2006 Eclipse Options

[Mike]

Here is what Motor Trend said about the 2006 Eclipse at the detroit auto show:

2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse

The Eclipse coupe has been a franchise player for Mitsubishi since the model's introduction 15 years ago. But the previous-generation "geo mechanical" styling hasn't always rung the sales bell, so Mitsu is rolling out an all-new one for '06 that it believes will recapture the magic of the previous, turbocharged sportster. The fourth-gen Eclipse is based on a coupified version of the current Galant chassis platform. It will be available in two trim levels, and with two new powertrain offerings. The look is aggressive and ultra-modern, recalling some elements of the second-generation Eclipse, a bit of Audi TT, and a lot that's new and fresh. A 162-horse I-4 is standard; performance types will head directly for the 3.8L/260-hp V-6. This powerplant represents the company's first use of variable valve timing on a V-6, and it is backed with a new six-speed manual transmission. Serious drivers will also want the Sport Package, which includes sportier suspension tuning and 18-inch rolling stock. The new Eclipse's interior goes way up market, with serious Rockford Fosgate audio offerings, optional leather trim, and an avant garde look courtesy of Mitsu's California design studio. The 2006 Eclipse goes on sale late this spring, with pricing to be announced. If the car drives as good as it looks, we expect the Eclipse to reclaim its leadership position in the performance coupe marketplace.

Still think that they need to bring back the 4g63 AWD eclipse again!

[favre95]

Why would they do that(twin turbocharge it)? For one, that would take it right out of the price range they want to sell it in, then adding an AWD system on top of the already expensive turbos, would make it even higher. It would make the car 40-50 grand. Which is exactly why the 3000GT is no longer around. This car isn't for the "tuner" it is to make a ton of sales to get Mitsus feet back on the ground. It is for the 18-30 year old woman in all reality. What you get from this car is actually a pretty good deal.

Also, by doing this, that would make this Mitsus "Halo" car. They already have that in the Evo. Which by performance standards is a steal, at the price it is at. With a "Halo" car you want some sort of orginality for the customer. Give them somthing that alot of others don't have. With the price range they are shooting for on the Eclipse the 2 ideas clash. Beacuse they(Mitsu) want to sell a bunch of these things. There will be nothing original about owning one. Everyone and their mom will have this car in 2 or 3 years. The Evo on the other hand, is not a high Volume car. Which lends to its orginality, and along with its performance, gives it its.......I guess if you want to call it this..."haloness".

[favre95]

They already have brought it back. In a better form than a 1st or 2nd gen ever was in my opinion.

[natedogg]

Jeez. Let the man dream.

All us true DSM'ers pine for the days of a relatively inexpensive turbocharged awd production eclipse off the lot with immeasureable potential. I am an Evo owner (as well as a dsm owner), but I'll be the first to admit that modifying and driving my dsm gives me far more satisfaction than anything the Evo has done for me so far. Now when the warranty is up and I start going nuts on the Evo, that may change. But for now my dsm is my bread and butter.

I for one think the 4th gen Eclipse looks beautiful and if they gave it awd and a turbocharger, so much the better. If they'd then make it handle like an Evo for a similar price, I'd sell my Evo and buy the Eclipse in a heartbeat. I know looks are subjective, but if the Eclipse and Evo were equal except for the way they look I would go the way of the Eclipse. Maybe its just me, but I prefer smooth, muscular lines over boxy, venty lines.

[turbohcar]

I wonder what the price on this beauty will be?

Why not make the 2.4 4G64 and 3.8L engines available and then a higher end package that places the EVO's bassackwards 4G63T motor in the Eclipse for a FWD bada$$ car? Add say, $6K to the base price plus options and you've got yourself the Eclipse we all dream about reborn. It may be five to ten years before some of us here may be able to afford one, even if the sticker is under $30, but heck it'll be like old times.

