D0WNxSH1FT

THANK GOD! i knew they wouldnt go under, but the idea was horrible. Bring on the Evo's!

DEVILScarRED

Check this out!

Quote:

"As anticipated, Mitsubishi Motor Corporation (MMC) announced today its revitalization plan to infuse much needed capital into the company. This is obviously tremendous news for Mitsubishi Motors North America (MMNA), giving renewed support for rebuilding our sales efforts in the North American market. This capital infusion of $4.29 billion (450 billion yen) also demonstrates the Mitsubishi companies' belief and confidence in the future of the brand."

In his press statement in Tokyo today , Mr. Okazaki once again reiterated MMC's commitment to the North American market and underscored its importance to the company's global strategy. Despite the recent problems we have faced in the U.S. , North Amerca remains a top priority for us, " he said, "We are fully committed to getting our North American operations back on track to pave way for the future growth here.

pm me for more details of the article dated May 20, 2004.

Thanks!

Jing G.

tswift

iTrader: (26)

Just sitting in BN reading the latest issue of The Economist, (like to keep up with what is going on the world.) Ran across and article about Mitsubishi and it's financial woes. Seems last week they got a huge financial loan of 4billion dollars to stay afloat. The company is hemerging money, and Daimler-Chrysler, which owns 37% refused to keep passing more money along just to lose it. So, the Mitsubishi family of companies, which includes some of the largest banks in the world have stepped up to keep it's little brother afloat for a while. Someone is hoping this will help led to a Nissan like recovery when Renault took over a few years back.

A few years ago, Mitsubishi was selling cars like crazy in the U.S., now along with the rest of the world they have gone flat. They have also had a conspircy trial going on with it's truck line Mitsubishi-Fuso which has cost them millions in payments.

The end of the article asks, if this doesn't work, then what? Did you know that Nikon is part of the Mitsubishi Conglomerant?

Nice cars, lousy management. Terrible marketing except for the great music. Maybe the shoudl stop voiding warranties and start pushing to have these cars raced. Rather than sneak around trying to find "bad" things, maybe someone at Mistusbishi North America should get a clue and start asking US, the consumer who own Mitusbishi products what they would like to see or what they would like changed etc... We are a loyal bunch for the most part with a lot suggestions as well. IF they dropped the price of the EVO to around $24-25K they would probably sell them at a much faster clip. I know they are not Full production run cars, but if you made more at a more reachable price point, then you might sell them. On that note, why not allow Ralli-Art shops to be setup in the Mitsubishi dealerships, like Dodge is doing with the Mopar Parts.

They need to drop the Rally Team. I love racing, but that is throwing money away at this point. If they want to race target the grassroots level in the U.S. and abroad. Market to that group and you could end up with a Miata like class. Something like a Mitsubishi Sport Road Race/AutoX class. Give out some contingencey support or some Club events like the BMW and Porsche guys have. You have to build a buzz and spend money where it is best used. Bring out the new Eclipse, refine a few models and design some new cars. Do something, but not the same old same old. The EVO could become the Superbird of our time.

Makofoto

Subject: Mitsubishi rewrites survival plan

From Automotive News. And a few other stories that people have
posted info to the lists.
Matt Murray


Mitsubishi rewrites survival plan

Reuters / June 16, 2004

TOKYO -- Embattled Mitsubishi Motors Corp. rewrote a revival plan
to include more cost cuts after a string of recall scandals in
the past month alienated drivers and put a bigger-than-expected
dent in domestic sales.

The revision on Wednesday came barely a month after Mitsubishi
announced sweeping restructuring steps along with a $4 billion
emergency rescue package on May 21, and confirmed analysts' views
that its roadmap for survival was overly optimistic.

The cash-strapped automaker was already facing a shaky future
after 37 percent-owner DaimlerChrysler gave up on its
rehabilitation, leaving Mitsubishi at the mercy of the Mitsubishi
group and investment funds.

But prospects for a turnaround became bleaker as evidence of past
defect cover-ups surfaced both at Mitsubishi and truck affiliate
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp, dealing a blow to
already-weak domestic sales.

