'no element of the package has been left untouched and while it's not perfect at this stage it shows what could (and possibly should) be done'. I will list the main points in the article:

1. They agree with the body kit (loved the bonnet), 19' rims
2. the red inserts on the recaros, wheel and gear stick are 'a bit last century'
3. bullet proof driveline is a '*****', (clutch engauged sounds like a diesel)
4. lows rev take offs 'have you chirping the hoops',
5. the 50mm drop has made it too low, not much ground clearence.
6. 'on the fly, the TMR 380 is a symphony of spring rates and damper settings...pattery ripples are effectly damped at all speeds while bigger craters are felt, they neither upset nor make you wince'
7. Brakes are powerful without being too grabby.
8. FWD:'even with the helical slippery diff, there's is some dul tugging at the wheel when you're going hard in lower gears. Haul on some lock in second gear and accelerate through a right anle bend and the steering goes silent, then dead, then rigid, refusing to self centre and threatening to drive you about in circles...its one of those things...blot an otherwise brilliant chassis'
9. Grunt: 'torque curve flatter then the Hay plain', best changing gears at 5000
10. plenty of urge from 2000 rpm. 'slamming throttle open at 2000 even in top gear, sends you spooling down the road with the blower-belt sizzle as a soundtrack'

last paragraph: 'And that really sums up the whole package. It's not production-ready, it's not fully sorted. But as a glimpse of what could be done to a mitsubishi 380, it hits all the right buttons. Proof of concept, i think they call it'

they estimate: 0-100k's in 6.0 seconds, 0-400m in 14seconds

Well its not the best, but it ain't bad, sounds like they weren't just throwing it out the window

i can't believe not one magazine likes the feel of the LSD in a FWD. I love the steering when powering in and out of any type of corner. It gives the driver a solid firm feel of where the car is heading, a little heavy in extreme cases, but far from a hassle to point out of the corner. The LSD screams 'give me another corner to rip apart!'

throw that paragraph in a magazine and tell the buyers what the car is really like

i can't believe not one magazine likes the feel of the LSD in a FWD. I love the steering when powering in and out of any type of corner. It gives the driver a solid firm feel of where the car is heading, a little heavy in extreme cases, but far from a hassle to point out of the corner. The LSD screams 'give me another corner to rip apart!'

throw that paragraph in a magazine and tell the buyers what the car is really like
Sorry to say that even if the mitsubishi was better in every aspect, it's still not a falcon or commodore and will get treated as such. This is why i choose not to read bogan magazines :P.

Sorry to say that even if the mitsubishi was better in every aspect, it's still not a falcon or commodore and will get treated as such. This is why i choose not to read bogan magazines :P.

Yeah I gave up on motor and wheels since they did a comparison between an E500 Benz and a frikin holden calais, cars which are different ends of the market, and APPARENTLY (:bowrofl: ) the calais handled better. That did it for me.

i guess the people reviewing the car are used to feather light steering when then get a commo on the track and go sideways all day long.

best review i saw was when warren luff (think it was him) reviewed all those cars for wheels to get car of the year. he was on it, the colt and evo won! not being mitsu bias but a rear driver like him would have driven them properly

i personally dont like the way FWD cars tug at the steering wheel, i dont like the way the wheel feels all dead and lifeless on full throttle out of corners, particularly in lower gears. But strokes for different blokes.

At the end of the day i'd trust a mag like motor and wheels who has actually driven all the cars over someone who hasn't but just can't comprehend how a holden can handle as well as a benz despite the fact that both cars have equally good suspension hardware and weight distribution characteristics (therefore the only difference being spring rates, damper settings and sway bar stiffness). Do I think the calais is a better car then the benz or BMW? No probably not, but I can accept that the holden can handle as good when you read the spec sheets and see that all three cars are equally as impressive! And considering the holden is 100k cheaper (theres no way in high hell that a benz or a BMW is 100k a better car then a VE calais) the calais is certainly better value for money.