[favre95]

Trust me, I know where you are coming from. I have owned 2 DSMs and 2 Evos. I am very familiar with them both, and actually how similar they are to each other. I actually like the Evo much better than either of my DSMs. Yes I know, the cheap price of a used DSM is always inviting. But the DSM in my opinion doesn't hold a candle to the Evo in terms of structural soundness. I loved both of my Talons, due to the fact I was able to afford them while I was in college. But, that car just doesn't have the same history or technology behind the it that the Evo has that makes it such a great and fun car!

I couldn't agree with you more, the new Eclipse brought back some memories of my old DSMs when I first saw it in person. It is an awesome looking car. But, the DSM days are long over and they won't be back any time soon. Because in reality the turbo DSM didn't sell worth a crap, compared to the 420A version. Mitsubishi has for once finally got a decent business plan under their belt that should work.

[JBone]

This car isn't for the "tuner" it is to make a ton of sales to get Mitsus feet back on the ground. It is for the 18-30 year old woman in all reality.

I didn't know 30 year old women wanted 260hp motors in a FWD car. Up until a few years ago, Mitsubishi owned the sport compact and youth market because of the eclipse and the ability to "tune" it, including the 420A motor (boo!). They are launching this car with the hopes of taking away the SRT-4 and WRX crowd from the respective manufacturers. Stock, the 3.8 has more power than both of those cars. They DO want the tuner crowd back.

I still yearn to see an AWD model grace the frame rails of an Eclipse again. I had actually heard rumors prior to the official launch they were going to offer AWD on it, bringing my hopes up, but to no avail. When Mitsubishi thought it was best to go the convential FWD NA, Subaru decided to move in, and Mitsubishi hasn't learned what to do to counter that, at least in the lower 20s price range. The Evo is a great car, but not the affordable Eclipse we used to have that had SO much potential.

[turbohcar]

It WAS going to be a hybrid AWD with dual motors. Gasoline engine in front and some sort of alternate fuel driving the rears. It never made it past concept stage.

[awdnot2]

I agree with favre95. I love my 3000GT but let's face it I would never buy the equivalent of it - new. It was expensive enough used. I am a 30 year old woman and it doesn't interest me but there would be other cars that fit that profile of 260 hp front wheel drive that would interest me.

The market of the DSM as you all love it is not a very big market.

Susan

[favre95]

I can tell you right now this car is not made for the "tuner". How many 3 gen Eclipses do you see out there being modified. Almost none. How many times do you see a 3rd gen in a magazine article. Again, almost never. This new Eclipse is following the same model build as the 3rd gen. Cheap 4 cyl model, more powerful and more expensive 6cyl. If you looked at the demographics on sales on the Eclipse 2nd gen on up. It for the most part has been a womans car. It isn't going to change. Mitsubishi uses the Evo to appeal to the "Tuner" market, not the eclipse. Oh and by the way, I can foresee alot of women driving around in a 160hp 4cyl 2006 Eclipses, not "the 260hp version." The 4cyl(gs) 3rd gen Eclipse sales greatly outweighs the 6cyl (gt,gts). It will be the same here. The thing most buyers will go for is a Sun, sound, and leather package 4 cyl eclipse. That way they get the Fosgate system, along with a sunroof and leather, but not have to pay the price of the 6cyl.

Along with awdnot2gsx said. I love how all the "tuner" fanatics think that the industry should make everything appeal to them, and them only. The "tuner" market is actually a very small section of the industry. These car manufacturers would go bankrupt if that is all they did. Some people do want a 260hp car that looks good but know they are not going to ever once open that hood. There are more people like that in the world, than people like us, by far.

That is fine that Mitsu owned the "tuner" market, but it still didn't generate the sales needed. Mitsu is actually turning away from the "bobbin your head to trance music" advertising. They are actually saying the benefits to owning a Mitsubishi in their advertising now. You can thank Finbar for that. The marketing to just the youth kicked mitus ass, cause it didn't work worth a crap. It was a huge mistake. Too many youthful people don't have the money to buy a 20,000 car.

Mitsu needs the car to sell a ton. To save their company. It is going to have to be their Altima. The Altima saved Nissans ass...bigtime. The same is going to have to happen here. Mitsu is in big time money troubles, I am sure you have heard. They need some really good product to get them out of that hole, and back into the black. It is put up or shut-......down time.

