I saw this commercial last night for the 2004 Mitsubishi Galant. Normally I wouldn’t be posting anything about a Mitsubishi, except that the commercial had really great music. It was a commercial about all these people waving at the new Galant, only to find out that they were actually waving at a seriously cute little boy who was sitting in the back seat.
Funny how these commercials are remarkably similar to beer commercials which only serve to prove that beer does, in fact, make you behave quite stupidly. Meaning, it’s a negative implication against the product, and yet it’s so cute it somehow serves to advertise the product… Odd phenomena in the advertising world. But, in this case, it only goes to show that when you’re driving a Mitsubishi and you suddenly realize that people are turning their heads to stare at you, it isn’t your car they’re staring at. No, it’s something else. Actually, if you don’t have an adorable waving kid in the backseat, you might want to double check that your coat isn’t stuck in the door, flapping along the roadway for all the motoring world to see. Or, heck, go ahead and check that backseat – maybe they’re trying to tell us there’s an army of very personable toddlers invading the backseats of America’s automobiles.
Anyway, marketing methods aside, the song was pretty. Since I don’t listen to the radio at all, I’m usually not too quick to pick up on the latest music trends. So, I searched on Google hoping to find the song by commercial association. Usually that works, but not in this case. However, my search eventually brought me to Mitsubishi’s website where I was quickly distracted by a blinking little button that told me I could win $25,000 and a new Mitsubishi. All I had to do was fill out a form, and better yet, if I went to test drive a new Galant, I could get an American Express gift card worth $25 for free. So, being a sucker for free money, I signed up. I printed out a little certificate, and I went to Carmax today to fulfill my part of the bargain.
At 6:30pm, in the pitch black bitter cold, I drove a Mitsubishi. First time, actually, and I have to say, it was even worse than my expectations. I’m sorry, I never realized I was so spoiled. I didn’t really think there’d be *that* much of a difference between a BMW and a Mitsubishi. I mean, everyone’s always telling me that as far as Asian cars go, Mitsubishi’s in the top two, narrowly behind Nissan. (Not counting the luxury Asian cars, of course.) In all honesty, I didn’t think it would be that bad.
First off, I think the designers tried to hard to fool me into thinking the Galant is a safe car. Why does the curtain frame around the windshield have to be so freaking huge? It creates a gigantic blindspot that is seriously dangerous. I could barely see as I turned onto a big highway. Very scary. I kind of figured that for the price of the car – $20,000 – it would at least have side airbags. Nope, no side or curtain airbags. Too bad, really. It’s funny that the cars that really should have airbags due to their structural imperfections are usually the cars that don’t have airbags. BMW, they’re so structurally sound that they really probably don’t *need* all the airbags they have, and yet they keep adding more. Did you know that on the new 2004 models, they even have knee airbags? Not only will the cabin maintain its integrity, but it’s providing extra cushioning just in case. How very thoughtful of them.
But anyway, back to the Galant. Does anyone know when car manufacturers decided to make the gas pedal come down from the top, rather than grounding it on the floor of the car? That really bothers me – my foot kept slipping off. For goodness sake, I drive barefoot, I can’t imagine what would happen with shoes on. I don’t understand the reasoning behind it; it limits your control over acceleration, it’s easy to get your foot caught underneath it after releasing the brake pedal, and… it’s just so ickle. There’s no power there, I feel like if I press too hard I’ll snap the darn thing right off. Is there some benefit to this design that I’m missing? All I can say is I’m very, very glad Germans are keeping their gas pedals attached on the floor so I can rest my entire foot on that pedal. It’s so much more comfortable.
To sum up, I could feel every bump on the road in that stupid car, it was too easy to accidentally knock the gear shift around (if you can move it without pressing the button, what’s the point of having the button there at all?), it felt like there was no sound insulation at all, it wouldn’t take off, the brakes were horrid, I could wiggle the steering wheel like mad without the car even twitching, the stereo stunk big time, and for the first time in my life I actually felt too tall for a car. I literally couldn’t lean forward at all without hitting my head on the roof. Now, I’m no engineer, but wouldn’t that be an extra safety concern if I were to be in an accident? I’m only 5’6″ and a smidge, I’m not an amazon! I can’t imagine I’m *that* much taller than your typical Asian woman…
*sigh* I tried, I really did try. I was going to give them the benefit of the doubt, since they were giving me $25. Are Nissans truly any better? Should I try them, or am I just going to be disappointed again? Do they have that dorky little teardrop gas pedal? Do they use recycled steel? Do they take off at all? Do they give you that instant thrill that crawls up your spine and into your heart when you really pick up and go? Does the engine purr at you? Do you feel confident inside that if something horrible were to happen your car would care enough about you to keep you alive? I’m so glad I have my car, I really do love it for that reason. Case in point, I almost got smashed by two Honda drivers today in two different situations, and even though I was frightened, I had the confidence to be able to swerve out of the way just in time. I knew my car could handle the maneuver without straining, and should the worst happen, I knew I’d be okay.