But back to mistubishi, i see the write-up as generally positive, its not production ready and its probably really good feedback for TMR to get the likes of motor and wheels to drive the car before they make their final production decisions. At the end of the day i think Motor and Wheels have always given mitsubishi's a VERY good run in the past, perhaps they haven't given them quite as much coverage as holden and ford but you have to understand that that is simply because a holden or a ford on the cover sells more mags then a mitsubishi on the cover! It doesn't mean that they like holden or ford any better at all, its just simple business logic and if you where editor of one of those mags you would do the same (or atleast you would if you wanted to maintain your reader circulation and therefore keep your job)

theres no way in high hell that a benz or a BMW is 100k a better car then a VE calais

Actually, yeah it is, though its not 100k more, more like 70ish depending on options etc. BMW I agree with you.

At the end of the day i think Motor and Wheels have always given mitsubishi's a VERY good run in the past, perhaps they haven't given them quite as much coverage as holden and ford but you have to understand that that is simply because a holden or a ford on the cover sells more mags then a mitsubishi on the cover! It doesn't mean that they like holden or ford any better at all, its just simple business logic and if you where editor of one of those mags you would do the same (or atleast you would if you wanted to maintain your reader circulation and therefore keep your job)

That, my friend, is exactly the point !!! A lot of their readers are Ford/Holden fans, so these mags always tend to give favourable reviews to Ford/Holdens, even if they aren't the best.

The bottom line is: both mags are trying to sell as many as they can, so to do so, they try to appeal to the majority of their readers.

At the end of the day i think Motor and Wheels have always given mitsubishi's a VERY good run in the past, perhaps they haven't given them quite as much coverage as holden and ford but you have to understand that that is simply because a holden or a ford on the cover sells more mags then a mitsubishi on the cover! It doesn't mean that they like holden or ford any better at all, its just simple business logic and if you where editor of one of those mags you would do the same (or atleast you would if you wanted to maintain your reader circulation and therefore keep your job)

I couldn't agree more. I have been buying these two mags since 97/98 and the Magna/Verada would consistently place 1st and 2nd in the big four comparision tests. That being against Commodore, Falcon and Camry variants plus others like the Maxima and lower priced Volvos etc.

Also, if anybody actually reads these mags they will find that whilst a Holden or Ford is usually found on the front cover, they do not always escape criticism. An example of which would be the Performance Car of the Year tests where the journos make it quite well known if a Commodore or Falcon has failed to finish due to say, a power steering pump or transmission failure or overheating.

That, my friend, is exactly the point !!! A lot of their readers are Ford/Holden fans, so these mags always tend to give favourable reviews to Ford/Holdens, even if they aren't the best.

The bottom line is: both mags are trying to sell as many as they can, so to do so, they try to appeal to the majority of their readers.

No the bottom line is they will put a ford or holden on the cover, but that doesn't necessarily mean the review inside the mag is going to be favourable at all! Take the performance car of the year mag from Motor, They put a HSV GTS on the cover to draw the holden fans in, but when you read the story the GTS scored 18th out of a field of 20 cars. EIGHTEENTH OUT OF TWENTY! I would hardly call that giving favourable reviews to holden and ford even if they aren't the best! Infact I have been reading both wheels and motor for nearly 10 years now and i refuse to accept that either mag has EVER given favourable reviews to either ford or holden in that time. But ofcourse you would know that if you where a regular reader of the mag rather then someone who just looks at whats on the cover every month....

Actually, yeah it is, though its not 100k more, more like 70ish depending on options etc. BMW I agree with you.

have you driven the latest merceedes and a VE calais? Like properly driven both of them? not sat in both, or been given a ride in both, but actually DRIVEN both? Cos wheels have and i dunno i reckon someone who has actually driven both might have a pretty good idea on which is better.

The latest merceedes are great luxury cars, but they are massively over-engineered and less then exciting to drive (thats based on driving my uncles 2005 model C-class which cost 70k)

No the bottom line is they will put a ford or holden on the cover, but that doesn't necessarily mean the review inside the mag is going to be favourable at all! Take the performance car of the year mag from Motor, They put a HSV GTS on the cover to draw the holden fans in, but when you read the story the GTS scored 18th out of a field of 20 cars. EIGHTEENTH OUT OF TWENTY! I would hardly call that giving favourable reviews to holden and ford even if they aren't the best! Infact I have been reading both wheels and motor for nearly 10 years now and i refuse to accept that either mag has EVER given favourable reviews to either ford or holden in that time. But ofcourse you would know that if you where a regular reader of the mag rather then someone who just looks at whats on the cover every month....


