Mitsubishi Lancer 2006 News

The share market is shot, superannuation is in “negative growth” whatever that means, house prices are dropping alarmingly and interest rates look like falling. Where can you make an honest investment dollar these days? Well, art has some attraction but the numbers involved would make plenty of people tremble in their boots.What about collectable classic cars?We have all heard the stories about the six figure Falcon GTHOs and Monaros not forgetting the European thoroughbred classics, some of which go for multi-million dollar prices.But what if you're just an average punter and want to get in on the action.Take a look at Japanese collectable cars - is the advice coming from those in the know.This is because they have the potential for increased value from a relatively low base. And depending on the car (and luck) you could have a tidy little nest egg in the garage, one that you can take out and actually enjoy at your discretion.Christophe Boribon is the National Auction Manager for Shannons Auctions and he has some firm ideas on what cars are good buying with potential appreciation and those that are dead certainties.Chris' named the Toyota 2000GT as the most collectable classic Japanese car in Australia because of its rarity (only eight imported) and the specification of the car. He says a good one will go for between $2-300,000.Hardly accessible to the average punter.But other cars from most Japanese manufacturers operating here are shaping up well at the auctions and as long term prospects.Mazda's 1960s R100 coupe is worth a look at 10 grand according to Chris' as is the original, glass back RX7.“The RX3 is also good buying at $25-35,000 if you can get a good one and it should appreciate if looked after,” Chris' said.”Then there is the late '90s twin-turbo RX7 and RX7 SP - a locally fettled hotrod that will appreciate because it was a low volume performance car.”“You will pay big dollars for a Mazda Cosmo (up to 100 grand) but the first MX5 is a good proposition for not much money.” He said the SP versions of the later MX5 will be worth more in the long run and even the Japanese turbo model, the SE, should appreciate over time.Toyota has a few potentially collectable models including the late '60s Celica RA23 and TA23 models as well as the rear drive Sprinter 1.6. Celica GT4s should also be good buying if you can find one that hasn't been raced. Honda's most collectable car is the NSX but Chris' says the first S2000 sports cars are worth a look if you can get one that hasn't been thrashed. The tiny S600 and S800 sports cars are good property and even the quad headlight Integra TypeR could appreciate given time.Any Mitsubishi Lancer Evo in reasonable road condition will be worth a punt as a collectable particularly the Evo 6.5 Makinen edition. And if you can get hold of a twin turbo GTO 3000 (non-factory import) it should be a solid investment.Nissan has plenty of collectable cars dating right back to the 1960s. Think Datsun Fairlady sports cars, Datsun 240Z and 260Z coupes and of course the R32 Skyline GTR Godzilla Bathurst winning car - (Australian spec) of which only 100 were imported by the factory. You'll pay about $35,000 for Godzilla these days and it's on the way up for a decent standard one.Subaru has a couple of collectable cars too, the SVX coupe 3.3-litre flat six all-wheel-drive has possibilities and the 22B two door Impreza WRX STi for which you'll pay about $100,000 and going up.Good luck. 

Mitsubishi Motors Australia revealed its Subaru WRX-chasing Lancer Ralliart at the Melbourne Motor Show. The price will probably be about $40,000 when it goes on sale in August. The newest Lancer family member is designed as a stepping stone between the ES, VR, VRX and blistering Evolution X. Mitsubishi president Robert McEniry describes the Ralliart as a “tougher version of the street-model Lancer.” The Ralliart is powered by a slightly detuned version of the 2.0-litre Mivec intercooled and turbocharged engine available in the Evolution X. Despite its lower state of tune, the car still pumps out 177kW and 343Nm and misses little in the way of performance features. It comes with Mitsubishi's twin-clutch sportronic shift transmission (TC-SST) automated manual transmission and full-time AWD with an active centre differential. Visually, the Ralliart has a distinctive front bumper design, rear spoiler and dual exhausts. Apart from the Lancer Ralliart, Mitsubishi will roll out the Lancer Sportback hatch later in the year. The Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart has a distinctive front bumper.  

