Austarion

Im pissed off at it, alot of others are pissed off at it. This plant was on the brink for ages and it needed the 380 to be a winner.

flav wrote:Im pissed off at it, alot of others are pissed off at it. This plant was on the brink for ages and it needed the 380 to be a winner.

Yes its not good news. Im quite suprised though that the 380 hasnt taken off. Reviews have been good and its not a bad looking car.

Yes the factory has been on the brink for ages so it's no surprise really. It still sucks though.
The 380 is a nice car, but the problem is that it's not really any nicer than the Camry or other large cars in it's class. For it to be a winner, it would've had to have been significantly cheaper than the competition, or tons better. It isn't either of those things unfortunately.

such a damn shame..... i think they'll regret it!

Will be interesting to see if mitsubishi sends over a magna / 380 replacment car exported from japan and what it will be.

ohh well shit happens. i still would prefer if the chrysler corparation was still around , nothing like a good ol valiant.

it's cheaper to import than build here , plus the import cars are of a much better standard. if you get a chance compare the hsv model that gets shipped to the u.k , much better 300kw with t/turbo option , the body kit and interior is heaps better and the finish is magic .

made in oz will no longer be an option , ford are planning the same in about 3-4 years.

sorry too for the job losses , but they may retain an assesmbly plant for pre delivery .

as far as the 380 who knows , the car is too large for the asian or european market ,

dont forget mitsubishi is the worlds 3 largest company , they dont only make cars , so they will be qaround for some time

Yeah mitsubishi do some pretty good pens.

I was much more concerned with the job losses and the economic developments that are occuring at the moment.

Given Ford Aus's lack of an export platform the future prospects there are none too bright IMHO. I can't beleive that the bean counters at Ford have not planned for the new Orion (Falcon) to have the capacity for export. Given the prospects of high export potential for the VE Commodore (to the US & UAE) it seems logical that the Falcon could do the same.
Toyota also export successfully.
Australia's internal demand for new cars is fairly limited and an export capacity is surely required for a profitable manufacture plant.

The 380 could have been a saviour. From where I sit, other than the obvious nasty financial situation that was already in the shit before it came out, I see two big things that could've been fixed that have killed Mitsi in Adelaide:

-Given the whole worldwide financial downturn, they should've really created a small mid-size car that would've sold. Probably due to the existence of the Lancer, they created slightly bigger mid-size car (or small-large car) that really didn't compete against the typical Aussie stalwarts (Holden, Ford and even Toyota). Some say they couldn't have seen it coming, I say a little forward planning would've seen it. Hell, the Mazda 3 (I want) is doing great guns and isn't much smaller than the 380.

-Another new car design (similar to the 380 perhaps, I don't know) was designed and forwarded to the honchos in Japan. They didn't like the REAR wheel drive design and went for the 380. Numerous people left Mitsis when this happened (so I've heard) but it's been kept hush hush. Who knows whether it could've been a winner, but a new RWD would have made way more waves than the 380.

I actually wouldn't mind a 380, fwd and all...

You may well get your wish regarding Chrysler back at the old plant! Wait and see!

Wont get my wish....440 in the starion! :D

flav wrote:Wont get my wish....440 in the starion! :D

Better still a stroked 340 TA block with 6 pack induction! I have a plan - one day!

With the comments earlier about Ford, if they don't get their act together and start exporting, Ford's head honchos will shut them down in Australia.
Their Territory has propped them up here for a bit longer as Falcon sales haven't been that fantastic of late...but the writing is on the wall.
The problem with Ford being shut down is that effectively it will render the car industry here completely buggered. It will be a progressive thing though...
Holden and Ford together keep all the secondary industries running, who employ as many if not more than the car manufacturers themselves. Without Ford in the picture, the secondary industries will start to keel and eventually Holden won't be able to keep control of their costs as they'll be bringing a lot of stuff in to finish their cars here.
Which means that they'll end up going the way of Mitsu and Fraud as well...

And heavy manufacturing has been dead in this country for about 15+ years with the exception of the car industry, where are we headed as a nation? A country that imports much more than exports is a country slowly sinking into the shiet...

I'm not one to normally be spouting doomsayer messages but the indications are there...that's my 2c worth anyway.