Oh well. I suppose I can live with the disappointment since they’re going to give me $25. Also, there was some instant gratification involved: I ended up finding the song that started this whole thing when I saw that commercial last night. As part of the “thank you” for risking my life in a Mitsubishi, they gave me a CD full of songs from their commercials, the last of which was the one I heard last night. That was very nice of them, I thought. On the way home I put it in my CD player, cranked up my good ole’ German stereo system, and gratefully sank my foot against that gas pedal and took off when the light turned green. It was great.
And by the way, the song was ‘Do You Realize?’ by The Flaming Lips. Isn’t that a great name for a band? (Almost as good as my favorite, “Fragile Pies.” I swear, one day, I will have a band and that will be its name.) Anyway, I know absolutely nothing about The Flaming Lips, but the song’s pretty. Please don’t tell me they’re some icky “It” teeny-bopper band, it’ll spoil all my fun. 🙂
That’s not a song you’d have picked up on the radio anyway, unless you’ve got stations that are much cooler than the ones I get. The Flaming Lips have received a lot of good press for the album that song comes from, but critical praise doesn’t necessarily bring airplay. Anyway, the album has an even better name, “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”, and it’s very fun and every bit as weird as it sounds. You can put your fears to rest; the Flaming Lips are no teeny-bopper band.
I wouldn’t be too hard on the Mitsubishi. When you consider the top of the line Galant costs less than the cheapest possible BMW, and they don’t really have a luxury-sports line anyway, there’s nothing that would really attempt to compare with a BMW. If you compare the Galant with a Nissan Altima or a Honda Civic, you would probably be less disgusted with it. Not that I’d want to drive a Galant around either, but just to put things in perspective…
I’ve heard good things about the latest Nissans. The v6 Altima and the Maxima should have quite enough oomph for you, but they’re often criticized for poor interior quality. If you really want a Japanese car to compare to a BMW, you should try a Lexus, Infiniti, or Acura. Those are the luxury lines of Toyota, Nissan, and Honda, respectively. I’ve also heard that the Mazda 6 compares well with 3 series BMWs, but I’ve not had a chance to test-driive one. The Mazda RX8 made it through Top Gear’s test track in exactly the same time as the Nissan 350Z and the BMW M3, so you might want to check that one out too. It’s been winning lots of awards lately, and it’s supposed to be a very nice car to drive.
As nice as BMWs undoubtedly are, there is automotive life outside of Bimmers. 🙂 Try out some other manufacturers; either you’ll find something you like, or you’ll come to appreciate your BMWs even more.
Haven’t the new Altimas been recalled for major safety problems lately? I wouldn’t get an Altima unless you checked that out.
I drive a Toyota Matrix and I love it. (Of course, it’s the first new car I’ve owned. It’s also the first non-American car I’ve owned, so that probably makes a difference in my perception. I’ve never even driven a BMW.) There are a couple of thing I don’t like, such as loud road noise, but overall, it’s a great deal for a car under 20,000.
At any rate, you’re going to be hard pressed to find a car as nice as a BMW, even among the other luxury cars.
“I didn’t really think there’d be *that* much of a difference between a BMW and a Mitsubishi.”
Hmmm, your forgetting the several thousand dollar price difference too… 😉
True, no way that the Mitsubishi could live up to a BMW for that price. But I do think they are good long lasting cars. We have 3 cars in our family, all 3 of them are Mitsubishi. My 1994 Mirage for example does darn good for being a 10 year old car. (with 100,000 miles on it no less). They run good for a long time.
