My candidate for the “new Edsel” is the Mitsubishi Outlander.
Yesterday, on a 20 mile drive to dinner, I saw one “newish” Outlander.
However, on that same drive, I saw 5 “newish” Porsche Macans and 1 “newish” Porsche Cayenne. While I realize that Mitsu’s sales figures are somewhat higher than Porsche’s, when you factor-in the reality that those Porsche models sell for far more than double the price of the Outlander, Mitsu’s sales figures are really anemic.
The stock market is ALWAYS forward looking and always has been. It is the nature of the exchange.
You buy a stock because you believe it will provides a good dividend or you expect an increase in price. Now, your forward look might be based on a balance of past performance and future growth potential or it might be based on the likelihood the stock becomes the darling of speculators. Or all of those and more.
In any event… bulls make money, bears make money but pigs get slaughtered.
A balanced portfolio has some bearish, some bullish and some piggy investments. How much of each is based on the level of risk you can tolerate.
I am truly surprised Mitsu is still in the US market!
Everybody has different tastes, from Ford the 57,58, 60, not so much the 59. Though first car I looked at to buy was a 59 Sunliner convertible, but my dad was anti power anything, the car had power steering. On the plus side, by 59 Ford got the bugs worked out of the Skyliners, I would consider one of those in spite of the 500 pound weight penalty and, with the top up, long rear deck throwing off the proportions.
Circa 1961, I went with my father to look at a '57 Ford Fairlane 500 4-door hardtop that was being sold by a private party. Loaded with every power accessory, and looking immaculate.
The asking price was high, but the car seemed like it was probably worth it. Somehow, my Dad had a premonition telling him not to buy it, so we passed it up. Fast forward several months, and we found out that the seller bought wrecks and “rebuilt” them, so my Dad’s premonition turned out to be correct.
Instead, we wound-up with a '59 Plymouth Belvedere 4-door sedan. It wasn’t as nice-looking as that '57 Fairlane 500, but it was a very reliable car.
Mitsubishi needs some new models, and fast! They also made a huge mistake dropping the “Mirage” economy car. With elevated fuel costs expected to persist for years, a subcompact with a fuel efficient engine makes sense.
Unfortunately, Mitsubishi lacks the funds to engineer and produce their own new design at this point. That’s why everything that they sell is either an old, outdated design of their own, or a Nissan model with different body panels and badges.
Mitsubishi is one third owned by Nissan, and it’s reasonable to expect that the two companies would share parts to keep their costs down. All of the Detroit 3 do that. The Dodge Hornet is a rebadged Alfa Romeo, for instance.
… and it was such a resounding success 
that it was discontinued. Production ended after the 2025 model year due to slow sales and import tariffs on its Italian-built platform.
As far as Fiat, IMHO, the Fiat 124 was better looking than its Mazda Sibling. But we all have different tastes.
Ironically, the fuel economy penalty brought the cancelation of many sedans.
Currently on hold at approximately 45 mpg, the standard was planned to reach 54.5 mpg via a 5% annual increase in standards.
The fuel economy penalty reduces profits; it is no longer economical to offer a vehicle that only gets 37 mpg.
The upcoming Chrysler arrow, the compact suv based on the Fiat Grizzly will be built at a psa/fiat assembly plant in Kenitra Morocco. I really know if the city because my dad went to high school on the military base there from 1962-1965 while his father helped develop water systems as foreign aid officer with USAID and it’s predecessor.
The company no longer needs/benefits from the sale of those. The 2026 Grand Cherokee is available with a four-cylinder engine, also a PHEV is offered. This elevates the C.A.F.E numbers more favorably than the modest sale volume of those Italian imports.
2026 cherokee takes over for f he hornet, hybrid only and north American assembly.
Grand cherokee has a 4cyl option on most trims but the 4xe version died after 2025 due to battery and general reliability issues. Pacifica and wrangler plug on hybrids canceled for the same reasons.
Cherokee seems to compete better against the Rav4 and crv hybrid.
I would argue that, with total sales of less than 40,000 units over the space of 3 model years, Stellantis never really benefitted from the sale of Hornet SUVs. Hornet sales peaked at ~20k units in 2024, but when 2025 produced a decrease of 54% in sales figures, Stellantis correctly read the tea leaves, and decided to pull the plug.
Fuel economy ratings for one model, even of limited sales volume can improve CAFE results. Fuel economy penalties are charged against the entire fleet, not just the vehicles that are below average. 210,000 Grand Cherokees and 81,000 Durangos were sold last year.
Toyota used this strategy for years. Hybrid SUVs (Highlander and RX400h) are not necessarily profitable, but they eliminate the fuel economy penalty caused by vehicles like 4Runner and FJ Cruiser.
Huh??? 37 MPG is extremely efficient. Economy cars rarely got such great fuel efficiency. Trucks and SUVs certainly don’t come close to that, even with all the tricks manufacturers use, such as direct-injection, turbocharging, stop/start, etc.
Just my humble opinion but it’s time for the EPA ro get out of the car business. The current management are fully capable of destroying the business themselves. Favorite quote after loosing billions: I have no regrets.
With my NX PHEV, I typically drive 900-1400 miles on 6-7 gallons of gas, depending on my ratio of EV mode vs HV mode. Right now, I have 945 miles on the trip odometer, and the gas gauge is at the 3/4 mark, so I should be able to drive at least 1200 miles before I buy my usual 6-7 gallons.
On long drives, when I’ve driven exclusively in HV mode, the worst mileage I ever got was 39 mpg, and 45-47 mpg is more typical on long drives.
