This may be the strangest forum intro post I've made in decades. Please bear with me.
I don't own an Eclipse Cross (EC). I have no intention of buying one, either. But as a 22-year owner-enthusiast who believes in the brand and wants to silence the luddite haters out there seething with ignorant rage that the Eclipse name has been applied to a naturally aspirated, CVT-equipped, crossover—I am here to help.
We just had Mitsubishi Owner Day (MOD) in SoCal last weekend. I don't have any official numbers, but I'm guessing north of 600 Mitsubishis showed up. The parking lot at MMNA HQ in Cypress was filled to capacity by 5AM—and the even wasn't scheduled to start until 9AM. The only ECs attending were provided by MMNA for test drives. There was just ONE new Mirage. And I think there might have been as many as three Outlander Sports attending.
These are serious red flags. Most of the people attending—the traditional, die hard, high-horsepower, ultimate performance crowd—doesn't like the EC. There's even a #savetheeclipse hashtag with bumper stickers, t-shirts, and everything, out there by people who, for whatever reason, despise the EC. But these people have despised just about everything MMC has done in the last 20 years that hasn't been 4G63T-powered and AWD.
I'll add that most of the loudest voices railing against the EC these days have never bought a new Mitsubishi in their lives. Many of them also spend their days trashing the build quality and reliability of the often neglected and highly modified Mitsubishis they own, personally. It's ridiculous.
So I'm here for three primary reasons:
#1 — I want to show the world how Eclipse Cross owners do things. I want to silence the haters by making sure people know about the awesome, high performance stuff EC owners do in the coming years. The Eclipse badge comes with some seriously big shoes in North America. I'm sure you'll fill them in due time. If this is where the EC action happens, I want to shine a light on this community so the rest of the world knows what's up.
#2 — I want to make sure you know that, while you're likely going to get some static when you show up to larger Mitsubishi events, those wads do not represent all of us. And there are a LOT of us genuinely curious to see how this platform and community mature. Take the high road. Prove the potential. And ignore the haters.
#3 — I want to support the brand that's made such an incredible difference in my personal and professional life. At MOD, we got to sit down and talk product with CEO Fred Diaz, Global Product Exec Vincent Cobee, and pretty much the entire Pajero product and motorsport team from Japan. They also did this at Elbetreffen in Germany last month. (If you're in the EU, Google that. It's the biggest Mitsubishi event on the continent.) They are listening.
Simply put, if you love your Mitsubishi, believe in the brand, and want to go fast with class—you can consider me a friend.
I may not be around all the time, but I'm always listening. And I've got a little online magazine read by a lot of Mitsubishi owners around the world. If you guys have any stories you'd like to get in front of the larger, Mitsubishi audience we can use to silence the haters, unite the 5,000 tribes of Sirius and Astron, and show Mitsubishi the owner-enthusiast community is worth listening to—and investing in—I hope you'll hit me up.
Go fast with class.
Ichimiai-iwa.
PS: I daily drive a lightly modified 98 Montero (aka: NL Pajero Super Exceed). Previously, I had an 89 SWB 2.6L Pajero, a 92 GVR4, a 91 GVR4, a couple GS-Ts, and a 97 Talon. I've admin'd, moderated, and founded several Mitsubishi/DSM communities over the years and make these comments in an offer to help market this community and its members to the larger Mitsubishi owner-enthusiast community. I have nothing for sale. Thanks.
I don't own an Eclipse Cross (EC). I have no intention of buying one, either. But as a 22-year owner-enthusiast who believes in the brand and wants to silence the luddite haters out there seething with ignorant rage that the Eclipse name has been applied to a naturally aspirated, CVT-equipped, crossover—I am here to help.
We just had Mitsubishi Owner Day (MOD) in SoCal last weekend. I don't have any official numbers, but I'm guessing north of 600 Mitsubishis showed up. The parking lot at MMNA HQ in Cypress was filled to capacity by 5AM—and the even wasn't scheduled to start until 9AM. The only ECs attending were provided by MMNA for test drives. There was just ONE new Mirage. And I think there might have been as many as three Outlander Sports attending.
These are serious red flags. Most of the people attending—the traditional, die hard, high-horsepower, ultimate performance crowd—doesn't like the EC. There's even a #savetheeclipse hashtag with bumper stickers, t-shirts, and everything, out there by people who, for whatever reason, despise the EC. But these people have despised just about everything MMC has done in the last 20 years that hasn't been 4G63T-powered and AWD.
I'll add that most of the loudest voices railing against the EC these days have never bought a new Mitsubishi in their lives. Many of them also spend their days trashing the build quality and reliability of the often neglected and highly modified Mitsubishis they own, personally. It's ridiculous.
So I'm here for three primary reasons:
#1 — I want to show the world how Eclipse Cross owners do things. I want to silence the haters by making sure people know about the awesome, high performance stuff EC owners do in the coming years. The Eclipse badge comes with some seriously big shoes in North America. I'm sure you'll fill them in due time. If this is where the EC action happens, I want to shine a light on this community so the rest of the world knows what's up.
#2 — I want to make sure you know that, while you're likely going to get some static when you show up to larger Mitsubishi events, those wads do not represent all of us. And there are a LOT of us genuinely curious to see how this platform and community mature. Take the high road. Prove the potential. And ignore the haters.
#3 — I want to support the brand that's made such an incredible difference in my personal and professional life. At MOD, we got to sit down and talk product with CEO Fred Diaz, Global Product Exec Vincent Cobee, and pretty much the entire Pajero product and motorsport team from Japan. They also did this at Elbetreffen in Germany last month. (If you're in the EU, Google that. It's the biggest Mitsubishi event on the continent.) They are listening.
Simply put, if you love your Mitsubishi, believe in the brand, and want to go fast with class—you can consider me a friend.
I may not be around all the time, but I'm always listening. And I've got a little online magazine read by a lot of Mitsubishi owners around the world. If you guys have any stories you'd like to get in front of the larger, Mitsubishi audience we can use to silence the haters, unite the 5,000 tribes of Sirius and Astron, and show Mitsubishi the owner-enthusiast community is worth listening to—and investing in—I hope you'll hit me up.
Go fast with class.
Ichimiai-iwa.
PS: I daily drive a lightly modified 98 Montero (aka: NL Pajero Super Exceed). Previously, I had an 89 SWB 2.6L Pajero, a 92 GVR4, a 91 GVR4, a couple GS-Ts, and a 97 Talon. I've admin'd, moderated, and founded several Mitsubishi/DSM communities over the years and make these comments in an offer to help market this community and its members to the larger Mitsubishi owner-enthusiast community. I have nothing for sale. Thanks.
