saw they had a second recall on the eclipse. I was wondering if 3,760 is a good number as far as car sales go? It has only been about 3 months. 1k a month / 50 states and you get 20 cars a state a month x 3 = 60 eclipses a state? Make sense? Also anyone know the sales numbers on the 04' and 05' crossfires? I'm just curious.

2006 Eclipse Gets Second Recall Since Introduction
Date Posted 07-13-2005

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Mitsubishi has recalled the 2006 Eclipse for the second time since the model's May 19 introduction.

The company has already notified all 3,760 Eclipse owners.

The recall involves a potential brake failure that could be caused by the improper installation of a seal inside the master brake cylinder. This defect requires drivers to use more force when braking, increasing the braking distances of the vehicle.

Although a Mitsubishi spokesman noted to Automotive News that the Eclipse still meets federal braking regulations despite this problem, the company is bringing the vehicles back to dealerships to ensure there are no serious problems.

The previous recall, issued on May 24, was due to issues with the vacuum-brake booster. Mitsubishi claims the first recall has nothing in common with the current recall.

This recall covers all 2006 Eclipse models manufactured between March 30 and June 10.

What this means to you: Even though the 2006 Eclipse is a fine-looking vehicle, it seems the quality problems that nearly brought Mitsubishi to its knees have yet to be fully resolved.

 

last i read, the car has sold 45k so far...

 

The recall only covers vehicles made between March 30-June 10. That's 52.2 per day, which amounts to 19,061 per year. Of course, this is not accurate since sales tend to be higher at some points in the year, and lower in others. But, I would guess sales will be greater than that, as Mitsubishi just launched the car and is probably ramping up production slowly to keep quality under control. The rough estimate is on par with, or slightly more than, the annual sales of Crossfires in the USA. Most sports cars tend to be low volume products.

I actually considered one of the new Eclipses. That 3.8L V6 churns out an impressive 268 hp, and it is quite a lot quicker to 60 mph than our Crossfires. At less than 30K loaded, it has a lot of amenities. My base Crossfire, by comparison, is very base for the same price! And, I get two less seats!

There are things that kept me from buying an Eclipse, however. They include:
1) It's front wheel drive. Front drive cars cannot match the handling of a rwd vehicle. Put it this way, there is a very good reason why BMW builds only rwd cars!
2) It's heavy. Way heavy. Add 600 pounds to your Crossfire, and you'd be at Eclipse levels.
3) Mitsubishi has had some quality hiccups in the past. Big ones, involving defect cover-ups and other scandals that got a bunch of Japanese executives put in prison. The defects involved suspension component breakage on heavy trucks, that caused several deaths. The cover-ups lasted for twenty years. Would you trust a company that lied to you, on that magnitude? Well, the Japanese wouldn't. And that is precisely why Mitsu sales have tanked in Japan.
4) Take #3, and add in a boatload of loan defaults in the US, which were the result of extending easy credit to nearly everyone just before an economic downturn. That's a recipe for bankruptcy. And, Mitsubishi is way bankrupt. They have had a different CEO with every season, are being forced to close plants, and have been draining banks in Japan of $9 billion a year just to keep a float. Would you buy a car from a company, that might not exist in a couple of years? Me neither. In fact, I would bet that Mitsubishi will cease to be a car company by the end of the decade.
5) Even despite the above, for the money, why not buy a new Mustang with a V8? Or a Crossfire? Or an RX-8? Or a GTO? There are too many good choices out there. And, sad to say, but the day of fwd, 2+2 sport coupes came and went. The only other car on sale like this is the Hyundai Tiburon, now that the Celica is out of production. Truthfully, we've got better choices now. Real sports cars and muscle cars have come back, and they are here to stay.

 

My last car was a 92' Eclipse and it was a wonderful ride going 142,000 miles in 12 years without any problems (other than one recall to have the cam drive belt replaced) before it was fatally shortened by a woman turning left while talking on her cell phone.

I tried to buy a new Eclipse before I bought my Crossfire but the dealers wouldn't give me a firm price over the net, insisting that I had to come to them for a test drive. That's a shame since I wrote a check for the price of a new Eclipse as the down payment on my Crossfire.

I miss the old Rice Rocket (especially because of all the problems I've had with my Crossfire), it was fast, good looking, got 32 mpg and had lots of space for junk to accumulate in. Other major differences; the Eclipse had a heating, ventilating and air conditioning system that worked, the Crossfire is about 15 mph faster on curving freeway ramps and has door pockets.