One of the other cars is a 2004 Galent, true, I dont like the interior, but its a nice smooth drive. And who buys at ticket price? When you dont have the money for a BMW, you go for the next best thing price and comfort wise. *nods*
As a satisfied Mitsubishi driver, I feel the need to counter the accusations leveled at my beloved car maker. It seems most of your concerns are based off saftey. Well from what I could find, BMW did not seem to be historically or currently any better in this category that Mitsu despite the $8,000 or so more that it costs.
http://www.safecarguide.com/mak/mitsubishi/idx.htm
http://www.safecarguide.com/mak/bmw/idx.htm
Levi – Thank you for putting my fears to rest about The Flaming Lips. 🙂 I think I’m going to have to go out and buy that album. Also, I think I’ll go straight to Lexus and Infiniti for a test drive, although don’t they still use recycled steel?
Mitsu Lover/Steve – I didn’t say *your* Mitsu was bad, I was just reviewing the Galant. I didn’t notice a jerky ride, any major blind-spots, etc in your car. Just the Galant. Although, I wouldn’t buy an Eclipse, but that’s just because of interior space; doesn’t fit my needs.
As far as those safety ratings, I’ve never seen anything like that and I’d like to compare them to other ratings. As far as the insurance testing goes, for the past five years BMW has pretty much been unchallenged. I’d know – my television producer is the same guy who has been recording those tests for Dateline for the past seven years. He showed me the raw data that he got from the latest rounds. They don’t even come close (especially now that they’ve added so many new airbags.)
Alisha – As far as price comparison, I was comparing the 2004 Galant with my 1996 BMW 318i. The Galant was priced at $20k, I paid $10,500 for my BMW. My bimmer was the BMW economy car that they eventually had to stop selling because Americans couldn’t understand “BMW” and “economy” in the same sentence, hehe. It has a significantly smaller engine and is also ten years older, has 70,000 miles on it, and it still gives a far better ride and more power than the brand new Galant. Even the interior was more comfortable. It would be entirely unfair to compare a new Galant with a new 3 or 5 – different classes of automaking.
Anyway. 🙂 Didn’t think I’d get so many passionate responses from a post about cars. Should I dare talk about how I’m going to take an auto mechanics class this summer?
Unless I’m mistaken the Flaming Lips are a band that Steve from Blues Clues is working with to make a new album. If you look Steve Burns up on google you should find info on the Flaming Lips on his website, which by the way, is a very interesting website and worth a look-see.
I only know this because of my son Jason, an avid Blues Clues fan.
🙂 I told my friend Tyler that I had a friend who will only drive BMW’s and he just about threw a fit. He’s an avid Volkswagen guy, drives a 2003 Jetta which supposedly has the highest safety rating of any car out right now, or at least in 2003. Yeah, he wanted to give me a bunch of pamphlets and websites to send to you, but I made fun of him for being so passionate about cars and he shut up about it. Anyway, I’ve ridden in it a few times, and it’s not a bad car, but you definitely won’t find BMW service at a Volkswagen dealer (something he has complained to me about a few times).
Hey, cars and music are two things I’m passionate about, so you can expect to hear from me when you write about them. 😉 And I’m all for your auto mechanics class. I haven’t taken one myself, but I’ve learned a bit about it from books, online forums, and most of all, taking a wrench to my poor Miata. It’s very rewarding to be able to identify problems and fix them yourself, though I tend to take a LOT longer than a trained mechanic would.
Erick – I used to quite like VWs, until I drove both a Jetta and a Passat. I was not impressed at all. And don’t worry, this was long before I had gone head over heels for BMW, so I was slightly less biased then. 🙂 The Jettas did get pretty good government safety ratings as far as I heard. They’re definitely better safety-wise than most comparable Asian cars (that recycled steel, I’m tellin’ ya.) I wouldn’t say they’re the end-all-be-all, though. But still good. 🙂
Besides, I don’t necessarily think I’m really a BMW freak. Yeah, I like them, and I don’t plan on buying anything else for a while. But, they aren’t my *absolute* favorite cars. The problem is, my true dream cars are always upwards of $100k. For example, that lovely bright red 2002 Ferrari 360 Spider that’s about five minutes away from my house, sitting in that beautiful glass Ferrari dealership. Mmmmmmm… Or a new Aston Martin. Any Aston Martin, I’d take any of the new ones. Or, if you want to go vintage, that cute little Bugatti Type 55. If we’re going to get really crazy, though, how about a McLaren F1?
See? I’m not dedicated solely to BMWs. 🙂 I just think they’re the closest thing to that Maserati I drove, at a fraction of the price. Oh, and I quite like the sound BMW doors make. THUD! Hehe… gotta love that.
