Final goodbye to the Mitsubishi 380

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By George Skentzos | March 27th, 2008

It is the end of an era, with the final Mitsubishi 380 sedan rolling off the production line at the Tonsley Park plant in South Australia.

To shows its thanks to the South Australian community for their support, Mitsubishi has something special planned for the final four vehicles made.

The first has been donated to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, an iconic Australian service providing healthcare to rural Australian communities.

“The Royal Flying Doctor Service is an iconic Australian institution, based in South Australia, and is responsible for saving thousands of lives throughout the country every year.”

Another will be donated to Vision Australia which brings assistance, education and care to visually impaired people and their families across Australia.

The third has been sent to the National Motor Museum at Birdwood which maintains an extensive array of historical vehicles.

The final – and very last 380 sedan ever made – is set to be sold at dealer auction, with all proceeds to be donated to charity.

Oz.

-=PRIMO=-
realcars

It’s a shame Aussies didn’t get behind this home grown product. A case of the right car at the wrong time.
Oz.

What can I say… It’s completely sad news the 380 is gone now, I hope we can do our best to make sure that will be the last Aussie sedan to go for along time(I hope). I wonder how much that will sell for at the action? a little more than than you would normally pay obviously.
B///M3

Meh….it will not be missed.
Tom

have to say I’m pretty impresed about how Mitsubishi Australia has handled the closure of the plant. With reports saying that the factory workers are getting the best severence package in the industry, and now donating the last few cars to charity and good organisations. Closing a factory and laying off heaps of people is always bad, but I reckon Mitsubishi Australia have handled it the ebst way possible.

I was a good car, in a shrinking market, killed by the reputation of its predecessor and initial pricing. ’tis sad
Tom

*wish we had an edit button, I mean it was a good car, obviously.
http://jeep Eyma Teapot

Your right Tom, it was infact the best of a bad bunch of locally manafactured cars.
No Name

Yep – the Magna killed it before launch really, it just wasn’t different enough or what the market wanted.
Michael

The end of an era, will be quite sad to see Mitsubishi Motors Australia go after 28 years in our local automotive industry, one of our icons finally closing up. It’s just a shame that the large car market deteriorated so rapidly leaving it out in the cold, after all the 380, and the Magna before it, were both very good cars. I can’t imagine what it’ll be like without them now.

Farewell Mitsubishi.
Pablo

I will be surprised if it goes for more than $25K at auction.
The last Fairlane out of Broadmeadows earlier this year only made $47K.
But, the last Monaro built in 2006 made $200K…we will see…
Richo

I agree with Tom 100%. The dignity and professionalism shown by Mitsubishi Australia through very trying circumstances have been nothing short of amazing. The fact that their work force stayed loyal to the company right till the very end, even after learning that their jobs where gone, it really shows how much the employees loved the company. How often do you hear about employees loving their companies these days? Not often i’m here to tell you!
Kenzo

very sad day. hope they find jobs soon.

i think it was an ok car. just that the camry/aurion was around. the potential buyers either went camry/aurion or ford/holden.

i was hoping the plant would get the go ahread to do the mitsu galant.
Frugal-One

Serialpest will be slashing his wrists…

Yeah its sad, but let it be a lesson that dishing up half-baked product to the punters will NOT work!

Cheers

F-0
o

still form me turning 17 next september this is great news i may be able to pick one up for 15k thats a great first car other wise ill go for a magna or if my funds allow a new black ford fiesta
Richo

Frugal-One i would strongly dissagree with any suggestion that the 380 was a half baked car. It had some faults yes, its lack of ESP and curtain airbags where among them, and hte styling wasn’t to everyones taste, but having driven a number of them they really and truly where extreemly good cars to drive! The engine absolutely hammered, the auto gearbox is the best i have ever used in ANY car, and the handling was fantastic for a large front driver, considerably better then the aurion in my personal opinion (and in the opinion of most motoring journo’s actually)
http://. Naughtyius Maximus

Wasn’t sweet looking enough as rear end real bizarre USA weird and front lights (how it was really curved at top), it just wasn’t different enough or what the market wanted and had toooooo much ties with Magna. I do not think it was allowed to change much from USA design!

Shame as was best quality of a bad bunch made Downunder!
Frugal-One

RICHO -

All good and nice, but it simply failed to sell and is dead.

FAR to expensive and antiquated -v- the others, did’nt sell, axed.

Who would buy a 380 over a Falcodore?, not many it seems

For mine i HATE FWD rubbish, regardless of brand or make.

Glad you like yours and sure its going to be a reliable vehicle etc, but if punters dont buy thats what happens

I feel sorry for the 1000′s that have lost jobs, they are hard to find in S/Aust. at the best of times…

Cheers

F-0
Josh

I love how people ridicule the 380 for being bizzare and weird but then make comments like “it just wasn’t different enough”……..~

I like the 380 rear end but the overall styling of the car was a little forced and more backward the forward.

