Mitsubishi has gone through the motions of corporate automotive life. The lineup shows a couple of well-groomed sedans, a coupe, and an SUV here and there. Like a good citizen, they built an American factory. They've tried everything else, too: partnering up with Chrysler, doing the trendy TV commercials thing, and even offering the industry's best warranty.
What hath their efforts wrought? Lackluster sales, assertions that their cars will always play second fiddle to Honda and Toyota, and Chrysler's turning a blind eye in a time of crisis. Not to mention an almost monthly feature article from the latest publication to ask "so, you guys bankrupt yet?"
It shouldn't be a surprise, then, that Mitsubishi has decided to stand up and go postal on everyone.
That would explain this Lancer Evolution, more unanimously referred to as "Evo". It may have evolved from Mitsubishi's Lancer, but this is one car better judged on its looks than its name. Those who think of that 120-horsepower niceguy econobox will miss a few details, such as this car having been turbocharged to within an inch of its life, slamming that power through all four wheels and the fiercest tires that would fit, and wearing a sinister grille and sky-high spoiler to ensure that no one misses the message.
Think of it as Mitsubishi's collective rage bottled into one menacing mold of sheetmetal.
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