Mitsubishi Cedia launched. VTec beater??

[GTO]

In a competitive market where Honda and Toyota are the most reverred brands, a new product needs to have a significantly strong characteristic to compete. For e.g., The Octavia did it with a phenomenal diesel engine.

If anything, HM has diluted the Lancer brand over the years with consistent deterioration of build quality and their "Ambassador" way of flogging a dead horse. I wont be surprised if the current Lancer is still around in 2050 serving government babus.

As such, I dont see any future for the Cedia. Or the new 1.6 Lancer.

GTO

[Harrie]

Saw two lancer cedias while waiting for the bus in the morning. (My bus stop seems to be a hot spot - saw the porche carrera here twice )

One was the regular version, it was cherry red and looked ok from the front. But the rear end was a huge let down. It looked sort of drooping...

The other was a sports version (sfxi or slxi) i guess. It was lemon yello, was running alloys and was looking a bit better than the cherry red one.

Frankly, I am not sure if the cedia can pose a threat to the civic. I sure miss the tail of the OHC and the old lancer. Why do the car makers insist on making the tail ends of the car so bland and sore???

[islero]

hmmm. I think cedia looks good.

If priced within 10, it should do reasonably well.

[sridhar24]

If this car is competing with Corolla and Civic, i don't think it will sell in many numbers because in that price category people look at the brand and in India its not possible for Mitsu to compete with Toyota and Honda, even though the car may be better.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Forget beating the Honda City VTec. As far as performance is concerned, the Toyota Corolla is the new yardstick to guage other cars by. Will Mitsubishi get there? I doubt it.

i thought it was skoda octavia 1.8tpi or RS.

[Mpower]

If they offer a Cedia diesel, then they might have a winner on their hands. Coz both Corolla and Civic clearly no plans for a diesel. Otherwise, it will go the way of the Elantra.

[Aditya]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

i thought it was skoda octavia 1.8tpi or RS.

Those are almost in the 15lakh price bracket. I'm talking 10 lakhs.

[.anshuman]

i feel that cedia is not the right product to be sold in today's time,while i agree that if cedia was sold 3-4 years back it would have given the OHC run for its money,but today when more modern and better competition exists i dont think cedia will sell well.the only exception is pricing,which can be favorable for HM-mitsubishi.

[Beemer]

There was a time when the Lancer was rated as the best car (under 10 lacs) by most of the auto magazines and was rated no.1 and won the JD power and customer satisfaction award for 2-3 years in succession ..

I got the lancer in feb 2000(black) and its been nearly 6 years ,let me tell you it still is a pleasure to drive(except for that mediocre engine) ..overall, i 've always rated Lancer way better than the OHC ...

But with the cedia coming up ,mitsubishi has to understand, in the last 3-4 years ,with the launch of Octavias ,Optras ,Corrolas ,the competition is too strong for them and the level has gone tooooo far ... i mean the car which was rated the best 4 years ago ,is now nowhere near the competition ... launching cedia at this point of time is not a great idea ..

To make cedia a success ,HM has to do something very special,which is unheard of (something like Skoda did when they launched the octavia petrol and diesel at the same price) and the worst thing ,the cedia to me looks yukkkkkkk ,even worse than the NHC ..
I think, they need a miracle to taste the success ...

[devarshi84]

A clarification once again. ITs not the old lancer cedia that is to be sold. Its the lancer currently sold in North America. ceck for yourself. Its new(not 2006 but 2005) competitive to corolla,elantra,octavia and optra and equally good.

to see the difference check out the links below.

american lancer
http://www.mitsucars.com/lancer/index.html
canadian lancer
http://www.mitsubishicars.ca/MMSA/jsp/lancer/index.jsp

Indian cedia
http://www.autocarindia.com/new/Information.asp?id=1349


original cedia
http://www.cars-directory.net/galler...b832376_p.html

Originally Posted by Beemer

There was a time when the Lancer was rated as the best car (under 10 lacs) by most of the auto magazines and was rated no.1 and won the JD power and customer satisfaction award for 2-3 years in succession ..

I got the lancer in feb 2000(black) and its been nearly 6 years ,let me tell you it still is a pleasure to drive(except for that mediocre engine) ..overall, i 've always rated Lancer way better than the OHC ...