I don't just look at what's on the cover...I have a subscription to Wheels (and BTW...I've been reading Wheels for 14 years, so this isn't just an overnight observation) :roll:

Holden/Ford seem get a lot more magazine coverage and favourable articles than what Mitsubishi/Toyota do...that's the point I was trying to make.

have you driven the latest merceedes and a VE calais? Like properly driven both of them? not sat in both, or been given a ride in both, but actually DRIVEN both?

Yes (E320), and yes (say 30 mins worth?). Air matic suspension craps all over the holden in both handling and comfort.


The latest merceedes are great luxury cars, but they are massively over-engineered and less then exciting to drive (thats based on driving my uncles 2005 model C-class which cost 70k)

They recently are trying to recover to a point where they are NOT built to a price rather than over engineered. The W124 was the last over engineered shape. And C-Class is built in south africa...its a budget model in Europe, all models but the C55 have no guts. Drive a 'real' merc (E,S,CLK,SLK,CLS etc etc) then get back to us :)

But enough of this. It ain't relevant. I agree with the comments re favourable cover shot to draw people in. The HSV ranking you mentioned is quite susprising. Shame really, the Ralliart is such a breath of fresh air IMO.

the point i am trying to make is that although they give more coverage to ford and holden, i really dont think they give them favourable write-ups. They have been known for giving both ford and holden an absolute sandbagging in the past and the latest result for HSV at PCOTY just goes to prove that they are still willing to do so.

In recent times both the BA/BF falcons and VE commodore have indeed been given very favourable reviews, but is it possible that juuuuuuuuuust maybe they deserve them? Cos every other journo in the country has been doing the same! For what they are, large family sedans, they are incredibly good and when compared to american and european rivals they are quite often the best cars. We have alot of talented designers and engineers in australia so it shouldn't really be a surprise that we churn out fantastics products. The 380 is a perfect example of this, when you consider the heap of rubbish US Galant the MMAL engineers had to work with the 380 is an outstanding car! All of the cars negetive points, ie interior and exterior styling, interior plastic quality etc, can all be traced to the Galant and isnt really MMAL's fault. MMC gave them a dud to work with simple as that. The fact the 380 is a good car once you get past the styling is a testament to how good aussie car engineers are because from all reports the US Galant is not only ugly, but is also a crap thing to drive

Holden/Ford seem get a lot more magazine coverage and favourable articles than what Mitsubishi/Toyota do...that's the point I was trying to make.

Well they traditionally did sell more

Well this is a very encouraging development for the 380 and hopefully it will make it into production with performance the same or better than the engineers claim.

In regard to handling RJL, the 380 can really be grabbed by the scruff of the neck and thrown into a corner or two, unlike most other large front drivers, and dynamically feels like a much smaller car. Don't worry, I'm not going to convert you, I know. In fact I believe the mags when they say the latest VE/XR6 handle better, however it does give the latest TMR a good base to start with.

In regard to the comparisons with the falcodores it is prudent to remember the VE and BA are updates since the 380 was released. The 380 is really a 2003 design as has been pointed out.

In regard to handling RJL, the 380 can really be grabbed by the scruff of the neck and thrown into a corner or two, unlike most other large front drivers, and dynamically feels like a much smaller car. Don't worry, I'm not going to convert you, I know. In fact I believe the mags when they say the latest VE/XR6 handle better, however it does give the latest TMR a good base to start with.



dont get me wrong, FWD cars can handle very well indeed, they simple require an adjustment to your driving style which is something that most people who come from RWD cars cant fatham. They think all cars should be able to be driven the same and its simply not the case. My comparison to RWD is simply that at the end of the day a RWD setup is inherintly better then a FWD setup. That doesnt mean that a FWD car can't handle better then a RWD car at all, simply means the RWD car SHOULD handle better, but not always the case

Well they traditionally did sell more

Yes, they did...but look at the coverage that the VE got in Wheels mag in the first couple of months of it's release, and then compare that to the coverage that both the 380 and Aurion got (admittedly, the Aurion has only just been released though).

