2004 Mitsubishi Galant Es Sedan 4-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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Mitsubishi NA gets new president and CEO

Last week, we told you that Mitsubishi will be getting a new global president, with Osamu Masuko stepping aside in favor of Tesuro Aikawa. The executive changes at the Japanese automaker are hitting closer to home, now, with official word that Mitsubishi Motors North America is getting a new president and CEO, as well. Effective March 1, Ryujiro Kobashi will take over for Yoichi Yokozawa, 49, who has been in charge since April of 2011. Yokozawa is headed back to Japan, where he will assume a spot in the company's corporate planning offices.
Kobashi, 53, has been with Mitsubishi since 1983 when he was fresh out of college. Previous to taking the top job in North America, he was installed as corporate general manager of the NA office at Mitsubishi's headquarters in Japan, where he coordinated regional operations for the US, Canada and Mexico. Before that, he held posts in planning, marketing, advertising and public relations for the company.
Kobashi takes over the company's North American operations at a pivotal time, when the region is finally showing signs of life after a prolonged period of stagnation. As Automotive News notes, Mitsubishi only sold 62,227 vehicles in the US in 2013, but that figure still represents an eight-percent increase. Its crossovers, the new-for-2014 Outlander and the two-year-old Outlander Sport have been selling relatively well, and the affordable Mirage subcompact is a new arrival at dealers.

Mitsubishi CEO vows to stay in US on heels of Suzuki's departure

By now, you're surely aware that Suzuki is pulling out of the US market. It was a bit of a foregone conclusion to most who've been paying attention to the automotive realm, but it still sent a small shockwave through the industry. And one of the most oft-heard retorts goes something like this: "Next up: Mitsubishi."
It's easy to understand why many question Mitsubishi's existence in the States. After all, now that Suzuki is gone, Mitsubishi is the Japanese automaker with the fewest sales in America. Furthermore, the automaker's market share has dropped from .7 percent to just .4 percent after seeing sales fall 29 percent to 50,103 units through October.
In any case, Mitsubishi fans needn't worry. Speaking to Automotive News, Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko said, "We have no intention whatsoever of withdrawing from the US market." That's about as clear as clear can get. It's also worth mentioning that Gayu Uesugi was just named chairman of Mitsubishi Motors North America, and his main responsibility will be to revitalize the brand in the US.

Mitsubishi ready to pull Evo's plug

We have all manner of unofficial metrics in the auto industry. No doubt you've heard some of them, like the butt dyno. Another popular measure is the smiles-per-dollar index - how entertaining is a car versus its price. Cars like the Mazda MX-5 Miata, Scion FR-S and Mini Cooper S, for example, score quite highly, while vehicles like the BMW M5 or Audi RS7 are great to drive, but score lower because of their much higher price tags. For a long time, the king of the smiles-per-dollar index was arguably the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, which blended hair-raising thrills for the price of a well-equipped Ford Fusion Titanium.
Now, it looks like the Evo will need to hand over its title, as this generation of the rally-derived rocket is likely to be Mitsubishi's last - at least for a while. There's been no mention of just when production of the current car will end, so if you're in the market, we'd suggest trying to find a dealer with inventory ASAP. The news comes from the automaker's Japanese mothership, which says the brand will instead focus on utility vehicles and EVs. While there are no direct plans for a successor, an Evo XI as it were, the door remains open for a different kind of beast, according to Mitsubishi.
"Mitsubishi Motors does not have any plans to design a successor with the current concept, as a high-performance four-wheel drive gasoline-powered sedan," said Namie Koketsu, a spokesperson for Mitsubishi, according to Automotive News. "Mitsubishi Motors will explore the possibilities of high-performance models that incorporate electric vehicle technology."