But with the cedia coming up ,mitsubishi has to understand, in the last 3-4 years ,with the launch of Octavias ,Optras ,Corrolas ,the competition is too strong for them and the level has gone tooooo far ... i mean the car which was rated the best 4 years ago ,is now nowhere near the competition ... launching cedia at this point of time is not a great idea ..

To make cedia a success ,HM has to do something very special,which is unheard of (something like Skoda did when they launched the octavia petrol and diesel at the same price) and the worst thing ,the cedia to me looks yukkkkkkk ,even worse than the NHC ..
I think, they need a miracle to taste the success ...

lancer has won an award even in 2005. see this link below.

http://autocarindia.com/new/Information.asp?id=1284

Not surprisingly I have also rated the lancer more than OHC(THough I wouldnt say the same about the engine )But I dont find the engine mediocre. Its competitive to the baleno (obviously baleno is faster)If you find this engine mediocre then you should never even touch the NHC et al.

and why do you think its outdated compared to competition? its way better looking than corolla and elantra but less than optra and octavia. Its as powerful as a corolla and will be giving similar FE figures. It also has equivalent features compared to competition.WIth similar pricing give me a reason why it wont sell.

Originally Posted by .anshuman

i feel that cedia is not the right product to be sold in today's time,while i agree that if cedia was sold 3-4 years back it would have given the OHC run for its money,but today when more modern and better competition exists i dont think cedia will sell well.the only exception is pricing,which can be favorable for HM-mitsubishi.

My friend its not exactly the cedia you are looking at. Its the current lancer sold here in North America. Look at the links above and you will know.

Originally Posted by .anshuman

i thought it was skoda octavia 1.8tpi or RS.

125hp japaneses engine from mitsubishi, lightweight and good gearing looks to be promising but cant say anything until some1 has driven it.

Originally Posted by sridhar24

If this car is competing with Corolla and Civic, i don't think it will sell in many numbers because in that price category people look at the brand and in India its not possible for Mitsu to compete with Toyota and Honda, even though the car may be better.

Dont forget that even mitsubishi is Japanese. And also remember that lancer has sold more than the OHC. It was a way better product overall. and mitsubishi has a a brand image of a luxurious car maker.

additionally cedia has been rated good by all the journos. Mitsubishi has actually went ahead and improved the car with the inputs.

Originally Posted by GTO

In a competitive market where Honda and Toyota are the most reverred brands, a new product needs to have a significantly strong characteristic to compete. For e.g., The Octavia did it with a phenomenal diesel engine.

If anything, HM has diluted the Lancer brand over the years with consistent deterioration of build quality and their "Ambassador" way of flogging a dead horse. I wont be surprised if the current Lancer is still around in 2050 serving government babus.

As such, I dont see any future for the Cedia. Or the new 1.6 Lancer.

GTO

agree on the point of HM diluting lancers brand image. They have killed a product that is as good as a baleno or NHC.

But I guess whats good about the company is its ready to strike back. 6 new models in 6 months is the last thing expected from any manufacturer. I guess it will do well. and the 1.6 with similarly powerful engine as the vtec with new interiors and exteriors will certainly prove to be competition if brought on time.

Originally Posted by Ajay

A Diesel- Do you have any information on the specs Devarishi?
The recent upgade on the Corolla includes the ABS.

Not much information at present.

[jkdas]

Commenst abt lancers on teh link

1, WOW

2.Wow

3. ***

4. damn! our sonata!

[raajks]

Thats Dev...The Lancer boy....I am with you with it..I love LANCER

[Minardi]

You can't beat McDonalds by making a better burger. Mitsubishi, like Fiat, makes great cars, but can't sell them. OTOH, the americans (esp. Ford) are great marketeers.

I expect the battle to be fought between Honda and Toyata.

M

[veyron1]

lancer this, cedia that; show us some mivecs, HM...THEN, we'll talk about beating honda or toyota. as things stand, no matter how good the products actually are, they will not appeal to the masses unless and until mitsubishi establishes itself as a key player. now, the lancer WAS a good car, but it pales in comparison to the current crop of competitors....

when mitsubishi takes the indian market seriously, honda and toyota might not have much to worry about, but GM and ford will. but until then.....

as for the cedia, there's no doubt that the car WILL sell, but not in the expected volumes (read:corolla category).

so, since HM-mitsubishi cannot rake in volumes, they might as well take a chance and launch the evo as a CKD.....

[.anshuman]

do you have any idea about the pricing of the car?