posted
I'm in the process of replacing my 99 Corolla, which was totalled in that wreck I made a thread about a couple of weeks ago. I could get a 2002 Midsubishi Lancer for not much more than I got back from insurance on the Corolla. However, I can't find anything in Consumer Reports 2003 Cars issue (from April 2002) that mentions the Lancer. The Galant and the Eclipse are both listed (and don't look like the greatest cars), but there's nothing on the Lancer. I'll go look in the more exhaustive Consumer Reports used car books at Barnes and Noble when I get off work, but if anybody here has any first hand experience, or has access to a Consumer Reports evaluation of the car, I'd love to hear about it.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
The Mitsubishi Lancers are still pretty new on American shores, but they've been popular cars in the Far East for quite some time.
Think of them as similar to a Dodge Neon in general approach to small cars... sporty, agile, economical. The Lancer Evolution series have been street-racer dreams for years and generally are considered among the best handling production cars to be found in their price range.
Mitsubishi also has an excellent track record for maintenance and reliability for their cars and the Lancer should do quite well. Forget the commercials, you'll be getting a small but nimble vehicle that rides reasonably well and runs like a top, whether or not you can learn all the words to that Bare Naked Ladies song or not.
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
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Oh, is that a Lancer commercial? I generally remember commercials, but I often have no idea what they're for, beyond the general category of object.
What's the gas milage like on them?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Mitsubishi is desalinating the breeding grounds of the Blue whale, which environmentalists fear could result in the inability of infant whales to surface. Whatever.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Lancer's have been out here in Australia for around a decade now. They're a fairly reliable car - in fact, they're quite favoured by the mod-crowd as they can quite easily be hotted up.
I drive a Magna myself and the mileage isn't great, but it's ok - and the Lancer would be significantly better as it's a much smaller car.
A toyota of similar vintage would probably be slightly more reliable, but significantly more expensive.
Posts: 2245 | Registered: Nov 1998
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Beatnix, is that supposed to be a racial slur? Just kidding, I severely doubt it. Is half chicken.
Years ago I used to swing with environmentalists and boycotting Mitsubishi was a big deal with them because they have a salt plant over a mile long in the Gulf of Baja or something like that. Not only could the physical facility block migrations, but because it is a gulf shifting the salinity of the water is somewhat more likely than if it were the middle of the ocean. I'm pretty sure I got a mailing about it, rather than it just being hearsay.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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One of my good mates back in Perth drives a Lancer and swears by it - it's a nice little car, and reasonably sporty for the price, but they tend not to be as well finished as the toyota corolla, hense the the price difference. He's never had any reliability problems with it, though.
I'm not sure if he has any position on whales, either.
Posts: 466 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Pooka, it's a line from a song by Bare Naked Ladies that says, roughly from the top of my head:
"Chika-da-china, the Chinese chicken have a drumstick and your brain starts tickin'"
Think of it as Canada's answer to REM's "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine). Same quick-fire, almost catchy lyrical style.
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
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I checked out what Consumer Reports had to say about the Lancer, and found that they "didn't have enough data" to rate it in terms of reliability or anything of that sort. Here's what they did have to say:
The four-door Lancer replaced the Mirage in 2002. Among its peers it falls short in many ways. The cabin has uncomfortable seats, pronounced road noise, and unimpressive fit and finish. The ride is tolerable but unsettled. Handling is clumsy for a small car.
I feel a bit leery about the car, given that. I haven't yet test driven one, but will be over the weekend. I'm also going to be test driving a '99 Passat.
I wish that I could just find a car exactly like the one that got totalled. I liked that car.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I'm still trying to find out the milage on the Passat. The guy called me back last night when I was in the middle of other stuff, and I didn't even think to ask him that, the VIN, or anything else useful. It's $8,900, and is apparently absolutely loaded & in good condition, so I can only assume that it's got a lot of miles on it.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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What is a Lancer Evolution? Is that Mitsubishi's name for a deluxe version of the car or something?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Maybe you should hold out for a diesel. There is a way to make diesel out of used shortening. biodiesel site
VW and audi make diesels. So does Ford, but these tend to be of the large variety. Diesels have probably gone up in price due to demand because diesel is cheaper than gas right now. I'm guessing.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Just kidding, I severely doubt it. 