"Because of the recalls, it became necessary to take into account
further risks (of a fall in domestic sales)," CEO Yoichiro
Okazaki told a news conference. Sales of Mitsubishi cars
excluding minis plunged 56 percent in May from the year before.

Mitsubishi, Japan's only loss-making car manufacturer, stuck to
its official target of selling 300,000 cars in Japan this
business year but said sales could actually fall short by 80,000
units.

Mitsubishi said it would do more to slash costs, such as cut
employee salaries and forego retirement allowances for
executives, as well as execute deeper reductions in marketing,
development and other costs.

It will also bring forward plans to reduce fixed costs, including
job cuts. The timing for other plans such as plant closures is
still undecided, Mitsubishi said.

Through these steps, Japan's fourth-largest automaker aims to
slash another 34.4 billion yen ($314.4 million) in costs in the
business year to next March and 38.2 billion yen next year, for
total additional savings of 72.6 billion yen.

It had originally earmarked cost cuts of 55 billion yen this year
and 98 billion next year.

"We believe that through these cost cuts, we will be able to
sufficiently absorb the risks to domestic sales for 2004/05 and
2005/06, and secure our initial profit targets," Okazaki said.

On May 21, Mitsubishi forecast a net profit of 10 billion yen for
next year after a projected loss of 230 billion yen this year.

Mitsubishi estimated that if domestic sales totaled only 220,000
units in the year to next March, operating profit would be
reduced by 30 billion yen ($274 million). The sales volume would
represent a 39 percent fall from last year.

SEEING IS BELIEVING

Mitsubishi also kept its global sales target unchanged at 1.453
million units this year, saying damage from the recalls was not
as big outside Japan.

But analysts and investors remained unconvinced.

"The effect of MMC's recalls will begin to appear in overseas
sales from now, and concerns of that happening are biggest in the
North American market, where the company's sales have been weak,"
said Yasuhiro Matsumoto, a credit analyst with BNP Paribas.

As part of the revised steps, CEO Okazaki said Mitsubishi would
also step up efforts to restore customer trust by offering free
inspections to all of its 3.6 million Japanese customers, while
offering free round-the-clock roadside service to new buyers.

But investors said the efficacy of such schemes remains to be
seen, especially given the magnitude of the scandals and because
Mitsubishi had been caught only four years ago hiding safety
defects from authorities.

Several former Mitsubishi executives have been arrested in the
past few weeks over the cover-ups, which caused at least one
death, and DaimlerChrysler has said it may seek damages from
Mitsubishi for the fallout at Fuso, in which it now holds 65
percent.

"We have been avoiding MMC for some time and we won't consider
investing in it until we see a clear sign that its sales are
picking up or it is returning to the black," said a portfolio
manager at a major Japanese asset management firm.

"The revised revitalization plan alone does not help MMC win back
investors' trust," he said, declining to be identified.

Mitsubishi's shares ended up 1.61 percent at 189 yen, while the
Nikkei average gained 2.23 percent.

The stock price is about half the year-to-date high of 350 yen
marked on April 13, when reports swirled that DaimlerChrysler was
considering taking a majority stake in its ailing partner.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Mitsubishi lowers domestic sales target

Reuters / June 14, 2004

TOKYO -- Scandal-hit Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will lower its
domestic vehicle sales target for the year ending next March to
220,000 units from 300,000 projected in May, the business daily
Nihon Keizai Shimbun said on Sunday.

The move reflects a steep decline in domestic sales of Mitsubishi
cars due to a series of scandals involving Japan's fourth-largest
automaker, Nikkei said.

If Mitsubishi Motors, Japan's only loss-making carmaker, were to
sell only 220,000 units this fiscal year ending March 2005, a
decline of 40 percent from the level reached in the previous
fiscal year, sales would likely drop by 100 billion yen and
operating profit by up to 30 billion yen, Nikkei said.

With the expected sharp drop in earnings, Mitsubishi Motors would
move up its restructuring plans to cut 11,000 jobs by the end of
fiscal 2006 ending March 2007, Nikkei said.

Mitsubishi officials were not immediately available for comment.

Mitsubishi Motors has been dogged by bad publicity this year
after revelations that it had been hiding dangerous defects from
the authorities.

