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It turns out that news of an Asian-market Chrysler sedan that was a re-badged Mitsubishi Mirage wasn’t entirely accurate.
The sedan in question is actually heading for Mexico, according to this announcement from Mitsubishi. Interestingly, a report by Just-Auto which denied the initial report also said that the Mirage sedan would be heading to Canada. Mitsubishi showed the car off at this year’s Toronto Auto Show, but had no firm plans for selling the car.
37 Comments on “Mexico To Get Chrysler Badged Mitsubishi Mirage Sedan...”
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First the World Cup loss, and then this. Tough week to be Mexican.
good news for Chrysler in Mexico. I really don’t think this is too far off from the Versa. Priced right, I’m sure it’ll gain rapid market penetration.
Canada might be tougher, but with the Chrysler badge might help. If it sells well, might be the final movement that will bring the deluge of real compact cars to North America. Fiesta, Versa, Mirage, Spark, among others, all point to the end of North America’s denial of small car practicality and fun. Plus, they’re all global. Another wall breached.
Give us an update on how things are going concerning the World Cup. Are there transportation issues? What about accommodations? Have the protests died down? Any safety issues? Is Brazil going to take it all? Since I am originally from outside of Niagara Falls, you can guess who I want to win today. What is the impression of the US team?
Transportation issues: None except the usual bad traffic. Public transportation has been made available and seems to be working fine. You may have heard something about the last US game in Recife, but that was caused by exceptional rains that caused flooding. Nothing much can be done in that case.
Accommodations: Seems that there is enough rooms for everybody. Last Argentina game, 150-200,000 people came into a city 0f 1.5 million. Notoriously difficult, even the Argentines compliment the organization’s set up of huge car parks where everybody is able to park, make their barbecues and have fun.
Protests: Yes, the motivation for them has been largely exhausted. The ones who insist, though sometimes with legitimate complaints, are mainly those who will and do protest everything all the time.
Safety: The normal you’d expect. Some people lose their tickets on the way to the stadium, foreigners walking around with expensive electronics and jewelry may be mugged. Just like tourists in any part of the world. People go out and have fun at night (in stark contrast to the last one in South Africa where even the locals avoided going out at night) and there seems to be no problems with large robberies in airports (which happened in S. Africa) or hotels (like in Germany). As always beware of your surroundings and don’t display wealth (pretty valid in any place in the world, especially in crowds(.
Brazil: the Brazilian team is good but inexperienced besides inconsistent. On a good day it can beat anyone, on a so-so day good teams can beat it, on a bad day it is defeatable even by smaller teams. My favorites are still Argentina and Germany in that order, with Holland maybe and Brazil possibly.
The US team is a good, technical team, that obeys tactical schemes well and in good physical condition. The problem is that lack of a genius spark that make the difference in today’s football where so many teams are playing better than ever (no Donovan was not the answer). Against Belgium I give it a 40% chance of winning. After that it’ll likely Argentina and then very likely game over. Would be the best showing of a US team since the first World Cup in 1930. You guys are doing a good job. I think you’ll win a World Cup in the next two decades if some genius is born. They way you’re going you’re are going to get more and more competitive.
Won’t let me edit or add a comment so here goes.
EDIT; Let me add, the best World Cup since the 1982 one. The games have been very good and the environment was always known would be exceptional. The organization ain’t half bad either, with the touch of improvisation that marks it as a Brazilian affair. Noting southern Europeans aren’t familiar with. I am hard pressed to think of another place that would host a World Cup like Brazil is doing.
What is so good about selling a cheap sedan with slap-on labels?
market entry. full line. sales in places you didn’t before. reaching a client base you didn’t before. a rational option for those who want/need. on it goes.
Well I didn’t see this article before…
Yep, Chrysler will sell the rebadged Mitsu here, However I feel the car is not very well suited to even our cities,not to mention highways, of course is a city car, but with a 76HP engine will suffer big time on many high altitude cities, (We have cities from Sea Level to almost 7K Ft) the good news is that it will be really cheap on Gas.
