Mitsubishi Eclipse

The Mitsubishi Eclipse is a two-door, four seat sports coupe/convertible that has been in production since 1989 and sold as 1990–2006 models. The Eclipse is produced solely for the United States market, where it has also been built as the Eagle Talon and the Plymouth Laser through Mitsubishi Motors Corporation's close relationship with the Chrysler Corporation (now DaimlerChrysler) Their partnership is known as Diamond Star Motors, or DSM. Eclipses are popular among racers, ricers, and other automotive enthusiasts in part because of the car's low price and wealth of aftermarket parts.

Background

Mitsubishi's experience with sports cars starts in the early 1980s with the development and sale of the Mitsubishi Starion. Up until this point, Mitsubishi Motors had sold smaller keicars for the Japanese and American markets—although many were rebadged as American makes (such as the Dodge Colt). The Starion, similarly sold as the Chrysler Conquest, offered performance and features on-par with sports cars offered by Japanese makers with more experience in performance motoring. The Starion's main competitors were among the largest of the Japanese sports cars: the Toyota Supra Mk2 and the Nissan 300ZX.