said, “First of all, personally, I love driving cars. The first car I ever drove as a student wasn’t a Lancer Evolution, but a very old ‘Lancer Turbo,’ a manual transmission car with heavy steering. It was a rear-wheel-drive car, and I even drove it to ski resorts. I still love driving cars.”

That’s a good start. The brand, at least in the United States, doesn’t make anything particularly exciting, even if it makes cars that are probably better than you’d think. I wrote last year that I’d like Mitsubishi to get weird again, and a new Delica and Pajero (probably the Montero here) are first steps in that direction. The creation of a global truck platform for Nissan and Mitsubishi that’ll spawn a lot of vehicles for the United States is a good thing, and, according to this report, investors are excited.

Would that mean the return of other famous vehicles, like the company’s all-time most famous car? Also from the report:

During the Q&A session with shareholders who had come to the venue, following expressions of delight at the return of the Pajero, a request was made to “please also bring back models such as the Lancer Evolution, Diamante, and Galant.” In response, Chairman Kato said, “Thank you very much for your kind words about the return of the Pajero. We are all encouraged by your comments,” and the question of future product development was left to President Kishiura.

President Kishiura said, “Models such as the Lancer Evolution, Diamante, and Galant are very important cars for Mitsubishi Motors, and we consider them treasures. At this point, we do not have any concrete plans to introduce these cars again, but in order to meet everyone’s expectations, we would like to make our company one that can once again produce such cars in the future. I will be at the forefront of this effort, and I would be grateful for the support of our shareholders,” expressing his enthusiasm while avoiding making any definitive statements.

I appreciate this response. It would be cynical to just say “Yes, we’re bringing back all the favorites” without the ability to do so in a respectable way. Do you want a Lancer Evo that’s just a rebadged Nissan Sentra with a wing? Probably not. The company went through a rough few years, was absorbed into an alliance with Nissan and Renault as a way to save the company, and then has been caught up in the ongoing Mitsubishi-Honda-Foxconn-Nissan drama.

It has to move one piece at a time, and that piece sounds like it’ll be a Pajero/Montero.

Ferrari Says It Isn’t Making People Buy Luce EVs After Report It Was Making People Buy Ferrari EVs

The Ferrari Luce is definitely a car you’ll be able to buy at some point, though I’m not sure it’s a car I’d actually like. Maybe I would? I doubt Ferrari is going to let me ever get to drive it. I’m open to it, which is more than I can say for certain customers. Last week, Bloomberg reported that Ferrari was doing the thing it always does, which is encourage them to buy certain entry-level models in order to get special cars, albeit with a little extra sauce:

Ferrari NV is using orders for its Luce electric car as a loyalty test for wealthy clients, signaling that support for the poorly received model may help preserve access to more desirable cars, people familiar with the matter said.

The message that purchasing the €550,000 ($636,000) Ferrari Luce is a stepping stone to other, exclusive models has been delivered across parts of Ferrari’s collector network, the people said, asking not to be identified for privacy reasons.

Because Ferrari always does this, and because the buyers are all anonymous, it’s a little hard to discern how different it is this time. There are also sales people for Ferrari all over the globe, so it’s possible this isn’t a directive from the mothership, just some ad-libbing.

Ferrari responded to the report, via Reuters, and the company’s Chief Marketing Officer Enrico Galliera says it isn’t exactly true:

“We would run the risk of creating negative ambassadors who would speak badly of the Luce and, after a few months, resell it,” Galliera said, according to an company spokesperson.

“That would destroy its market residual value, which is exactly what the luxury electric vehicle segment is suffering from today”.

What’s interesting about this is that Ferrari now reportedly locks its clients into contracts that won’t let them sell the car for a certain amount of time, so how would they resell it? The badmouthing part, too, is something that few Ferrari disciples would do lest they upset the powers in Maranello. I do think it’s possible that both the Bloomberg report could be correct in that some people are getting some pressure and that what Galliera says is also at least partially true in that Ferrari isn’t doing more than what it always does. It’s hard to know for sure.

Rivian Is Facing A Class Action Lawsuit Over Self-Driving Claims

One of the first things that Jason wrote for this site is that SAE Level 3 Autonomy for cars is confusing garbage. I think time has proved him right, even four years later. It is confusing garbage and it’s extremely rare, as most people claim Level 2+++ or something similarly inane and manufactured instead of committing to Level 3. That may be why Rivian owners filed class action suite against the company, stating that they bought the cars assuming they’d eventually get a Level 3 system that never arrived.

Per TechCrunch, which first reported the lawsuit:

The lawsuit alleges Rivian falsely promised, over a five-year period and through a coordinated nationwide marketing campaign, that it would make its hands-free driver-assistance system — known as Driver+ — standard in every vehicle it builds. Among the appearances cited in the suit: Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe’s appearance at TechCrunch Disrupt 2022, where he reportedly made representations about the company’s autonomous driving ambitions.

“No software update — no matter how sophisticated — will enable its Gen 1 Vehicles to perform as advertised,” the complaint reads. “Rivian unquestionably knew that its Gen 1 Vehicles would never be capable of Level 3 autonomy or ‘true hands-free driving’ yet continued to tout the supposed capabilities of its vehicles to induce consumers to purchase them.”

Rivian declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation.

That’s similar to what’s happened with Tesla with Elon Musk and the whole HW3 debacle. Silicon Valley companies overpromising and forcing people to buy the next thing isn’t unusual, but that’s a lot harder to get away with if you own an expensive car you’re hoping to resell one day.

BYD Is Going Hard At Goodwood

When I went to Goodwood a couple of years ago with The Autopian, I was surpised at how many Chinese automakers were there, though perhaps I shouldn’t have been. Brexit has made Britain one of the best places to sell Chinese cars, and it sounds like BYD is going to try to corner even more attention this year.

From a press release:

BYD Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of New Energy Vehicles (plug-in hybrid and fully electric), will bring no less than eight new car debuts to the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2026 – from global reveals to UK releases.

Taking centre stage at the event will be premium brand DENZA, with the Festival of Speed not only becoming the reveal platform for two cars globally and one on a European level, but also marking the brand’s official launch in the UK.

The event is no less important for BYD, with one of the smallest models on the stand also among the most significant for UK buyers. The DOLPHIN G DM-i will break into the supermini segment with its DM-i plug-in hybrid technology – unique in the segment – plus class-leading practicality and technology.

YANGWANG will also make its mark on this year’s Festival of Speed, with the U9 Xtreme – the world’s fastest production car – presented on UK soil for the first time. It will be joined by the awe-inspiring U8L, a four-seater luxury SUV which can also swim, plus the U7 executive saloon.

Maybe someone there should ask BYD’s press people if threatening to sue journalists is part of the company’s grand strategy for succeeding in the UK.

What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD

It will not surprise anyone that I’ve been enjoying the new Olivia Rodrigo album, which is very much the “I listen to good music” album wherein a young artist shows off their taste by doing a bunch of songs that clearly reflect other artists. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t. Here it works very well. While a lot of the album is inspired by The Cure or The Beths, “My Way” is pure Metric in the best way.

The Big Question

What’s the best example of a brand bringing back a name successfully?

Top photo: Mitsubishi