[favre95]

One more thing. I think you need to look up, how much a 2nd gen GSX was brand new. You'll find......that it was as much as a WRX was/is. A 5spd 99 model cost in the range of about 27 grand. Not so cheap is it. The Evo is such a better buy than the Eclipse ever was brand new, for not a whole lot more cash.

[natedogg]

One more thing. I think you need to look up, how much a 2nd gen GSX was brand new. You'll find......that it was as much as a WRX was/is. A 5spd 99 model cost in the range of about 27 grand. Not so cheap is it. The Evo is such a better buy than the Eclipse ever was brand new, for not a whole lot more cash.

I can agree with some of the stuff you said in your previous post, but this coming from a guy with an MR. No offense, but talk about throwing your money away, just so you can have a 6 speed transmission, a slightly different suspension, and some nifty vortex generators or whatever the hell those things are. For the extra 6,000 you spent on the MR I can easily modify my Evo to accelerate quicker and turn harder than any MR. And I can live with out a 6th gear and tornado makers.

[favre95]

You need to check yo-self be-fo you make yo-self look like a fooo! I didn't pay 6 grand more than a regular evo. You might want to ask what my current situation is before you make an assumption that I paid a premium for my car.

Another thing, who gives a crap what I do with my money. That isn't what we were talking about. We were talking about the general public and what the somewhat practical buyer will/probably do. I am not going to get into this debate like on EvoM about if the MR is worth it or not. In my eyes it was....so...nuff said. But, like said before you might want to consider asking what I paid for the MR before assuming I paid full sticker. Cause I can tell you right now.....it wasn't even remotley close to sticker

I am just curious, are you trying to tell me though that the MR is 6 grand over a GSR. If that is the case that isn't correct. It more like around 4-4,500(non-S,S,L package). In terms of the RS....yes, that statement is more inline.

[natedogg]

Don't tell me what is and isn't correct. I've seen a 6K sticker difference with my own eyes. Regardless, that 4k to 4.5K is still more than enough to make a GSR outperform any MR.

who gives a crap what I do with my money

you might want to consider asking what I paid for the MR

You're right I don't give a crap what you do with your money, so why would I want to consider asking what you paid for your MR.

My original point was if you think spending the extra money on the MR was a good deal for you, why can't someone else think that buying a '99 GSX off the lot was a good deal for them? Your own words were,"in my eyes it was [worth it]". In someone elses eyes it may have been worth it to spend $27K on a '99 GSX.

And don't tell me I need to check myself. You need to check yourself before making comments that further alienate yourself from a web forum titled "DSMcentral".

[JMoushon]

Can we adopt a rule that states you can't act like you know everything in the world until you break 100 posts?

Please try to get to know the people on a board before you start criticizing and contradicting, because at this point you look like an ass for telling Nate to "check-himself." Are you 12?

[mitsu90]

Can we adopt a rule that states you can't act like you know everything in the world until you break 100 posts?

Please try to get to know the people on a board before you start criticizing and contradicting, because at this point you look like an ass for telling Nate to "check-himself." Are you 12?

might want to bump that up to 300 posts I'm over 100 and don't know shit

[turbohcar]

LOL^^ You just recently got a DSM though Mitsu. Lets say 100 posts from the time you first get a DSM and start working on it.

[mitsu90]

well I did own the mighty max and thats kind of a DSM

[SCCA Stang]

Can we adopt a rule that states you can't act like you know everything in the world until you break 100 posts? 

Please try to get to know the people on a board before you start criticizing and contradicting, because at this point you look like an ass for telling Nate to "check-himself."  Are you 12?

might want to bump that up to 300 posts I'm over 100 and don't know shit

I am up over 900 posts and don't know everything

[TotalEclipse97]

i personally don't like the looks of this new 4g. i looks like a mix of a pontiac sunfire and a tiburan.

what if they started putting the 1g's back into production...but with a 2.4L AWD and a stock 16g? hmmm....hopeful dreaming i guess