Although the Mitsubishi Eclipse is recently retired, there is a possibility of a rapid resurrection.

After almost a million sold over 20 years, the Mitsubishi Eclipse’s sales were on a steady decline after 2002′s peak. The car managed to outlast it’s competition, like the Acura RSX and Honda Prelude, that went out of production years earlier.

With that, and change in market trends veering away from the over-popularity of large SUV’s, Mitsubishi believes that if there is still a demand for the Eclipse the car could return.

- By: Alexandra Koken

Source: Automobile

Mitsubishi is auctioning off the final Eclipse to ever be produced at the annual St. Charles Auction, which will be held at Pheasant Run Resort from September 15-18. The last Eclipse was built by Mitsubishi Motors North America as a special edition Coupe SE with a 3.8-liter V6, which is also the only V6 to come with the SE package.

The automaker reached out to Facebook fans for input on the final model. It includes a coat of Kalapana Black paint, SE lower side graphics, Dark Agent wheels, HID headlights, sunroof, leather interior, and a ton of interior upgrades. A 650w Rockford Fosgate 9-speaker audio system with SiriusXM, a rear-view camera and Bluetooth interface are also included.

Bringing a 22 year run to an end, the Eclipse is going out with a cause, donating all proceeds of the no reserve auction to the Japan Red Cross earthquake relief. Production started in 1989, and for 20 years the model has been the top-selling Japanese sports car.

Greg Adams, Mitsubishi Motors North America VP of Marketing & Product Planning says “Our goal with this Mitsubishi Eclipse SE was to create a very special car that would best honor the closing of this vehicle families’ chapter, built at our Normal, Illinois facility. We believe this one-off 2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse SE will become a highly collectible automobile and we are excited to work with Mecum Auctions to offer it to collector at their high-energy events.”

The Mitsubishi Eclipse will be auctioned on Saturday, September 17 at 1:55 pm on live More”.

- By: Alexandra Koken

2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse SE

If anyone would talk Mitsubishi today, the first car that would come to mind is the Evo. But if this were about 15 years ago, a small sports car by the name of the Eclipse would also come into picture. But they went so lost and forgotten, one wouldn’t expect to see them at the 2011 New York Auto Show.

Yesterday, Mitsubishi announced that the Eclipse will cease production after the upcoming 2012 year—probably because they want to prepare for the end of the world. By celebrating, they unveiled a special edition coupe and convertible.

The 2012 Eclipse Coupe SE and Spyder SE are essentially Eclipse GS-Sports with special SE decaling, a revised exterior with special paint and 18-in. dark alloy wheels. Creature comforts include heated leather seats with a power driver, a rearview camera, Bluetooth connectivity, a Rockford Fosgate premium audio system, and a sunroof for the coupe model.

Powering the special edition models is the 2.4L SOHC MIVEC four-banger that’s good for 162hp and the 3.8L SOHC MIVEC V6 that’s good for 283hp. Unfortunately, both the four-banger and six get automatic transmissions: four cogs for the four and five for the six.

Sheesh, Mitsu wasn’t joking when they said they were abandoning their sports car efforts at the announcing of the death of the Evo – well, an almost death.

Check out the high-res image gallery and the press release after the jump.

2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse SE:

Press Release:

MITSUBISHI MOTORS CELEBRATES ECLIPSE MODEL LEGACY WITH THE 2012 SPECIAL EDITION COUPE AND SPYDER

From its early days as a sleekly-styled, turbocharged-4-cylinder boy racer model, right up through to its current design as a sophisticated yet distinctive-looking two-door with available V-6 power, the Mitsubishi Eclipse Coupe and Eclipse Spyder have long been tailor-made for the true driving enthusiast.

But after a long and successful run as the Japanese auto manufacturer’s signature luxury performance sports coupe in North America, the always fun-to-drive Mitsubishi Eclipse will cease production after the upcoming 2012 model year.

To mark the occasion, the outgoing 2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse Coupe and Eclipse Spyder will be available in a unique SE Special Edition that will feature eye-catching exterior features including special “SE” side decaling, black side mirrors and handsome 18-in. dark finish alloy wheels, along with the extensive list of high-end standard features that can be found on the Eclipse GS-Sport versions of both the hardtop and convertible models.