Katsuhiko Kawasoe, 63, a former head of Mitsubishi Motors Corp.,
was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of professional negligence
that led to the death of a truck driver two years ago.

Last month, several former Mitsubishi executives, including
one-time vice president Takashi Usami, were indicted in a
separate defect case in which a woman died when she was hit by a
wheel that came loose from a Mitsubishi Fuso truck in 2002.

Mitsubishi said last month that it would recall some 170,000
trucks and buses after finding that defects had been concealed
for the past eight years.

Mitsubishi 's new boss, Yoichiro Okazaki, has vowed to reform the
opaque corporate culture at his firm. But that pledge has fallen
on deaf ears as customers steered away from its cars, sending
domestic sales down 56 percent in May.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Mitsubishi ex-boss, others arrested over cover-up

Reuters / June 10, 2004

TOKYO -- Japanese police arrested a former head of Mitsubishi
Motors Corp. and five others Thursday on suspicion of
professional negligence that led to the death of a truck driver
two years ago.

Among the suspects, police said, was Katsuhiko Kawasoe, 67, who
headed Mitsubishi until late 2000 when he stepped down to take
responsibility for Mitsubishi's hiding of safety records and
vehicle defects from authorities.

If found guilty, the suspects face as many as five years in
prison or a maximum fine of $4,530.

"We take this matter very seriously and intend to fully cooperate
in investigations to shed light on circumstances surrounding the
accident," Mitsubishi said in a statement.

"We would like to take this opportunity to... offer our sincerest
apologies to the bereaved family."

Last month, several former Mitsubishi executives, including
one-time vice president Takashi Usami, were indicted for
violating road and trucking laws in a separate defect case in
which a woman died when she was hit by a wheel that came loose
from a Mitsubishi Fuso truck in 2002.

Usami was among the five others former executives arrested
Thursday.

The cases come despite Mitsubishi's efforts over the past four
years to clean up its act after it was revealed in 2000 that it
had been hiding safety records and repairing vehicles secretly
for two decades, in the industry's worst recall scandal ever.

Mitsubishi's new boss, Yoichiro Okazaki, has vowed to reform the
opaque corporate culture at Japan's fourth-largest carmaker. But
that pledge has fallen on deaf ears as customers steered away
from its cars, sending domestic sales down 56 percent in May.

AVOIDABLE

In the latest case, police believe the fatal accident in
Yamaguchi prefecture, at the southernmost tip of Japan's main
island, could have been avoided had the automaker issued an open
recall.

"In 1996, (Mitsubishi) set up an internal committee and found out
that there was a problem in the design and production of the
clutch housing," said Hiroyoshi Ichikawa, a spokesman at the
Kanagawa prefectural police.

The committee concluded that a recall was necessary, he said, but
Mitsubishi decided to conduct secret repairs instead.

In the accident, the driver lost control of the truck and crashed
into a wall when the propeller shafts came off due to the faulty
clutch housing.

The truck was made by what is now Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus
Corp., which Mitsubishi spun off in January 2003. The unlisted
truckmaker is now owned 65 percent by DaimlerChrysler and 20
percent by Mitsubishi.

Fuso issued a recall last month of about 170,000 heavy-duty
trucks that could have a similar defect, admitting that it had
broken the law by concealing the problem for eight years.

The scandals come at a bad time for Mitsubishi, Japan's only
loss-making carmaker, which is trying to rebuild itself for the
second time since 2000. It received an emergency rescue package
worth $4 billion last month.

Adding insult to injury, DaimlerChrysler, which owns 37 percent
of Mitsubishi, said this week it might demand compensation from
its partner for the fallout at Fuso.

The news of the arrest, which had been expected, came after the
stock market closed.

++++++++++++++++++++++

Mitsubishi recent scandals
Despite tire recall, Explorer sales hold

By Harry Stoffer
Automotive News / September 25, 2000

The company:

Faced allegations of sexual harassment in Normal, Ill.

Charged with making illegal payoffs to corporate racketeers

Admitted it hid customer complaints for more than 20 years

Nam937

wha things will come out good i hope