And members on here are trying to say that isn't biased... :confused:

Yes, they did...but look at the coverage that the VE got in Wheels mag in the first couple of months of it's release, and then compare that to the coverage that both the 380 and Aurion got (admittedly, the Aurion has only just been released though).

And members on here are trying to say that isn't biased... :confused:
380 had about 30 pages covering it's design and engineering, and how this car is going to save MMAL and the brilliance of the trim tab design.

And then just in case you missed it, the follow month had a booklet with the same information.

And members on here are trying to say that isn't biased... :confused:

how about you actually read what we are saying before passing comment, we have said over and over and OVER again that yes they do give holden and ford way more coverage, but that doesnt mean its necessarily POSITIVE coverage! Just because they are doing a review on a commodore for the 5th time doesn't mean the review is a glowing one. The VZ and AU falcons used to cop a shallacking from wheels and motor except for the V8 models, and even then they had no problem pointing out their shortcomings. Thanks to wheels and motor we are all to aware of the VT-VZ commodores issues relating to crap suspension design, crap steering and the massive unreliability of the power steering system and the oil drinking tendancies of the gen3 V8

The magazine has a bias for coverage of cars which sell more....sounds pretty sensible to me.

The only thing that annoys me with Wheels and Motor is that they seem to not be able to drive FWD cars properly. Maybe they have improved? I dunno I havent bought either mag in a while.

dunno if i would agree with that Tim considering how much they like cars such as the renault clio sport, mazda 3 mps, honda integra type R (the original versoin anyway), mazda 6, vw golf gti.. list goes on and ofcourse all front drivers.

The only time they diss the FWD is when sometimes the amount of power going through the front wheels overwhelms the chassis, eg the saab 9-3 viggin of a few years ago

380 had about 30 pages covering it's design and engineering, and how this car is going to save MMAL and the brilliance of the trim tab design.

And then just in case you missed it, the follow month had a booklet with the same information.


And have you counted how many pages the VE has had so far?

dunno if i would agree with that Tim considering how much they like cars such as the renault clio sport, mazda 3 mps, honda integra type R (the original versoin anyway), mazda 6, vw golf gti.. list goes on and ofcourse all front drivers.

The only time they diss the FWD is when sometimes the amount of power going through the front wheels overwhelms the chassis, eg the saab 9-3 viggin of a few years ago
good point good point. I should of specified large FWD's...

dont buy wheels/motor that much but when i saw the tmr 380 was inside i grabbed one. now im not a huge lover of the 380 but the tmr is pure horn, sans bonnet scoops.(very 70s falcon). old mate gave it a fair go by the sounds of it. hope it sells. would i buy one? stranger things have happened, i said tl/tw were butt ugly(mitsubishis au) when they were released. musnt be to bad if i went & bought one.

i like the styling of the 380 tmr, its nice and sleek and looks good, and atl east it will have an engine to make it looks, i'd buy it over ve ss, but it would be hard deciding between the falcon ( i really love the look of these)xr's or this one

look the key thing with the TMR380 will be pricing. Whether you like them or not its a simple fact that the SS commodore and XR6T falcon are dead set bargains when you take into account how much performance you get for your money. The TMR380 has to significantly undercut the pricing of the SS and XR6T if it's to be successful and i just dont see it doing that. If its priced the same then it will be purely a boutique car with limited sales potential and therein lies the most probably reason why MMAL won't build it :(

look the key thing with the TMR380 will be pricing. Whether you like them or not its a simple fact that the SS commodore and XR6T falcon are dead set bargains when you take into account how much performance you get for your money. The TMR380 has to significantly undercut the pricing of the SS and XR6T if it's to be successful and i just dont see it doing that. If its priced the same then it will be purely a boutique car with limited sales potential and therein lies the most probably reason why MMAL won't build it :(

maybe not just that, having the TMR 380 will give the 380 range a "halo" car, in the same way as the commodore ss and falcon xr's do for their respective brands. This means people can associate the shape of their family sedan to something more performance orientated and desirable, for this reason alone it may be worth MMAL producing this car in limited numbers.