Should be very interesting to see how much the last one goes for.. You would expect some thing in the 100′s but then again its not exactly a ‘hero’ car.

Perhaps thats what this car missed; the ‘hero’ car (think 380 supercharged?). When you only have the lame vrx model to look up to its hadly inspiring. Then again, could anything have brought it back from the grave? Probably Not.

For me it comes down to one thing – Mitsubishi jumping the gun. Perhaps if they had waited six months they could have seen what they needed to do.. They pushed it into the market early and gave the other big names something to beat.. which, they did.

To all the workers, best of luck. Shame to see this leave SA.
Tony M

I’m sorry to see the 380 go. I have a TJ 2 Sports 5 sp manual with climate control, abs etc etc. I am very happy with my car. The 380 was a further evolution of this series of models. And I believe that’s why it died a slow death. The 380 did not appear to be different enough. It did everything right but didn’t stand out in anything. I had hoped it would have continued as a productiion car in Australia.
As I have said many times, our car industry is a drop in the ocean when compared with Asia, America and Europe. And now of course, China and India. I hope Ford and Holden don’t go the same way as the 380.
You never know, maybe Mitsubishi might do a Ford and build Lancers in Australia.
RIP380

Frugal-One – Making stupid comments about something you know nothing about is the reason why the punters (ie bogans) didn’t want a bar of this car.

Far to expensive? Last time i checked it wasn’t only the cheapest, but the cheapest large car to keep/run as well, in fact it was only JUST behind the toyota hybrid car in terms of on-running costs.

FWD rubbish? I can tell you’ve never actually driven a 380, it drives very much the same as a commodore, only quicker, but it doesn’t do fully sick skids or burnouts as easily, so i guess that’s what let it down =\.

/rant

It’s a real shame that Mitsubishi are leaving, but we can only move on from here and look forward to some nice imports, eclipse anyone? .
Adam (aka Mada)

380 was a better driving vehicle than aurion, it’s direct competitor.
Can anyone honestly say aurion looks so much better in the looks department!?
http://www.antilag.com Tom Jakovljevic

Frugal One:

The 380 is hands down a far better car then a VE Omega. Having driven both numerous times, I cannot fathom how people could not see that.

Oh wait, yes I can.

Your anti fwd comment surprised me as your posts are usually much more balanced.

BUT

That is the exact reason the 380 did not sell. It simply isnt bogan wheel drive. No V8, no sports image to aspire to.

A large Australian car needs those.
Frugal-One

TOM -

Thanks for your kind words!

I have never been in or driven a 380, looks like i never will!!

I just think if they sold it at $25k driveaway loaded with gear would it have sold?

The media was part to blame for its death.

I am sure it was better built and engineered than a VE, they made so few they could take there time.

I had bad experiences with FWD on hills and wet roads and just dont like them at all.[Regardless of brand]

None the less its gone now, but certainly NOT a lemon and NOT forgotten.

Cheers

F-0
http://www.antilag.com Tom Jakovljevic

I giggle at the taking their time comment.. most certainly true.

Having said that, putting the 380 through its paces (on a specially setup test track away from public eyes of course!) gave a few pants browning moments when nailing the throttle evoked a response of “lets head for that outside kerb” but that is the nature of the beast – some wider and better rubber would cure that issue.

Definitely no worse then a VE Omega with the ESP off – now that is a scary car to drive with any vigour without electronic help!

Do yourself a favour and get yourself a ride in one F-O. You will be surprised.
http://caradvice.com.au Chris Parr

it is a shame to see the 380 go,, it was/is a very refined smooth car to drive,only let down by bland styling
and being fwd, they should of made it awd!!
in saying that though i thought the last platinum packs were quite good looking.. lets hope its not a sign of things to come for the new falcon! holden and toyota should be ok because of there export business unlike ford and mitsubishi who rely on local market only..
Nick

It is so sad! But I did not miss out. A week or so after I heard they weren’t gunna be made anymore I went down to Rex Gorell Mitsubishi in Geelong and bought myself an 08 380 SX. I absolutely love it. It the best car.
Mitsu Select

