Mitsubishi has made some highly questionable moves in the past couple of years. Clearly the people that run the carmaker had some kind of plan in mind, but we can't see how killing off so many strong nameplates like the Galant, Eclipse, Montero and Lancer Evo could have ever sounded like good idea. Mitsubishi has been struggling to sell cars, especially in the US. The Mirage is pretty woeful, and the company is barely kept afloat by the Outlander and Outlander Sport. It will be tough for Mitsubishi to get back in the game.

The company has just launched what it calls the "Drive For Growth" plan, which should increases sales and revenues by 30 percent in just three years. As part of this plan, Mitsubishi wants to have a profit margin of 6 percent or more, invest more than $5.3 billion in R&D, and launch six brand-new models including the recently announced Eclipse Cross SUV (which should go on sale next year in the US). Mitsubishi believes that it can capitalize on synergies within the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, which it became a part of in 2016. Sales targets in the US have been set at 130,000 units and 1.3 million globally. This is clearly an ambitious goal for the struggling automaker.

The plan could succeed as Mitsubishi plans to launch a total of eleven new models, six of which will be completely brand-new for the brand. The company expects its five best-selling global models to be SUV, 4WD, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), which will account for 70 percent of total sales volume. What we didn't see in that statement is any mention of bringing back enthusiast models like the Eclipse or Lancer Evo. We don't think that Mitsubishi will ever go back to building cool cars like it did in the 1980s and 1990s. If anything, we can only hope that the company gets back on track and doesn't continue to wallow in mediocrity.

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