The competition (Versa with 106Hp, Aveo with 103Hp , 301 with 120Hp, and Vento) have better engine/trans options.
Let’s see how they put the price tag. And I bet safety will be offered just as an option.
As soon as they get them in the floor will take a good look at it as well as a test drive.
Abraço
Btw I got a 308Gti, RC badged here.
From the reviews I’ve read, the Versa is way better than this, someone wrote that is was like an econobox from the 80’s
better, yes. way better? doubt it.
Versa at least on paper, sounds much better in engine as well as on equipment, However it has a very overassisted steering and narrow tires, a good recipe to not nice steering situations if you get caught off guard.
A friend of mine have one and he complaints of very weak suspension parts also.
Saludos
Anything worse than a Versa… words fail me. And they plan on calling it a Chrysler?
That’s inconsistent with the upscale sector of the market that Chrysler has historically tried to occupy. Is there a reason why Mitsubishi is unwilling to put its own name on it?
I think in Sergio’s last brand summit he said the new plan is to make Chrysler FCA’s mainstream marquee.
I doubt they’re “unwilling.” This is just the same old, same old, basically Back to the Future — Dodge Colt, Plymouth Champ, Eagle Summit, all those other rebadged Mitsus sold as “captive imports” thru Chrysler dealers from the Seventies through the Nineties. Except now that term is truly meaningless.
Chrysler_Mitsu re-badging efforts go a long ways.
Anyone remembers the Mitsu Montero/ Dodge Raider in the early 80s?
Or you can go all the way back to 1971 and the Dodge Colt.
So DSM all over again.
Forward Into The Past
Another good reason not to live in Mexico.
I thought these were the gaps Fiat was supposed to be filling. They should be selling a Mexico-only stripped out 500 with manual transmissions, the base engine, and steel wheels. Isn’t the 500 built there anyway?
Not the 500’s mission in life. Fiat doesn’t have the capacity right now to export there from Brazil, and European exports are expensive and face federalization issues.
500s are built in Toluca, Mexico– why would they need to be imported from Europe or South America?
I thought they were planning on shutting down the 500 line in Toluca. I don’t know what they’ll build there in its place, Sergio’s crystal ball is very cloudy…
Cheap, practical, hopefully fun sedans is what we’re talking about. Plenty of those, from all makers, built in South America and Europe.
The 500 is not cheap, not a sedan and not supposed to be practical (well, at least from a traditionally North American viewpoint as its size makes it eminently practical elsewhere).
Some careful reading goes a long way.
What you’d written was not misunderstood, Mr. de Vasconcellos.
I simply do not share your fantasy that a Fiat 500 is anything but a cheap little poverty car.
A cheap little poverty car which is built in-house, in the selling market– and as cheaply as this Mitsubishi. If Fiat is not providing this subcompact to Chrysler, it is because someone’s playing some game.
It may even be illegal, as they’d secured Chrysler’s assets based-upon the premise that they would be providing Chrysler with subcompact vehicles. Saying this car is legitimately making-good on that promise is disingenuous at best.
Mr. iNeon, then you don’t get the 500 and it’s not for you. And the 500 is ahead of cars like the Mirage and others. I know because I sit in them everyday. You can see the 500 as you want, but to say the 500 is even comparable to the Mirage is very disingenuous. Different cars, different roles, different raisons d´être.
As to your last paragraph, you have no idea if this fulfilling any so-called promise. That is between your government and Fiat. The government was just glad someone accepted to keep Chrysler alive. What was accorded has been judged good by your government which has passed on to Fiat ownership as according to the publicized deal. What really went on and what was really promised or not, is not really for us to know.
I know what the 500 is supposed to be, in the U.S. and Europe. But what could it be, in Mexico? This is a country that was still building and consuming the original VW Beetle until 2003. Small and cheap is something they’ll buy.