Its very said to see my favourite brand has finally departed Australia (where i recently call home!). I have been a loyal fan of the brand since 10 !! I can only say that the failure of the 380 (and production in Australia) has a long history, I just want to point out a few for discussion (correct me if i am wrong).
First of all, its about the bad timing of rolling out large cars (see the overall shrinking of the larger car market)
Secondly, its not a very respectable brand among fellow Australians (think about how many times when you said the word Mitsubishi, and people will immediately think about rubbish unreliable products? especially among those who have own a Mitsu before)
Thirdly, its just a whole group problem among the MMC group, as they are still recovering from their bad financial situation, where they just simply didn’t have enough money to invest in the development of a new car (thats y some of you might said its “half baked”). But then think about 380 target market and compare other products’ (like the lancer) target market, you can agree to the management in Japan where to allocate the funds.
Finally something i agree with many other comments above is that the 380 product range has missed a “hero” product that it can builds its image among Australians.
I am really said to see the end of manufacturing for Mitsubishi in Australia, especially to see those workers who have to gone through the pain of finding other jobs. but then it can also be a new era for Mitsubishi Australia, where we might be seeing some new and exciting products coming in to Australia soon in the future !!
All the best to the workers and Mitsubishi Australia !!!
http://mazda James F

I am 100% with F-0 on the FWD comment. WHilst many swear by them, my previous 2 cars (before the GTS) were Puegeot FWD (sedans – 405 and 406 SV) and when wet or on any softer surface, even with Puegeots handling rep, I prefer my RWD.. I guess its what people are used to…

Whilst I was never a fan of the 380 (boring for me), I am very sad to see one our of limited local manufacturers close down… As for the intrepid staff, I pray they all get new jobs ASAP and never know, with GMs new export deal to Northern US, there may be some jobs for them there?
realcars

Australians prefer RWD in their large cars. A fwd large car would have to be significantly cheaper to overcome this bias.
Aurion may be first of it’s kind to break this rule perhaps?
Lachlan

whats this i hear about the aus goverment interested in the tonsley plant?

i would have hoped that mitsu would keep it for possible future development.
http://www.antilag.com Tom Jakovljevic

Mitsu Select,

When I think Mitsubishi, I think one thing – Evolution. Arguably the best bang for buck performance car on the face of the earth.
Kenzo

thats the problem with mitsu. the evo. in most people’s eyes the ‘evolution’ is mitsubishi. mitsubishi is the evolution. the rest of the mitsu range fails to shine above the halo car.

that is also why i beleive mitsu japan made the right choice in choosing to design the galant based on the looks of the evo.

in my opinion if i was ever going to spend my own money to buy a mitsu i would only go for an evo. if not then i would consider other brands first. which is why the lancer ralliart and the ralliart hatch is a good idea.
TP

If the 380 was half decent, it would experience the same success the Aurion has. Unfortunately handling aside… it lacked power, it lacked features and it lacked looks.
http://. Naughtyius Maximus

TP says “….same success the Aurion has”

NM responds….Didn’t know success for Aurion is below a Falcon that you rubbish and often (like how stupid contradictory is that). So what you are saying is an Aurion is a success; when selling less below a crap car as you put it the Falcon! You are a imbecile TP who needs to get real and a life. Gooooosh fairdinkum you are an idiot heaps!
Andrew M

TP,
the 380 excelled in value for money far far beyond any other of the local manufacturers (including toyota)
also the toyotas arent exactlly known for their good looks.

in VRX form i actually didnt mind the 380. it was getting some where. if only they had have kept an AWD option
Chris

It’s called Marketing. If Toyota had the 380 they would have sold 2500-3000 per month. If Mitsubishi sold the Avalon or Aurion or even the Camry they would have been bankrupt years ago. We are conservative people who are seduced by marketting. Few of us now buy a car that drives well. White goods in a pastel world are marketed as vehicles for “sensible” people.
Duck

RIP 380!
http://aca Dingo

The Aurion a good looking car especially the Sportivo and Presara models. Unlike Toyota – Mitsubishi as with Holden and Ford are not renouned for thier reliability, dependability and durability … PERIOD !!

Maximus … you have completely neglected a solid point.

The Falocn nameplate has been selling in Australia sense the 60′s and has participated within local motorsport at that. During that vast spance of time – the Falcon has enjoyed sufficent time to established itself a fleet and private market as it should have.

However – the Aurion nameplate has been onsale for merely 18 mths, so is still very much establishing it’s own presance. Regardless, despite 50 odd years of sales, advertising and motorsport of the Falcon – the newly wed Aurion has already managed to outsell the Falcon on a single occassion and personally i believe more repeats will be experianced despite it’s immature time on the market and lack of motorsport.

Todate – the Aurion has been a success and in my opinion will only develope a stronger presance with time and exposure. So far … the Aurion has sold month by month greater numbers then the V6 Camry and Avalon combined ever did while it is the 380 that has just died – not the Aurion.

Points worth considering

Cheers
http://aca Dingo

Here is a point i am about to make … for all those who are phrasing the 380 – did you buy one.

And … if you didn’t – WHY NOT !!