also i've had a motor mag subscription for a few years now and while they do have a lot of articles on the holden/ford combo, they also highlight just how good value we get from these local cars when it comes to performance. not long ago they did a comparo between the HSV SV6000, BMW M5 and a CLS 55 (i think), and it was interesting to see just how close the holden got in terms of bang for buck, especially when the going got twisty.

pete

good point you touched on there pete, and thats what i meant much earlier in this thread when i was talking about the (infamous?) comparison wheels did between the calais V, bmw 5 series and merceedes e-class was that yes the BMW and merceedes has much more high end tech stuff, yes they have alot more luxury, yes they are probably a more refined driving experience, but when you look at the pure basics of a cars performance - the acceleration and drivability of an engine, the steering response and feel, the ride and handling combination, the cars balance - all of these things, its very interesting to note just how close our local products, mitsubishi and toyota included, are to the more fancied european makes

look the key thing with the TMR380 will be pricing. Whether you like them or not its a simple fact that the SS commodore and XR6T falcon are dead set bargains when you take into account how much performance you get for your money. The TMR380 has to significantly undercut the pricing of the SS and XR6T if it's to be successful and i just dont see it doing that. If its priced the same then it will be purely a boutique car with limited sales potential and therein lies the most probably reason why MMAL won't build it :(
The TMR380 was never going to be a direct competitor for said cars. Mitsubishi themselves say it will be a limited run car aimed at a niche market. They're only going to make 70, 50 with the kit, suspension and wheels and 20 with the lot (blower, wheels, seats, suspension, brakes) You look at the value in one of those things, the seats are worth about $8k, the blower is worth $8k, the wheels are worth probably $3k-$4k with rubber, the suspension is worth probably $3k and those brakes are worth upward of I'd say $5k. So that's close to $30k extra value to the 380 and with those added mods it dwarfs what any other competitor has to offer for the same price. Name me another $50k-$55k car that gives you 230kW with recaro bucket seats, fully adjustable Koni suspension and 6 pot and 4 pot brakes front and rear respectively. It's not a direct competitor, but boy if it ever is, watch out.

when these come out, do you reckon it would be possible to order the tmr bodykits on the other 380 models? like i know there only doing a limited run of the tmr, but would there be a slight chance of being able to get this order for another model

Name me another $50k-$55k car that gives you 230kW with recaro bucket seats, fully adjustable Koni suspension and 6 pot and 4 pot brakes front and rear respectively. It's not a direct competitor, but boy if it ever is, watch out.

evo??

i reckon, and evo would kick there asses in outright track competition as will as straight line stuff, not to mention its awd as well

evo??

exactly

Don't get me wrong if they made it i would definetly seriously consider it for my next car, but the main reason for that is because of my fondness for the tri-diamond brand. My brother makes the very good point when i talk about it with him (he isn't much of a car guy my brother and isn't a holden and ford fan, more subaru if anything) he just said to me "for that price you could have a fully specced up SS commodore or XR6 turbo which would kill it for performance, handle just as good, and would be way easier to mod and costs less to buy in the first place". I had no comeback to him....

exactly

Don't get me wrong if they made it i would definetly seriously consider it for my next car, but the main reason for that is because of my fondness for the tri-diamond brand. My brother makes the very good point when i talk about it with him (he isn't much of a car guy my brother and isn't a holden and ford fan, more subaru if anything) he just said to me "for that price you could have a fully specced up SS commodore or XR6 turbo which would kill it for performance, handle just as good, and would be way easier to mod and costs less to buy in the first place". I had no comeback to him....

Couldnt agree with ya more.
My dad has spent under $4000 on power up parts (fitted by me but dynod by the god of XR6T tuning aka wogboy, bain will know of him :) ) on his xr6Turbo and has 346Kws@wheels (up from 198Kws@wheels that it had standard).