So why not a 500 with roll-up windows and vinyl seats?
You’re right that I don’t know, but now I’m curious enough to find out.
TMA1, don’t know about Mexico, but here in Brazil (where the Beetle had the second longest life and the e Kombi (Bus) survived until last year) the 500 is what it is in Europe, but even more so. It appeals to an affluent high middle class that can have a car for use in the city and cut a good figure wherever they go. Everybody recognizes the car, it still turns heads and is the dream of many. I’s more of a niche car that competes with much larger vehicles based on its charm, stylishness, equipment levels and driveability. As such, there are no strippo models. Fiat has many other cars that fill that role. It also appeals to auto enthusiasts with a sense of history and a taste for driving as well as many Fiat fans (of which there are many).
There is a version equipped with a Brazilian made 1.4 8v engine that retails for close to 25k USD, but even that car has all the equipment that are considered luxury.
In other words, if in the US it’s just a stylish car and in Europe its a that plus practical and a hint of luxury, here it is a semi premium luxury car.
“even the Argentines compliment the organization’s set up”
Wait! are tourists from Argentina complimenting something? I find that hard to believe Marcelo! Hahaha
Argentine politicians periodically screw everything up in what should be a fairly wealthy country, so maybe there’s nothing to compliment at home?
Argentina is a wonderful country, full of potential and well educated people that do need better governance to realize whatever it is they want. As is, there is a quality of life that most people, neighbors and those in other continents, can only look on and hope to emulate one day.
On top of that the soccer is amazing, the women are beautiful and the food is glorious. Argentina is a great country indeed!
Yes, I’ve worked with a civil engineer from Argentina: Highly intelligent, highly educated, Italian last name, impeccable British manners, flawless Spanish speaker. He represented to me the advantages Argentina had developing and still has, and he was very descriptive of what Argentina has to offer.
But he always ended the description with a joke. He’d say, “Ask me about Argentine politics.” When asked, he’d reply, “Don’t ask!” When I pressed him, he said, since Juan and Eva Peron, Argentina has been afflicted with too many “caudillo-wannabe”s.
Maybe my sarcasm was not that obvious, I was taliking about the image Argentine tourist have in other places in Latin America as always comparing to Argentina.
On August 19 2013 Dodge Mexico received catastrophic news.
Hyundai has announced plans to cut ties with Chrysler and form its own dealer network in Mexico. Since 2000, Hyundai has imported vehicles to Mexico but sold them under Chrysler’s Dodge banner.
Read more: http://www.leftlanenews.com/hyundai-to-split-from-chrysler-establish-mexico-dealer-network.html#ixzz36H1yUW6Q
This is probably the death knell for Dodge as their sales have since tanked even more than usual as they have lost some of their best cars. So in desperation they are now turning to Mexico’s other red-headed step-child, Mitsubishi, in the hope of picking up some crumbs from under the table.
Hyundai, as they are wont to do, will eat both of their lunches while taking substantial bites from the front runners too.
Hmmm a joint Mitsubishi/Dodge Mexican deathwatch might be in order?
That is another good explanation. Chrysler now has its hands on an entry level car again that they will try to sell to those who bought their badge-engineered Hyundais. Let’s hope it won’t work so Chrysler and Fiat will look for a better alternative in their own stable (hint, Punto, Linea, Grand Siena).
This is a huge mistake for Chrysler Brand and Group. That ugly thing is going to be a lot of peoples first impression of Chrysler, especially where the brand isn’t well known. If that were MY first introduction to Chrysler, I’d never look at another one. Since Chrysler was supposedly paired with Lancia, wouldn’t it make much more sense to sell the Ypsilon or Delta as the entry level vehicle?
It’s part of FCA, in production, and would certainly help the Italian factories stay busy, as well as giving the customer a true taste of what to expect from Chrysler in the future, instead of that abortion. This is badge engineering taken to stupidity!