LOS ANGELES -- Mitsubishi, in an urgent need to revive sales and its brand image in this country, is putting its redesigned 2006 Eclipse coupe on sale 10 days earlier than planned.

The car went on sale Thursday at a base price of $19,994 including the shipping charge. The 2005 model was priced at $20,274 including shipping.

The ad campaign begins this weekend.

The company originally planned to put some of the vehicles into dealerships for display and promotional purposes on Memorial Day. The official sales date and ad launch was set for June 12.

But Mitsubishi is counting on the Eclipse to bring some spark back to the brand. Sales plunged 40.2 percent in the first four months of the year compared with 2004. Each nameplate was down by double digits, including the Eclipse coupe, down 22.0 percent.

"Feedback and reactions from dealers and consumers has been overwhelmingly positive," said Dave Schembri, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. "Since our product ramp up had been virtually flawless, we saw no reason to hold back on deliveries of this fabulous new car to showrooms."

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 four-cylinder engine in the current Eclipse 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 Rockford Fosgate audio system uses 650 watts and has nine speakers.

The primary target customers are 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.

The car is built at the Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Ill. It has capacity for 42,000 coupes annually.

Mitsubishi has halted sales of the '06 Eclipse after the company received reports of flawed brake systems from its Normal, Ill., plant. Automotive News reports that Mitsubishi reported the problem to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday, noting that up to 1185 vehicle could be involved in the brake issue. The industry weekly says 44 of the vehicles have been sold to buyers, with 400 at dealers and the rest in transit. In the vehicles, a problem with the vacuum brake booster could cause brake failure. Mitsu has not stopped building new Eclipses in Normal, and says the problem could be corrected in production by the end of the week.

Reinventing Eclipse

Dan Sims had a hand in every aspect of the new Eclipse.
By: Norm Mort

At the launch last month in California of the all-new 2006 Eclipse sports coupe I had the opportunity to speak with Dan Sims, general manager, MDA Design Centre regarding the penning of the newest generation of Eclipse.

Q : What images were in your head before you began the design?

A: We created an image board. We wanted to include a bit of evo as part of the brand image, but we were also looking for influences from other cultural sources such as Gandam -- mechanized robots, animation, images of furniture, and an organic influence. Some shapes have an over-designed look. We looked at gardens that had defined and sculptured lines with an organic element for the human aspect. Our designers were asked to create abstract pictograms, draw hot rods and tattoos.

We wanted a structure underneath that looked like it was shrink-wrapped.

Q: Would you describe the new Eclipse as evolutionary, or revolutionary?

A: We wanted the Eclipse to re-invent itself, look more futuristic, like it was pushing forward and cutting edge to create some discomfort when you first see it. At the same time, if we covered-up the three diamonds, we think people would still think Mitsubishi.

Q: What do you feel are the key styling nuances that strongly contribute to the overall design?

A: On the exterior it is the teardrop motif. The Eclipse has the same front and rear track, yet the body is tapered and thus the rear appears to be wider. The Eclipse is FWD and we didn't want to lie about that. The front needs a dense feel, but with no unnecessary air restrictions. The lights were designed to look like optical equipment with plating in the rear and the bulb gives off a blue hue, rather than an amber effect. The hood is a bowed mass like something powerful was trying to get out.

We started with one model and then developed a second. The second model was sporty and radical, but not as youthful -- more adult. It was a tight race, but the first model was reworked and selected even though it had more engineering challenges. The Eclipse is a cab-forward design, yet we were very careful we didn't push the windshield out like bubble gum. We wanted a sinuous and sexy look devoid of fake air scoops.

For the interior, the Generation 1 Eclipse was the inspiration. We wanted that pod-like effect, but with a very different execution for this Generation 4.

The interior consists of a hard plastic that is furniture grade and not like fake leather. The floating pods in the doors are of a softer plastic and designed to provide a soft leather look.

Q: Talking about the interior, I really liked the dual cowl design.

A: The polypropylene dash has a nice symmetrical shape with a slit in the middle that appears to be peeled-up. The knee area blends into the both the console and doors.

Q: There are a few things not found on the new Eclipse such as rear headrests, no nav system and no AWD version. Why is that?

A: Apart from making it easier to fold the rear seat and better rearward vision, it was a packaging issue. The Eclipse is really a 2+2. When we set out to design the Eclipse we didn't want a Solara Coupe. The Eclipse functions as a two-seater. You can sit somebody in the rear seat -- for 10 minutes.

There is no Nav system due to the price point. This segment is price sensitive and a Nav wasn't seen as being needed. In this market it's the sport packages that are the issue.

There is no AWD version planned at this time. We offered AWD on the second generation, but found only 5% of the buyers wanted it.

We will show a convertible at Detroit that is sensational.

Q: Recently you held a Mitsubishi Outing and I heard it was a great success. Any plans for something like that in Canada?

A: There were over a 1,000 people at the event. The car park held 500 cars and about 700 showed-up. There were Lancer and Gallant owners, the EVO clubs, the different generations of the Eclipse. It was great to see what the owners were creating. One fellow had a 550-hp Eclipse. Many had Rally Art add-ons bought from Japan and Europe.

We hope to have more.