I like my TH sports and have been lucky to do many things to it for small amount of money due to doing it myself and having contacts in the right places, but ya just cant beat a new XR6T/XR8/SS commo for bang for bucks and cheapish power ups in a large family car, hence where ill be heading soon when im in the market for a large family performace car BUT at this stage i will also be keeping the magna too cos ive had it since new and its like a damn part of the family. lol

198KW @ the wheels standard? then why are they so ****ing slow lol a WRX with barely over 100kw @ wheels flogs em.
Although i won't complain about 346kw thats pretty impressive!

I like motor its a good magazine, and wheels. no subscription but i purchase them all the time and i don't agree with the statements about them being ford/holden bias they seem to speak the truth!

evo??
First of all an Evo is $57k, secondly do they come with fully adjustable Koni suspension? And thirdly they don't have 6 pot and 4 pot brakes. Tho I do see your point, my point was outside the Mitsubishi family and more in it's own sector (tho bar the Evo there doesn't seem like much competition does there.) No offence either, but 300+kwatw in a TurdBoat would be pretty unuseable.

198KW @ the wheels standard? then why are they so ****ing slow lol a WRX with barely over 100kw @ wheels flogs em.
Although i won't complain about 346kw thats pretty impressive!

I like motor its a good magazine, and wheels. no subscription but i purchase them all the time and i don't agree with the statements about them being ford/holden bias they seem to speak the truth!

Your trying to compare apples with pears! The falcon/commodore/magna/380/camry/aurion are FAMILY cars the wrx is not.

My old mans car ran many flat 14second 1/4mile passes when it was stock.....

I have yet to see a stock Wrx (non sti model) flog a XR6t or SS, both the WRX and XR6T/SS 1/4mile times are pretty close when consdering the XR6T/SS = 1700kgs and the WRX = 1450kgs, thats a big weight difference that takes a fair amount of power to overcome, so with them setting near equal times stock i think is pretty good.

I know which one id rather jump in and comfortably drive around australia with the family and a full load of luggage etc and its not a wrx thats for sure, on a racetrack id take a EVO :badgrin:
At the end of the day its horses for courses as they say and each to there own but i wont own another subaru turbo (yes i owned a 1998 legacy GTB before i bought my magna) as im after a performance family car

198KW @ the wheels standard? then why are they so ****ing slow lol a WRX with barely over 100kw @ wheels flogs em.

umm ok.. clearly your someone who has never driven an XR6T or indeed know anything about them. They are indeed just as fast if not faster then a stock WRX (non-sti model) and so is an SS commodore. A stock rex would never ever "flog" an XR6T or VZ or VE SS commodore and would be lucky if it won at all

umm ok.. clearly your someone who has never driven an XR6T or indeed know anything about them. They are indeed just as fast if not faster then a stock WRX (non-sti model) and so is an SS commodore. A stock rex would never ever "flog" an XR6T or VZ or VE SS commodore and would be lucky if it won at all

0-60km/h dude where it counts

0-60km/h dude where it counts

actually in the real world rolling acceleration (like out of a corner maybe?) is where it counts...

actually in the real world rolling acceleration (like out of a corner maybe?) is where it counts...

What about allround driveablity, comfort and reasonable economy? Thats what our "aussie built" cars are designed for. :P

Anyway this thread is about the TMR380 which i reckon is going to be a nice, quick, image building, performance enhanced family car (that MMAL desperately needs) that will cover lots of kms fairly comfortably and quickly NOT an all out ball tearing track car which we know that it wont be from the factory...... THAT is what the evo is for. :badgrin:

Anyway this thread is about the TMR380 which i reckon is going to be a nice, quick, image building, performance enhanced family car (that MMAL desperately needs) that will cover lots of kms fairly comfortably and quickly NOT an all out ball tearing track car which we know that it wont be from the factory...... THAT is what the evo is for. :badgrin:

look i tend to agree and in isolation i think it will be a fantastic car! But unfortunately it won't be sold in isolation, it will be sold in the real world where buyers are inevitably going to stack it up against SS commo's and XR6T falc's. And in that environment im unsure of how successful it will be...