The important Mitsubishi project will make its debut at the Detroit Motor Show next month.The joint European-Japan four-door sedan has grown in every dimension with a 2635mm wheelbase, up from 2600mm, width now 1760mm up from 1695mm and length 4570m where the longest sedan model previously was the VR-X at 4535mm.Surprisingly, it is also higher at 1490mm, which is even taller than the ES wagon at 1465mm and VR-X wagon at 1450mm.CARSguide last month published a sketch of the car and the final production model remains faithful to the designers' intentions with a muscular appearance.While the company's three-diamond logo is the focal point of all Mitsubishi concept and production vehicles, the new Lancer features a larger, two-part, upside-down grille inspired by the air intake on a military jet fighter.The top section is ringed in chrome with Mitsubishi's logo in the centre. To the sides of the grille, the headlights are slightly inset.The Lancer sedan is based on the company's Project Global platform, a new flex-ible architecture that also forms the foundation of the second-generation Outlander, released here last month.While Australian pricing, trim levels and powertrain specifications are yet to be decided the car will be produced with four powertrain levels (entry, mid-range, upper-range and supercar) and five different engines, including the 104kW two-litre diesel.Ralliart and Evo high-performance Lancers with two-litre turbo engines will be released here in 2008.In Australia, Lancer is the only Mitsubishi vehicle increasing sales, up 7.3 per cent to the end of November from 12,651 in 2005 to 13,580.While Mitsubishi is losing share nationally, in Queensland the company has a 6.6 per cent market share behind Toyota (22.8%), Holden (14.2%), Ford (10.9%) and Mazda (7.2%), and represents up to 30 per cent of their national volume.In 2007, Mitsubishi will also release its first upgrade to the 380 large car in the middle of the year and a 4 x 2 Triton is slotted in for March.

The radical look of the Concept X is going to be carried right through the new compact car, which will be sold as a sedan, hatchback and wagon in Australia from the back end of next year.The Concept X was always expected to be morphed into the next-generation Evo X road rocket, but Mitsubishi Motors has decided to go all the way with a car which promises to be one of the most aggressive looking newcomers in the small-car class.It has also dropped a second hint with its Sportback concept, which was shown at Frankfurt last year and previews the look of the Lancer hatch.Test and development work is into the final stages in Japan but Mitsubishi is still keeping quiet on final details, although the local brand of the business cannot wait to get the all-new Lancers into showrooms."They cannot get here fast enough," the spokesman for Mitsubishi Motors Australia, Kevin Taylor, says."The mainstream cars come in the third quarter of next year."And the performance variants come sometime in the first six months of 2008."What is coming out is the sedan first-up, then the performance variants. And that is Evo and a Ralliart version, which will be more like a WRX. The hatch will be in the last part of 2008."The Lancer is now one of the oldest cars in the small-car class, although it is priced from the $19,990 benchmark. The CG Lancer hit the road in 2000 and the body got a mild makeover to the current CH model two years ago."We need the new car fairly badly. That small car category is a very quickly growing segment and the existing Lancer has been around for a while now," Taylor says. "We'll get a fresh look with new engines in a market sector that is burgeoning."He says Mitsubishi is on track with the Lancer program but it has been shuffled down the list to clear space for other important newcomers."It was a matter of doing what we could. There is a lot of work on the product front," he says. "From our point of view its a matter of where we start. The old Triton was much older than Lancer."Our core products are Triton, Pajero and Lancer. We'll get two of them this year, Triton and Pajero, and one from next year."It's been a big year, but none of them can come quickly enough."

Among these spearheaded by its award-winning 380 sedan is the all-new Triton ute cabriolet concept colt CZ3 Tarmac model, the latest Lancer Evo IX, a piping hot turbo five-door Colt Ralliart and another force-fed Colt coupe-cabriolet.Other Queensland debuts include the interesting "i" car, Mitsubishi's new small vehicle and the limited edition Pajero VR-X.After making its world debut at the Tokyo Motor Show late last year, the "i" car has been brought to Australia to gauge its potential as a future production model.Just released in Japan the mini car is said to be innovative, imaginative and intelligent – hence the name.It has a three-cylinder intercooled turbo-charged variable valve timing engine housed in the rear midship which is a first for a Mitsubishi.The engine is located forward of the rear wheels which has allowed for a foward cab design which offers decent interior space.Ride and handling is helped by the location of the wheels at each corner of the car.The "i" measures 3395mm in length, 1475mm wide and has a 2550mm wheelbase.