Aussie Motoring

Mitsubishi is now looking at cutting a further 100 positions at its plant in South Australia after sales of the 380 sedan fell well short of the monthly target. The company has a target of 1500 vehicles a month but only managed to sell around 800 in July.

It’s obvious that the car is not popular with the motoring public. The only 380 sedans that seem to appear in Aussie Motoring’s home town appear to be rentals.

It’s hard to believe but that headline is closer to fact than fiction. As reported on August 8 in More Supply Problems for Holden and Ford the industry is in dire trouble as another parts supplier is on the brink of closure.

Ajax Engineering Fasteneters, a company that supplies fasteners and bolts for Holden, Ford, Toyota, Mitsubishi and PBR Australia, is in voluntary administration and now cannot afford to pay it’s workers. Union spokesperson, Bill Shorten, claims the company needs $450,000 by Monday to pay workers and a further $2 million by the end of next week.

Unless the money is forthcoming the Administrator will have no choice but to close the plant. If that happens 200 people will be out of work immediately but that’s just the start. It’s estimated that PBR will run out of stock in less than 24 hours, Holden will be out of stock on Monday and Ford may just last till later in the week.

Re-supply is not just a matter of ducking down to the nearest Bunnings store and picking up a few packets of screws either. While fastemers and bolts may not sound very high tech what we’re talking about here are specialty products designed and produced for particular applications. Finding a new supplier will take months.

Talks aimed at providing a rescue package have been taking place between the Administrator and the stake-holders but one stake-holder has been unable to agree to the terms of a funding package.

You can read more about this looming disaster in the Australian car industry here

Around six months after the release of the car that was to be the saviour of Mitsubishi Australia the writing that was on the wall is becoming even easier to read.

When a manufacturer knocks $6,500 of the price a vehicle you know that they are in dire trouble and that is just what Mitsubishi Australia have done for their 380 model. Mitsubishi Australia announced yesterday that they were revising the 380 model range amd were introducing a new entry model as well as a sports sedan.

Production numbers will also be cut at the Adelaide plant. Currently 90 380s roll off the production line each day and that will be reduced to 75.

The all-new 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander is on the leading edge of versatility, technology, and value in the crossover SUV segment. The 2007 Outlander debuts the all-new 3.0L V6 MIVEC engine and features a standard six-speed Sportronic(R) automatic transmission with one-touch manual shifting and adaptive electronics.

The Outlander XLS adds rally inspired Sportronic steering wheel paddle shifters for shifting control at the driver’s fingertips. All Wheel Control (AWC), an advanced version of all-wheel drive is available. An innovative two-piece flap-fold rear tailgate makes cargo loading easy, and an in-floor stowable third-row seat adds to the XLS model’s versatility.

Technology is one of the hallmarks of the new Outlander, including a standard Bluetooth(R) hands-free cellular phone interface, advanced FAST-Key access system, and optional 650-watt Rockford Fosgate(R) audio system and DVD entertainment. A new hard-drive navigation system option will be state of the art.

And the all new 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander was on display at the New York International Auto Show last week.

Mitsubish released the 380 last year and was frank in telling the market place that the 380 was the make or break car for the company in Australia.

Unfortunately sales have not been what they had hoped and even the Toyota Yaris outsold the 380 in December. With sales results like that job cuts were inevitable.

Less than two months into the production of its company-saving 380 sedan range Mitsubishi has announced that production will be scaled down.

Currently the large car market is overstocked and Holden and Ford are both offering discounts to try and move excess inventory. Discounting the price of the new range is something that Mitsubishi is reluctant to do.

Sales of the new sedan have been meeting expectations and Mitsubishi believes that sales will increase as the model becomes better known but offering incentives to buyers is not part of the company’s plans at this point in time.

It will be interesting to see just how long it takes for Mitsubishi to change their mind.

In a world where timing is everything Mitsubishi probably couldn’t have chosen a worse time to introduce a six cylinder car to a market that is coming to grips with increased and unstable fuel prices.

The situation is made even worse for the company by the fact that the company in Australia wii stand or fall on the success or otherwise of this vehicle. So what is the Mitsubishi 380 really like and can it save the company?

Well if you have seen the advertising on television you have probably realised that the 380 is a rather bland looking car that’s never going to stand out in a crowd. At a time when the company really needed an eye-catching design they have opted for something that is pure vanilla.

They have also retained the front-wheel drive format which in this writer’s humble opinion is not such a bad thing but many motoring writers hold a different view and feel that Mitsubishi have missed the opportunity to move their flagship to a rear wheel drive layout just like their competitors.

The 380 comes in five different versions ranging from the base model that the company describes as ‘well equipped’ to the 380GT that the company describes as the ultimate blend of sports and luxury. In between there are two more optioned versions of the basic sedan and a slightly cheaper version of the ultimate blend of sports and luxury.

All come equipped with a 3.8 litre V6 motor that certainly does develop some grunt. The V6 is coupled to a 5 speed manual transmission there is a 5 speed sequential transmission available as an option. The sequential box operates as an automatic but also allows manual changes up and down the range. However most drivers will set it in D and forget it.

A motor with a lot of grunt does come at a cost and the 380 is not going to be known for its great fuel consumption. Official figures suggest that 10.8 litres per 100 kilometres what you could expect from this car but that may be somewhat optimistic. Some writers report that 11.5 to 13.5 litres per 100 kilometres is going to be closer to the mark.

Those are not inspiring figures for a market place where fuel economy is becoming much more important.

Actual road handling seems to be adequate without being brilliant and at least one writer described the turning circle of the 380 as something close to the turning circle of an aircraft carrier.

Inside the car has a dashboard that could be better. It’s poorly lit and the some of the digital readouts are of little value. The trim on the cheaper versions of the 380 relies a lot on plastics and it’s obvious. At least one reviewer suggested that the standard of the fit-out inside the car was not up to the same standard as the Magna.

Visibility through the rear windscreen becomes a problem in heavy rain and the boot, while spacious, has a very small opening and getting anything as big as a pram into it could be awkward.

Standard equipment includes climate control/air conditioning, four airbags, ABS disc brakes, power windows and mirrors, cruise control, an alarm and six-speaker, single CD based sound system that is MP3 compatible and audio controls on the steering wheel.

Even though the price of the somewhat up market VRX comes in below that of it’s Holden and Ford competitors it doesn’t seem to be the car that is going to save Mitsubishi Australia.

You will find a full road test here