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| Mitsubishi Logo |
Mitsubishi is the 6
th
largest car manufacturer in Japan and the 16
th in the
world. It is part of the Mitsubishi group, the largest industrial
group in Japan.
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| 1917 Mitsubishi Model A |
The cars' origins date back to 1917,
with the debut of the Model A. It was a hand built sedan considered
expensive when compared to the mass produced competition. It was
discontinued in 1921 when only twenty two had been built.
Several companies merged with
Mitsubishi in the following years to make it the company it is today.
In 1937, they developed a sedan for military use and aircraft
throughout the war. Afterward, they returned to vehicles with buses,
cargo vehicles, and a scooter.
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| 1937 Mitsubishi PX33 |
Finally in the 1960s, Japan was ready
for family driving, with the economy rising and wages increasing.
Mitsubishi saw this and introduced the Mitsubishi 500 sedan, with
several new designs in the next few years.
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| Mitsubishi 500 |
In 1971, the company forged alliance
with Chrysler to sell in the United States under the Dodge name.
Sales increased throughout Europe and annual production continued to
increase throughout the next few years. By 1980, million cars were
produced and in 1989, 1.5 million. But Chrysler was running into
problems. Tensions had arose between the two companies as Chrysler
felt Mitsubishi was in Chrysler's market.
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| 1982 Mitsubishi Colt |
In 1982, Mitsubishi sold under their
name for the first time within the United States. Just over ten years
later, Chrysler got rid of its shares in Mitsubishi and they
currently only share by contract. In recent years, Mitsubishi has
also had alliances with Volvo, Hyundai, Citroen, and others.
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| Click to see our 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse! |
Sources: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi; Car Domain, http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2488388/1982-mitsubishi-colt/; The Cars One, http://thecarsone.blogspot.com/2013/04/mitsubishi-logo.html; Japanese Nostalgic Car, http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/2009/10/26/one-more-from-tokyo-1917-mitsubishi-model-a/