Included amenities on the amply-equipped Eclipse GS-Sport models are a 4-speed automatic transmission, leather seating with heated front seats and a power driver’s seat, rearview camera, Bluetooth® hands-free phone access, HID headlights with fog lamps, heated side mirrors and an exquisite sounding 9 speaker, 650-watt Rockford Fosgate® premium audio system with SIRIUS® satellite radio. The coupe version of the Eclipse GS-Sport includes a sunroof as well.

The most affordably-priced version of the Eclipse remains the GS Coupe model. No-cost features include a 6 speaker 140-watt AM/FM/CD player with MP3 playing capability and an auxiliary audio input jack, air conditioning, 6 airbags, dual exhaust, blacked-out roof, 18-in. alloy wheels and automatic shut off headlights. The Eclipse GS Coupe comes equipped with a smooth-shifting 5-speed manual while a 4-speed automatic transmission is available as an option.

Powering all of these aforementioned Eclipse Coupe and Spyder models is a very capable 162 horsepower, normally-aspirated 2.4-liter SOHC MIVEC 16-valve inline 4-cylinder engine.

The top-of-the-line Eclipse GT Coupe and Spyder editions feature a 265 horsepower, 3.8-liter SOHC MIVEC 24-valve V-6 that is mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission that makes use of Mitsubishi’s Sportronic® transmission technology, allowing the driver to manually select gearshifts when so desired. An automatic climate control system is also an included feature on all Eclipse GT models.

Standard safety equipment on all Eclipse models includes 4-wheel disc anti-lock brakes (ABS) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD); Active Stability Control (ASC) and Traction Control Logic (TCL); and advanced dual front air bag supplemental restraint system (SRS) and side air bags. Side curtain air bags are included on the Eclipse Coupe.

- By: Chris Chin

Mitsubishi Eclipse

Earlier this morning, we reported that Mitsubishi plans on bringing a mixture of eight electric-cars and hybrids to the United States by 2015. The move is being made to help jump-start its sluggish American car sales and meet environmental targets.

As a part of the plan, Mitsubishi will also drop three slow-selling models by 2013 including the Galant sedan, Eclipse sports coupe and the Endeavor SUV. Instead of those three models, Mitsubishi will offer some of the smaller hybrid and electric models.

Mitsubishi will start selling its first electric-car in the United States in Nov. 2011. Known as the Mitsubishi i, the model gets 70 miles on a single charge and will be priced under $30,000.

- By: Zain Haq

Source: NYT

2009 Mitsubishi Colt

Mitsubishi is planning a major overhaul to its product lineup and is working on a new small car that can be sold around the world, according to latest reports. It is also reported that the future of the Galant, Endeavor and Eclipse and Eclipse Spyder are uncertain in the United States market.

A yet-to-be-named global small car is expected to go on sale in the United States by the end of 2012 as a 2013 model year. The subcompact is expected to get power from a 1.0L or 1.3L 3-cylinder engine with prices starting under $12,000.

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV, a 5-door electric-vehicle is expected to go on sale in the United States in November or December 2011. That will be followed by a plug-in hybrid electric-vehicle based on the PX MiEV crossover concept shown at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show in 2013 as a 2014 model year.

During the same period, reports suggest that we’ll see a replacement for the Galant, Eclipse, Eclipse Spyder, and Endeavor. Either that or all of those model will be killed off.

- By: Kap Shah

Source: AutoWeek

Mitsubishi announced today that it will suspend production at its Illinois plant for seven weeks next year after its U.S. sales declined 25 percent through November. The Japanese automaker will halt production at its Normal, Illinois factory starting Feb. 16th to April 3rd.

The move will mark the longest production shutdown at the plant according to Dan Irvin, a spokesman for Mitsubishi North America who spoke with Automotive News.

The plant is responsible for building the Mitsubishi Eclipse and Galant and employs 1,568 employees including more than 1,200 hourly UAW represented workers. Mitsubishi will keep all employees on the payroll but will shift their duties to non-production work.