In my youth I had a 2nd Gen Eclipse and I loved it! It got me more than a few dates. I always wanted more from Mitsubishi and planned to buy whatever their fastest car was as I got older and had money. Sadly the company fell apart (in my opinion), but watching this reminded me of what I loved about their products back in the day!
That Lancer!! Wow.
Their cars were pretty unreliable unlike most other Japanese brands and they likely got destroyed in the US from the 08 recession since their cars were marketed toward younger crowds (Lancer) when those people were getting laid off left and right. Most new car buyers are in their 50s.
My wife had a 99 Eclipse GS and the motor blew up at 120k miles. Unsurprisingly, this was the 420A engine built in partnership with Chrysler who also has a reputation for unreliabiliy. They used a similar engine in the PT Cruiser and Neon which are rare sights to see on the roads these days.
You can’t find any Eclipse Turbos anywhere anymore, they all burned themselves up. They were fun little cars though! Handled great, and had wonderful acceleration.