Getting potential customers to test drive your car is half the battle in automotive advertising. But the odds of making even that happened looked pretty slim for Mitsubishi Motors as it launched its latest model, the Outlander Sport.

"Mitsubishi as a brand had fallen off the consideration set for all but 4 percent of all Americans, which is pretty bad," said William Gelner, executive creative director for 180 L.A., Mitsubishi's creative agency, "and our media spend was a fraction of all costs of what other auto manufacturers were spending."

So rather than try to lure the customers to the dealership, 180 decided to take the dealership to the customers. From November 1 through November 11th, Mitsubishi offered online test drives of the Outlander Sport.

Billed as the "Mitsubishi Live Drive," the program allowed consumers to operate a real-life Outlander from their home computers by using their keyboards. "This was not a simulation or a 'virtual' test drive," said Gelner. "You actually got to drive a real car" around a closed course.

The idea wasn't quite to replace a real-life test drive, but to convince people they should sign up for one. The agency was also hoping to make the link in consumers' minds between hi-tech innovation and the Outlander Sport, which comes with various iPhone and iPod integration features. Indeed, creating the Internet test drive required the work of renowned robotics engineer Dr. James Brighton and software engineer Simon Cave from B-Reel. B-Reel created the Live Drive site and handled all the production.

180 also created a series of Web videos to promote the test drives (and the car). The 60-second version of the video has so far attracted more than 27,000 views on YouTube.

More than 40,000 people ultimately registered for an online test drive, though only 5,000 actually got the chance to take one during the 11-day promotion. (Of those 5,000 people, 38 spent their entire test drive doing donuts, and 11 drove in reverse the whole time, said 180.) Although 35,000 registrants never got to take the actual test drive, Mitsubishi nonetheless captured their e-mail addresses and will be following up with CRM efforts.

Perhaps the most important metric though is that 25 percent of those who took a test drive clicked the "find a dealer" button to sign up for a real test drive, "which was the real goal," said Gelner.

Whether the campaign results in more Mitsubishi sales remains to be seen, but it did break one record so far: the longest distance ever driven by a remote-control car, 91 miles. The Guinness Book of World Record confirmed the record on November 19.

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Historically, Americans haven?t been all that fond of small cars. So how do you sell a small car in America? Make it bigger! At least that is what Mitsubishi will do for its U.S.-spec i-MiEV electric car.

Ok, that isn?t exactly a fair assertion of American cars. After all, the Corvette isn?t that big, and when the Mustang came out it was fairly compact too. So Americans do like compact cars?sometimes. In the case of the i-MiEV though, Mitsubishi thought it wise to give U.S. consumers a big more wiggle room. These are the first pictures of the U.S.-spec i-MiEV, which will debut at the L.A. Auto Show later this month.

Compared with the Japanese and European-spec cars, the U.S. i-MiEV is 11.2 inches longer, 4.3 inches wider, and just 0.2 inches taller. It will also come with more features standard like stability control and a tire pressure monitoring system. With a targeted price of below $30,000, the i-MiEV will have a range of somewhere between 80 and 100 miles, depending on the size of the battery pack.

The i-MiEV seems destined for fleet consumers at first when it goes on sale sometime in 2011 in the U.S. Did Mitsubishi really have to make the i-MiEV bigger though, or is this just their way of telling us we have to lose a few pounds?

Mitsubishi Motors? North American Version of i-MiEV to Make World Premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) will host the world premiere of the North American version of its i-MiEV new-generation electric vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show (LAAS) held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from Wednesday, November 17 to Sunday November 28 (open to the general public from Friday, November 19). In addition, the Outlander Sport compact CUV (RVR in Japan, ASX in Europe), which is to go on sale in the North American market from the end of this year as well as other core vehicles for the North American market are planned for display at the LAAS.

The North American version of the i-MiEV, in comparison to the Japanese- and European-spec i-MiEVs, features an enhanced, enlarged body structure to secure plenty of space for four adults and better meet the expectations of U.S. consumers. In addition, the North American-spec i-MiEV?s front and rear bumpers are all-new. Airbags that detect passengers and control deployment force, Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), and Active Stability Control (ASC) are all standard equipment.

Also, with the Outlander Sport?s mating of a 2.0-liter MIVEC*1 engine to an INVECS*2III-CVT Sportronic (six-speed sport-mode CVT) transmission (five-speed manual transmission also available on some trim levels), the Outlander Sport provides superior fuel efficiency and low emissions in a compact CUV package that can seat five.

*1 : Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing Electronic Control system
*2 : Intelligent and Innovative Vehicle Electronic Control System

North American Version i-MiEV Main Specifications (numbers in [ ] denote difference with Japanese model)

Length : 3,680mm [+285mm]
Width : 1,585mm [+110mm]
Height : 1,615mm [+5mm]
Tread (front/rear) : 1,420mm/1,380mm [+110mm/+110mm]

Source: Mitsubishi

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Latest News: Featured

Source: MitsubishiCars.com

Milestone: Three-Millionth Vehicle Off The Line

At 2:30 pm on October 29th, 2009, the three-millionth car assembled at Mitsubishi Motors North America rolled off the assembly line in Normal, Illinois. Greeted with cheers by a crowd of over 800 Mitsubishi employees, the Rally Red, 2010 Eclipse GT personified Mitsubishi's enduring commitment to its place in the American automotive market.

Addressing the crowd about the milestone, Mitsubishi Motors North America President and CEO, Shin Kurihara, offered his congratulations. "Today we celebrate what we have accomplished," said Kurihara, "It is our teamwork that has created our success." Also participating in the celebration were MMNA Manufacturing COO, Jerry Berwanger, who served as master of ceremonies, and UAW Local 2488 President, Ralph Timan, who expressed thanks and congratulations to MMNA and all the union members present.

Remembering his first trip to the future site of the plant in 1985, Kurihara said, "How could I have imagined that I would be here as President almost 25 years and three-million vehicles later?"

It is a milestone worth marking. Carving a niche as a champion of individualism over the past 25 years, Mitsubishi has consistently provided distinctive cars to American consumers looking to stand apart from the crowd. The three-millionth car is a symbol of Mitsubishi Motors North America's continuing legacy of producing unique and exceptional vehicles.

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For the second consecutive year, the Mitsubishi Lancer has won AutoPacific's prestigious Vehicle Satisfaction Award in the compact car segment.

Owners of the 2009 Lancer rated their cars higher overall than did owners of other worthy competitors like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.
The Mitsubishi Lancer is available in three levels of trim and driving dynamics- DE, ES and the sport-tuned GTS with a starting price of only $13,990