Consider this beehive kicked: The Eclipse was crap long before they tried to bloat it into a crossover SUV. Mitsubishi killed it by continuing to sell the things knowing damn well they had faulty sumps and oil pumps, so they'd constantly starve of oil and then explode. My sister's Eclipse was the only car I've ever witnessed to melt its own radiator. I think that pointless hump in the hood was actually to have a space to contain all your cams and valves when they left the chat at highway speed.
And then, back in the day it was Mitsubishi and not Kia or Nissan who were so desperate for sales that their dealerships were instructed to finance any moron at punitive interest no matter the risk and put them in a brand new base Eclipse or, occasionally, a Galant. Bad credit? No credit? No eyesight? No pulse? No problem!
So the early 2000's equivalent of "Big Altima Energy" was you inevitably found that any unexploded Eclipse driven by anyone who wasn't a tuner was instead being piloted by somebody who had no business whatsoever operating a motor vehicle. Sure, that was really a problem with the drivers and not the car, but it means that to this very day every time you see one you still let out that disgruntled sigh and give it an extra couple of car lengths of room.
I await with interest my imminent crucifixion by angry Eclipse owners, now. Go on, give it to me. I am invincible!
Yeah part of the problem was you had the VR-4 which all the car nuts understood, but then everyone bought the S or SE and they were everywhere, half because it was an affordable midlevel car, and half because they wanted a VR-4 and couldnāt afford it
I'm speaking from a 2000s perspective, but everybody hated the Gallant. It was a wannabe Lancer (which in of itself was a wannabe Evo). You only bought the Gallant because you wanted a Fast and Furious car but didn't have the money for an actual car from the films.
I had one and when it ran, it was great. Went through 3 used engines and only ran well after I went through and tested/replaced every sensor and component. Lots of fun but not something for a person without a workshop.
Did you have the twin turbo model? Iāve known two people who had the non-twin turbo models and they LOVED them, but both of them required soooooo much work.
So small! So down-low-to-the-ground! So heavy! So sexy!
I only ask because I used to have a 2003 eclipse (bought used in 2010 or so and kept until 2016) and I loved it, because it got decent mileage and nobody ever asked for a ride (which is why I still have a coupe), but I also really never encountered anyone else with one, much less driving like an idiot (and it wasnāt me, Iām a really cautious driver).. so Iām kinda curious. Coupes in general have never been particularly popular around here.