they should of done all this to the vrx not make another model

they should of done all this to the vrx not make another model

i tend to agree...

look i tend to agree and in isolation i think it will be a fantastic car! But unfortunately it won't be sold in isolation, it will be sold in the real world where buyers are inevitably going to stack it up against SS commo's and XR6T falc's. And in that environment im unsure of how successful it will be...
You seem to have your side blinkers on mate. The TMR380 is not going up against those cars you keep saying. It's going to be sold in small quantities and last I heard most of them are all pre sold anyway.

My opinion is that they should completely change Tonsley park and bring the Outlander platform here and build the new lancers and 380's here in Adelaide. Build the 380 on the same platform with the same drivetrain (ie, FWD till you turn a knob for AWD 50/50 or 60/40) Churn out the TMR380 in bigger numbers with the 230kW engine all the bells n whistles for $50k with the AWD drivetrain. I think that has success written all over it.

actually in the real world rolling acceleration (like out of a corner maybe?) is where it counts...

lol i was joking

My opinion is that they should completely change Tonsley park and bring the Outlander platform here and build the new lancers and 380's here in Adelaide. Build the 380 on the same platform with the same drivetrain (ie, FWD till you turn a knob for AWD 50/50 or 60/40) Churn out the TMR380 in bigger numbers with the 230kW engine all the bells n whistles for $50k with the AWD drivetrain. I think that has success written all over it.

I agree with you mate. I read on the net a while back that the next version of the Mitsubishi Galant was going to be on a stretched version of the GS platform (the platform which underpins the Outlander, Lancer). If Tonsley Park were to build the Lancer along side the 380, or the Lancer and a 380 on the Lancer's platform then I have no doubt that Tonsley Park would be selling around 3,000 cars a month, if not possibly more. Thing is though, is that our Lancer comes from Thailand, and if they made it here then they may have to increase the RRP price of it locally if it were made here if production costs were significantly higher. However I spose you don't have to pay for shipping and import tarriffs (not like there much anyway).

Woot i started a fight lol.
lets sort this out!

I like XR6T's not trying to bag them i just didn't think they had that much power stock.
My mate has a WRX stock accept for an exhaust and my dad had a XR6T, we raced many times with the wrx winning always (standing start and never passed 100k's tho). so yeah maybee ours was a dud it didn't feel very fast, not much better then the magna actually.

Jason i'm with you on the family car vs WRX, why do you think i own a magna :cool:

MMAL need to sort out their sh*t with the 380. At the moment they have 4 models of the 380, with the most basic, cheapest model being the fastest and the sports model (GT) being the slowest. looks like they will now be producing a more sportier model, the TMR, which will be a FWD 'beast'. Now if they want to produce this in small numbers, they will sell them, no doubt about that. But if they want to sell larger numbers and turn this into a profit making exercise like the EVO then they need get real. At the end of the day if anyone produces 200 unique cars, even if they are crap, they will sell. And if they only produce 200 380 TMRs, then they will lose money on this model. If they want to produce in larger numbers then they need to price it right - $49'000 - and they need to market it right. But seriously a big heavy, 4 door sports car for $50k with FWD.....?? Why would u buy one? You want something fast, you buy an EVO, you want something big and fast buy an SS and save 10K.

Horses for courses. That's like saying, if you want a fast small sports car why would you buy a Porsche 911 Turbo when you can buy an EVO and spend $280,000 on it. Or buy a Honda S2000 and spend $280,000 on it. :nuts: The GT is a sports/luxury cruiser, not a sports model. The VRX or SX are the sports models. The rest I pretty much agree with. If you read my last post, Mitsubishi really need to get the Outlander platform under the 380 so it's capable of hosting AWD. Then put the blower on it.

