KEY POINTS:
Mitsubishi has a history of using songs in its New Zealand advertising campaigns. "Music is important to our brand," says the carmaker's marketing executive, Daniel Cook.
First there was Jim Croce's You Don't Mess Around With Jim in the campaign for the old Triton commercial ute. Mitsubishi bought the rights to the song, changed a few words, and had it recorded by New Zealand's Rob Winch, a sound engineer who sings demonstration tapes. Mitsubishi NZ executives liked his voice.
"Jim" became "Slim". The chorus went: "You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask of the old Lone Ranger and you don't mess about with Slim."
The old Triton was tough, see. Just like the Slim character. That was the idea anyway.
Sales figures told Mitsubishi that punters loved the ad, so the carmaker and its advertising agency, Clemenger BBDO, went down the same track with the current Triton, launched last year.
Mitsubishi shelled out for the rights to Bob Dylan's A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, and hired Australian Jack Barnes to sing Dylan's lyrics. Jack is the son of Australian rocker Jimmy.
The chorus goes: "And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard ... and it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall."
The repetitive hard stuff is meant to convey that the Triton is still tough, backed up by a "Get Hard" strap line and a couple of Easter-Island-type figures called Rock and Hard Place who talk to each other working-bloke style. The ad was more popular than the Triton. Sales were slow. The carmaker said buyers found it "tough to get their minds around the distinctive styling" of the vehicle. Now, it says, sales of the Triton have picked up in a commercial market that is up overall.
Mitsubishi and Clemenger BBDO's latest television campaign uses the sound of music, too, for the Lancer sedan range, launched on a 600km run in the South Island this week.
Crooner Dean Martin sings The Birds and the Bees over the top of a father and son driving along in the car. Dad is seemingly explaining the facts of life to the boy. The strap line is "New Lancer - new life".
Marketing man Cook admits the advertisement could be seen to contain "sexual innuendo". There are no subliminal messages, however - "it's just a bit of fun".
But one New Zealander doesn't think it's fun. A woman rang the carmaker's head office in Wellington to complain that the scenes in the ad were offensive. Cook knows of no other complaints. The new Lancer comes 34 years after the first model bearing the name landed here. Mitsubishi used the lead-up to last weekend's Bathurst 1000 endurance race to signal the car's arrival.
It set up a telephone text promotion with TVNZ to give away a new Lancer. Over six days, the site received 145,000 hits. The previous best for a similar promotion was 60,000 hits.
The sedan range will be joined later this month in New Zealand by the first shipment of the 10th generation Lancer Evolution X, the rally-bred, go-fast all-wheel-drive version.
Mitsubishi has traditionally packed the Lancer range with its latest vehicle technologies. It says the Lancer range has the potential to "define" the company. It is part of the company's revitalisation plan. Head office in Japan is counting on it and the all-wheel-drive Outlander carry-all to fuel a global sales rise this year.
It will announce a new plan for medium-term global growth by next March, after scoring a net profit last year for the first time in four years. Sales in Japan have been dragged down this year by a slump in domestic mini vehicles, those under 660cc known as the Kei class. But sales of other Mitsubishi vehicles have grown by about 18 per cent.
Mitsubishi NZ showed a pre-production Lancer to its dealers a couple of months ago. It said then that it expected the five-model range to be priced between $30,990 and $37,990.
Word is the dealers didn't like what they were hearing and insisted that Mitsubishi NZ sharpen its pencil. It did. The sedan range now costs between $28,990 and $35,490. The Evolution X is at $62,990 for the five-speed manual model and $67,990 for the six-speed double-clutch sequential version.
The standard Lancer shares its platform with the Evolution X. It even looks like a slightly toned-down variant of the rally model, especially the VR-X.
The sweeping styling cues and bold aviation-influenced grille hide a car that is 35mm longer, 65mm wider and about 100kg heavier than the outgoing Lancer. The extra weight is largely the result of using stronger steels. It's also a design world away from the old model, although it remains essentially conservative. Such designs sell well. Mitsubishi NZ reckons it can sell 100 Lancers a month.
Under the bonnet is the naturally aspirated version of the 16-valve, four-cylinder 2-litre Evo X engine, producing 115kW at 6000rpm and 201Nm at 4250rpm and mated to either a five-speed manual gearbox or six-speed CVT.
Mitsubishi says the engine is 8 per cent lighter than the old unit and easier on fuel. The turbocharged Evo X engine produces an official 206kW (275bhp) at 6500rpm and 422Nm at 3500rpm. Unofficially, power is around 225kW (300bhp).
The Lancers are badged in typical Mitsubishi style as the SX, VR and VR-X. Safety goodies that include stability and traction control and seven airbags, including a driver's knee-bag.
The entry-level SX and mid-range VR ride on 16-inch alloy wheels, but the SX misses out on the rear spoiler.
The top-line VR-X gets the sports kit and caboodle, including beefed-up suspension, 18-inch alloys, steering-wheel paddle shifters for the optional six-speed CVT gearbox, bluetooth phone system, rain-sensing wipers, and headlights that provide more visibility in corners on low beam.
The Lancer will indeed help to define the company. It's the best Mitsubishi in ages, one of the best value-for-money packages on the road.
The cabin is a model of minimalism - roomy, clean, uncluttered, functional and with simple and efficient instruments and controls. No surplus stuff here.
The chassis is precise and efficient, too, riding on MacPherson struts up front and a multi-link set-up in the rear. Both ends have anti-roll bars. The arrangement provides accurate and predictable handling and good all-round ride.
The ride in the top-line VR-X is firmer and the handling marginally more responsive, a result expected of a sports package that includes bigger disc brakes and a strut braces between the suspension towers, which reduce chassis flexing.
Mitsubishi says the Lancer has the potential to compete in the small and medium sedan segments.
It claims the car has the best turning circle among its rivals: 10m against 10.4m for the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Holden Viva and Nissan Tida, and 10.8m for the Honda Accord.
The Lancer is also the only car among its rivals with stability control as standard equipment. The technology is a big selling point - safety bodies worldwide are calling for standard stability systems.
It's recognised as a safety component as crucial as seatbelts and anti-lock brakes. Studies show stability control could reduce fatal road crashes by 30 per cent.
