The
automobile division of the
Mitsubishi mega-
conglomerate. In the late 1980's and 1990s Mitsubishi Motors became one of the more well known Japanese car makers. They are known for cars such as the
Galant,
Mirage,
3000GT,
Diamante and
Eclipse, and the
Montero SUV.
Mitsubishi Motors has also had a long standing history with Chrysler. Mitsubishi has long supplied engines such as the 4G63 and 6G72 to Chrysler for use in their own lineup of vehicles. The 3000GT and Dodge Stealth, internally identical cars with Mitsubishi parts, were built by Mitsubishi in Nagoya Japan. Mitsubishi Motors built and exported the Conquest for Chrysler. The pair founded Diamond Star Motors (DSM) in the late 80's and for several years collaborated on the production of the Mitsubishi Eclipse, the Eagle Talon and Summit, and the Plymouth Laser. These cars were almost 100% Mitsubishi parts internally. DSM was dissolved in 1995 and the two companies have not had a jointly built car since then.
Mitsubishi Motors was recently (1999) found to have covered up and denied reams of valid customer complaints. Being an owner of both a 3000GT VR-4 and an Eagle Talon I can truthfully say that Mitsubishi Motors uses substandard parts in their cars and charges outrageous premiums for replacements. I look at cars such as the Mazda RX-7 and the Toyota Supra and I can't help but feel as if they do the bare minimum to get by. Seeing how Mitsubishi Motors has the immense resources of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to design and build excellent mechanical parts, their lackluster devotion to excellence is inexcusable.