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Mitsubishi motors [dsm]plant being sold!

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Final chapters of an era.

No big loss for the present though. Mitsubishi America hasn't built anything worth driving in that plant since 1999.
 
Yeah man I live here in Bloomington normal and I can't say that I'm surprised. That place used to look like an ocean of cars and the past few years you could see less and less each year.

It is nuts to think the place where our cars were built is gonna be gone though.
 
Correction: no big loss to the Mitsubishi product line, which has been lacking in exciting products.

And you're talking worst case scenario. They're selling it, not closing it; there's still hope for a better future. The jobs aren't going to evaporate. They'll likely need the same manpower when it reopens.
Depending on how the new owners restructure the plant, they may need even more people.

When ConocoPhilips sold the local oil refinery to Suncor years ago, the whole town flipped; "they'll downsize", "they'll fire us and bring in their own people", "there goes our community", etc. It was a real scare.
The opposite happened. A decade later its still humming along with plenty of locals still on the payroll.

This is two different industries in different parts of the nation I know, but they're similar situations.
 
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Putting something up for sale doesn't mean you will be successful at selling it or that a buyer will need or want the existing workforce.

It's a shame that Mitsubishi lost it's way and you only have to look at one of their past junior trading partners (Hyundai/Kia) to see what could have been.
 
Correction: no big loss to the Mitsubishi product line, which has been lacking in exciting products.

And you're talking worst case scenario. They're selling it, not closing it; there's still hope for a better future. The jobs aren't going to evaporate. They'll likely need the same manpower when it reopens.
Depending on how the new owners restructure the plant, they may need even more people.

When ConocoPhilips sold the local oil refinery to Suncor years ago, the whole town flipped; "they'll downsize", "they'll fire us and bring in their own people", "there goes our community", etc. It was a real scare.
The opposite happened. A decade later its still humming along with plenty of locals still on the payroll.

This is two different industries in different parts of the nation I know, but they're similar situations.
That's not 100% true. Over the last 5 years a ton of people have been laid off. And I know a guy who works there currently and he said everyone that works there now has taken huge pay cuts and he also said how he is making now what he made 15 years ago. The place has been going downhill for a while now.
 
Wow really? Well if things have been going down hill under Mitsubishi America's management in Normal for that long, then them selling it IS for the best.

Whoever buys it will likely breathe new life into the plant and the community.
 
Putting something up for sale doesn't mean you will be successful at selling it or that a buyer will need or want the existing workforce.

It's a shame that Mitsubishi lost it's way and you only have to look at one of their past junior trading partners (Hyundai/Kia) to see what could have been.

You are right. Mitsubishi has been producing cars that aren't that exciting for a while now. The Evo X was such a huge let down, it no longer looked like a aggressive WRC monster but instead like a normal family car with a odd looking wing on the rear. Then when you compare the performance of the Evo X vs the Evo 8 or 9 it was even more disappointing and less exciting to drive. The only other car they have ever sold besides the Evo was the Eclipse which for me totally died in 1999. The 3rd Gen was ugly and the 4th looked like a failed attempt to modernize the 2g styling. You take away the turbo and the AWD and you are left with every other unexciting FWD V6 turd on the road. I honestly don't even really know the names of their other cars because they just weren't even worth learning for me.

After looking at their line up it's amazing they are even still in business. The Outlander is closely priced to cars in it's class that are for the most part a better buy overall. The Mirage is great if you are a 16 year old who wants a brand new car that they will sell in a couple years when they make more money, but other than that I wouldn't even consider buying one if they dropped the price down to 9 grand. I'd also never buy a base model Lancer. At the price point for the Lancer everything in it's class is so similar I'd go with the best looking car and the Lancer isn't anything to look at for sure.

I'm not sure they can really make a come back and develop a car I'd be interested in at all at this point. It's really sad to see them produce such unexciting garbage.
 
You are right. Mitsubishi has been producing cars that aren't that exciting for a while now. The Evo X was such a huge let down, it no longer looked like a aggressive WRC monster but instead like a normal family car with a odd looking wing on the rear. Then when you compare the performance of the Evo X vs the Evo 8 or 9 it was even more disappointing and less exciting to drive. The only other car they have ever sold besides the Evo was the Eclipse which for me totally died in 1999. The 3rd Gen was ugly and the 4th looked like a failed attempt to modernize the 2g styling. You take away the turbo and the AWD and you are left with every other unexciting FWD V6 turd on the road. I honestly don't even really know the names of their other cars because they just weren't even worth learning for me.

After looking at their line up it's amazing they are even still in business. The Outlander is closely priced to cars in it's class that are for the most part a better buy overall. The Mirage is great if you are a 16 year old who wants a brand new car that they will sell in a couple years when they make more money, but other than that I wouldn't even consider buying one if they dropped the price down to 9 grand. I'd also never buy a base model Lancer. At the price point for the Lancer everything in it's class is so similar I'd go with the best looking car and the Lancer isn't anything to look at for sure.

I'm not sure they can really make a come back and develop a car I'd be interested in at all at this point. It's really sad to see them produce such unexciting garbage.
How about the endeavors?? Would you drive one of those?? :barf:
 
Hopefully Elon Musk buys the plant. Tesla Model S is my next favorite car after the 2g DSMs.
 
+1 on Tesla

Mitsubishi would need a new car that was to their lineup now what the Starion was to their 80's lineup.

Some days I'm half tempted to test drive a new domestic that's cheap turbocharged and finally has IRS. Yeah that sucks, but I haven't done it!
 
I feel for the employees. The plant I work at is going downhill fast. I'm getting layed off, permanently more than likely on the 18th. Just 5 years ago we had over 400 production workers, now we are at 200, with about 90 more gone within the year/month. Gonna be rough going from $27.95/hr to unemployment that only lasts 6 months. Spent $700 alone at extreme psi on black Friday, go to work Monday only to find out I'm losing my job for sure. Titan tire, union plant(united steel workers), in bryan ohio. Need about 20/25 years seniority to stay, and they might not even be safe next year. Quick guys, buy tires from us, LOL.
 
Now that Tesla has been mentioned, it would be amazing to see a Tesla-fied (high performance fully electric) version of the 1G.

+1 I'm actually so enamored by electric vehicles that I could definitely see making my car electric once the price of batteries drops dramatically (and the size too).
 
Pretty interesting thread, talk about a bummer. I think we are bound to see Mitsubishi on the new top gear, as being one of the most disappointing deaths in the automotive industry. Its always heart breaking to see how bad things have been going for them. From our cars to all the evo lineup, and now there is nothing.

I read on a few blogs awhile ago that mitsu is almost entirely pulling out of the north American market, and will only be pushing their new "CUV" or whatever they are calling it now. I know they re released the mirage! Talk about a stick in the mud, couldn't have failed more on that.

Hopefully there's a silver lining on the cloud, and that a new CEO , or even if it was a takeover by another manufacturer can bring things back. Hey! Maybe Fiat will buy them up, and bring things back.
I love Mitsubishi, I even own a 2002 Montero cause I couldn't bring myself to buy a Toyota or a hyundai ( :toobad:)
 
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