MMAL need to sort out their sh*t with the 380. At the moment they have 4 models of the 380, with the most basic, cheapest model being the fastest and the sports model (GT) being the slowest. looks like they will now be producing a more sportier model, the TMR, which will be a FWD 'beast'. Now if they want to produce this in small numbers, they will sell them, no doubt about that. But if they want to sell larger numbers and turn this into a profit making exercise like the EVO then they need get real. At the end of the day if anyone produces 200 unique cars, even if they are crap, they will sell. And if they only produce 200 380 TMRs, then they will lose money on this model. If they want to produce in larger numbers then they need to price it right - $49'000 - and they need to market it right. But seriously a big heavy, 4 door sports car for $50k with FWD.....?? Why would u buy one? You want something fast, you buy an EVO, you want something big and fast buy an SS and save 10K.
Yes they will lose money on that particular product line, but that's not what it's for. It's a hero car, there to attract people to the 380. You'll find quite alot of Commodore exec drivers bought a commodore because it's close to a clubsport which they love. Mitsubishi is trying to build up it's image in a similar way and it's about time :).

It also probably has something to do with them making sure they don't lose money on the TMR like they did with the ralliart magna.

The TMR wont be sold by MMAL. They didnt do any of the development on it so they wont be responsible for sales and/or warranty on it. So they wont be losing money on it. Yes its a hero car, but TMR will be solely responsible for it, not MMAL. Unless of course its a screw up, then the ABC will condemn MMAL for it like they usually do.

If you read my last post, Mitsubishi really need to get the Outlander platform under the 380 so it's capable of hosting AWD. Then put the blower on it.

The 380 is based on the PS platform not the GS that the outlander is based on, hence no AWD. IF MMAL had been given the choice we would have kept the AWD platform. Believe me we tried.

The 380 is based on the PS platform not the GS that the outlander is based on, hence no AWD. IF MMAL had been given the choice we would have kept the AWD platform. Believe me we tried.

We all know that the 380 is on the PS platform, but so is the Endeavor (which is AWD) but to put the AWD system on the 380 ride-height would be ridiculous, so it isn't suitable.

Disciple knows that the PS platform is under the 380, however, he is suggesting that MMAL get the GS (Outlander) platform under the 380.

I read that apparently the 2009 Galant may be on a stretched version of the GS platform. If this was the case and the new donor vehcile was the '09 Galant then MMAL would have more manufacturing possibilites, whether it be to produce the Outlander and the new sedan (whether it be called 380?). This way we'd have AWD and everyone would be happy.

However, for the mean time MMAL should bring out a 4-cyl version with a CVT asap.

We all know that the 380 is on the PS platform, but so is the Endeavor (which is AWD) but to put the AWD system on the 380 ride-height would be ridiculous, so it isn't suitable.



The Endeavor is based on the PSU platform which is not the same as the PS. Same as the PS is not the same as a PSL which was to be the long wheel base 380. Some common components but not the same platform.

The Endeavor is based on the PSU platform which is not the same as the PS. Same as the PS is not the same as a PSL which was to be the long wheel base 380. Some common components but not the same platform.

Tah.. thanks for that. Is the PSL going to be used for any car by MMC in the future? I heard that Hyundai may be using it to build the new RWD Hyundai Equus or something like that?

Horses for courses. That's like saying, if you want a fast small sports car why would you buy a Porsche 911 Turbo when you can buy an EVO and spend $280,000 on it. Or buy a Honda S2000 and spend $280,000 on it. :nuts:

:bowrofl: :bowrofl: you clown.. remember the conversation we had about the ralliart colt vs 3 MPS :D

yeah guys its pretty much impossible to just "put" the GS platform under the 380, you understand what a platform is right? they would need to completely redesign every aspect of the car to make that work. In saying that yes indeed the next gallant will be built off the GS platform, which means IF (and its a big if) MMAL decide to go ahead with a 380 replacement then AWD suddenly becomes a real possibility again

however MMC's plans for the next US galant is to make just a single model for global production, which could realistically mean its coming to australia, which would mean certain death for the 380 unless they made the galant in australia aswell badged as 380, however MMC seem pretty set that they want it all built out of the US. Unless they plan on replacing 380 production at tonsley park with another car then we have a problem...