2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse First Drive

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Introduction

Mitsubishi Eclipse - 2006 First Drive: While we've all been busy picking up the dry-cleaning and taking the kids to soccer practice, two disparate trends in popular culture have been stealthily weaving themselves into the fabric of American society.

On one hand, there's a distinct subset of the population that has become enamored with all things Japanese, from the highly stylized cartoons known as animé to the controlled-mayhem motorsport known as drifting. On the other, there's a broader segment of the post-9/11 American population for whom flag-waving patriotism has reached a fever pitch.

Both these trends come together in the all new 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse, a sporty coupe that hopes to play up both its Japanese roots and its made-in-the-USA construction. The result is a car that has an awful lot to offer no matter which side of that pop culture divide you find yourself on.

Bigger is Better

With a somewhat schizophrenic marketing strategy behind the 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse, it's not surprising that the first television commercials to feature the car start, not with the vehicle itself, but with images of a group of young women beating out a hypnotic rhythm on traditional Japanese taiko drums. The fact that this drumming group was recruited from a homegrown taiko club on the all-American campus of UCLA somehow seems incredibly fitting.

The use of the taiko group also seems appropriate in a metaphorical sense, as this fourth-generation Eclipse will need all the banging of drums the automaker's marketing budget can muster. Replacing a six-year-old model that had all but faded into obscurity despite a starring role in the Hollywood sequel 2 Fast, 2 Furious, the new Eclipse should go a long way toward filling the vacuum left by its predecessor. From its more aggressive styling to its improved sport-tuned suspension, Mitsubishi's engineers and designers have given the car back a bit of the edginess lacking in the previous generation.

One thing the new Eclipse design doesn't do is return to the more compact dimensions of the first- and second-generation models. In fact, the new Eclipse - which is built on the same underpinnings as the midsize Galant sedan and Endeavor sport-utility vehicle - has grown yet again with a body that's nearly three inches longer, two inches taller, and more than three inches wider than the car it replaces.