Levi – Cars and music; you and I would never quit talking. 🙂
The Flaming Lips, eh? Anyone else remember ‘She don’t use jelly’, their earlier hit back in the day. I have CD, if you’re curious, H. I honestly haven’t listened to it much, but the jelly song is funny.
Ya had to talk about cars huh?
In the latest Consumer Reports automotive guide, the Jetta receives terrible marks for its electronic system. By terrible I mean the circle that’s completely black.
My dad has a brand new Altima, and its a pretty nice car. Some funky things have gone wrong with it though — it sometimes doesn’t start, the computer on it malfunctions and had to be replaced, etc. I’m pretty disappointed with it overall. I’ve had my car for about a year and a half, and nothing’s wrong with it.
I rock a 2001 Civic coupe. I bought it a year and a half ago with 14,000 miles on it, and it now has close to 60,000. Nothing has gone wrong with it in the time I’ve had it, in fact, the dealership replaced the entire computer *for free* just because they wanted to upgrade it to the newest model. I haven’t bought new brakes, because they’re definitely not needed (manual tranny).
I wouldn’t feel comfortable putting 35k+ miles on just any car in one year, but the Civic? I wouldn’t have it any other way. The car feels just as solid as the day I bought it, and there is no doubt in my mind that it won’t feel just as solid three years from now when it has 150k miles on it.
I can be passionate about cars myself, but I don’t want to take the time out to talk about everything here. However, I will say the best testdrive I’ve ever has was a BMW, though I settled on a Maxima SE at the time. It had plenty of oomph, though not as nice a ride as the BMW.
In general, I like some Japanese cars. I’ve never been impressed with Mitsus, but I like Hondas, and Nissans have great engines. Since they aren’t luxury cars, I don’t expect the same features (though Heather, it sounds like you got a great bargain).
For sweet cars, I’d love a Z4, or go luxo with the new Dodge that’s coming out. Supposedly it has over 800 HP and around 825 ft-lp of torque. It’s supposed to be the fastest production car around, with a 0-100 of like 6.4s. I sorta have a picture of it, but it’s a bit messed up.
Tim – They’ve had other CDs? I really don’t know anything about The Flaming Lips. I tried to go to their website last night but the stupid dial-up was so slow I couldn’t get to anything and I finally gave up. I’d love to hear it. I’m thinking of adding it onto my birthday wishlist, since I can’t think of anything else I want.
Mike – Hehe… Hondas? Solid? Thanks, Mike, I needed a good giggle. 😉
Cameron – I tend to play mind games with car dealers. My rule is I have to get a few thousand off the sticker price before I’ll even consider buying it. Typically it works, although they don’t play as nicely when trying to buy a brand new car.
Have you driven a Z4? Whenever I have a bad day that car never fails to make me smile. Actually, I think I scared the crap out of Mike when we went to the dealer while he was here. I (purposefully, I assure you) slid across about three lanes, then took a really sharp corner. Tee hee. That was great – I never once felt that I lost control of the car. The only problem was I couldn’t really get that car going too smoothly because it had been sitting in the cold for a while and we were the first people to really take it out for a test drive. It was a little stiff, but could still easily get up to about 80mph in nothing flat. Mmmm. I wish it weren’t snowing today, I’d go drive one right now… See, I think I should get a prescription for that car; it’s therapeutic.
Bah!
Heather, I haven’t driven a Z4 — I’ve just seen them, and judging by the specs, I believe they would be quite enjoyable to drive. An M5 would be a nice addition as well.
Sadly, I haven’t driven many real sports cars. I’ve taken a couple others to around 130 mph, but that’s as close as I’ve come.
I also enjoy driving barefoot! 🙂
Yeah, the Flaming Lips have been around since 1983 and put out a lot of fantastic albums. “Do You Realize” is from their latest, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. I also recommend The Soft Bulletin, it’s a fantastic album as well.
Their website is http://www.flaminglips.com 🙂
When I had the choice of buying my new car, it was between a BMW 3 series and a Lexus IS200. I went out for a test drive in both and both are lovely smooth running luxury cars..all what you would expect. But for me it came down to two things 1. Looks, the IS200 is really aggressive looking and I think much beter looking than the BMW. 2. There are FAR to many people that drive BMW’s, I want to stand out and the Lexus does this very well. REALLY pleased with it, all the extras you have to pay for with BMW come as standard, and I do mean all! Great service from the Lexus dealerships, and most of all as my Wife and Daughter spend alot of time in the car…top of the group for saftey!
Go and buy one, you will love it im sure!!
Alan, London England.