Ad campaign will highlight beefier Eclipse

LOS ANGELES -- Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is using the term "soul tech" to describe the redesigned Eclipse, which goes on sale at the end of the month.

The Eclipse has edgy styling and high-tech features, such as a more powerful engine and a 650-watt stereo system.

Company marketers and dealers are banking on the 2006 Eclipse and its advertising campaign, which starts June 12, to revive interest in Mitsubishi. The brand's U.S. sales are down 40.2 percent for the first four months of the year.

"Our objective for design was youthful and exciting," says Dan Sims, general manager of the Mitsubishi Design Center in Cypress, Calif. "But we also wanted it to be sophisticated enough to appeal to upscale buyers."

Sims says the primary target customers are, in equal measure, singles and married couples aged 25 to 35. The secondary customers are baby boomers with older children and empty nesters looking for a personal car.

To reach these customers, the four-passenger coupe comes with more power, more interior room, more safety features and a powerful sound system. The new ad campaign will pitch those attributes.

"This vehicle is very important to us," says Al Gossett, owner of Gossett Mitsubishi in Memphis, Tenn. "It won't help us grow by leaps and bounds, but it gives us an opportunity to keep current Eclipse owners in the family and maybe bring back former owners."

The redesigned Eclipse comes in two models, the GS and the GT. The GS comes with a 2.4-liter, 162-hp four-cylinder engine with either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission. The current four-cylinder model makes 147 hp.

The GT has a 3.8-liter, 263-hp V-6 with either a six-speed manual or a five-speed automatic transmission. The current 3.0-liter V-6 makes 200 hp in the GT and 210 hp in the GTS.

The new Eclipse also has a longer wheelbase and is taller and wider than the current model. That helps account for an overall passenger volume of 81.6 cubic feet, an increase of 2.1 cubic feet.

Safety features include side-impact airbags and side curtain airbags.

The Rockford Fosgate audio system uses 650 watts and has nine speakers, a 10-inch subwoofer and a six-disc CD changer. It also plays MP3 files.

The Fosgate system is standard on the GT and optional on the GS. It is featured only on some Nissan models and the Ford GT in the United States.

"From a car guy's point of view, it is a very good car," says Gordon Wangers, CEO of Automotive Marketing Consultants Inc. in Marina del Rey, Calif. "It is not a sports car, but it is sporty. It should help get some traffic, create some buzz, some positive media."

The base price of the car will be less than $20,000, including shipping, compared with $20,274 for the current model.

Jeremy Anwyl, president of industry research firm Edmunds.com in Santa Monica, Calif., says the lower price will help the Eclipse.

"If they're serious about pricing it under $20,000, that will get people's attention," he says. Anwyl also believes the Eclipse has little competition.

"The Mustang appeals to different people," he says, "and the Nissan 350Z is much more expensive."

In 2004, Mitsubishi sold 12,012 Eclipses, down from 27,897 in 2003.

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