That is a Question for yourselves to answer and not necesarilly to repeat on this blog.
andre

Unlike most people here I liked the Magna and really did like an AWD I had for a while (one of the last)… was going to replace it with a 380 but after renting one it just didn’t convince me in the way it drove and delivered its power – especially in view of the fact that no curtain airbags and ESP were made available it was off the shopping list –

looking at the AWD success that Subaru have embraced I’m of the opinion that Mitsubishi should have made the 380 the Aussie Subaru with AWD including a wagon option – then again, possibly not feasible nonetheless neither was the 380….
Steven A

Its interesting that people are making numerous and baseless comments here simply to convey their own personal opinion.
The Magna/Verada and more recently the 380 have been cars that have won “numerous awards” for their engineering etc yet people here are in denial or just ignorant to the fact.
Ive owned Magna’s and Verada’s but never owned a 380, I did drive one for a week and it pleasantly surprised me though it was too American in its design, too similar to the American built Galant and lacked Curtain SRS & ESP.
Though MMAL did a commendable job re-engineering the Galant to suit it to Australian conditions and on a relatively tight budget of around $600 million.
Its design was too conservative for Aussie tastes and the rumors about the factory closing down from day one, which werent true at the time dealt Mitsubishi its first and substantial deadly blow.
Its disappointing to see a local manufacturer close its doors and go with a fully imported line up alone, a line up where Mitsubishi Motors is enjoying a 25%plus increase in sales world wide.
THE FACTS ARE CLEAR AND MANY POEPLE CONTRIBUTING TO THIS BLOG HAVE TO STOP DISCREDITING THE LOCAL MITSUBISHI PRODUCT TO SERVE THEIR OWN PERSONAL PURPOSE.
THE MITSUBISHI PRODUCT WAS SUPERIOR ( & STILL IS ) IN MOST WAYS FOR OVER A DECADE TO OTHER LOCALLY PRODUCED VEHICLES.
THE FACTS ARE CLEAR TO ME AND NOT TO MANY OTHERS HERE TODAY MAKING BOLD,SWEEPING AND REDICULOUS STATEMENTS.
This is just one reason the 380 ceased production.
I could add more but Im done and disgusted that a local Manufacturer’s forced decision to close its manufacturing facility has been met with some perverse joy from so many people.
When an Aussie is down you dont kick them in the guts and take joy in it.
No need for anyone to respond to this unless its a worthy comment.
Im interested in facts only.
Nick

I did buy a 380. In my family we have another 380, a colt, a lancer and we did have a nimbus and a magna. My friends own amongst them lancers, colts and magnas. We have collectively known them to be the most reliable and solid cars we have ever had. We have had Holdens and Fords (my brother currently has a focus which has seen the business end of a tow truck more times than you have had hot dinners) and have known them to be anything but reliable or quality. My parent’s VT Comm was a disaster area! You wouldn’t believe half the things that went wrong on that horrid car.

As for styling, well I know the 380 was conservative (I liked its strong lines) but the current Toyotas are dreadful in my opinion. But styling really is in the eye of the beholder and therefore there is no point debating the 380′s styling merits. Particluarly in a country where Corollas and base model VEs sell well.
shameshameshame

Great car to drive,but i can’t believe that styling of the 380 came from a clean sheet!No flair,no excitement,slab side,fat rear,just dull.maybe the designers were playing it safe.How could Mitsubishi base the future of the company in Australia on the 380 and expect to succeed?The fact they folded was always a no brainer and Mitsubishi’s refusal to go RWD or at least keep AWD was a bad move.Holden started with a clean sheet and the commodore’s styling is far superier to the 380.I’m a mitsubishi fan and i’m sad to see the company go.I owned a 380 for a while and it was a beautiful car to drive but if the 380 was mutsubisi’s last great hope in Australian made it needed to be a special car to drive and a beautiful car to look at.
TP

A. NM the Aurion has met its targets, it was never going to topel the Falcon… doing better then the Avalon is what it needed to do, its exceeded that.

B. AndrewM the Aurion is far better looking then a 380, take your hand off it. Value for money? It was cheap in price, but for many reasons… it lacked features, it lacked looks and it lacked power. Value for money as far as Im concerned is a balance between all these components and price, the 380 was tipped towards lacking equipment.

C. Chris no marketing doesnt make all the sales your kidding yourself, the Avalon was a relative failure, evidence that a inferior product will not sell despite the marketing. At the end of the day, and what you fundamentally fail to realise (along with other posters), is that marketing gets customers into the door… after that, the product has to keep them their for the sale. Clearly the 380 couldnt do that, while Toyota with a better range get the people in and keep them their with their products. Thats the difference. The assumption your making is people are stupid, unfortunltely when talking about $30k+ spending people consider the competition and make a informed decision… which again often seems to be in Toyotas favour.
Andrew M

TP,
how could the 380 lacking power be a reason why it didnt sell?
it is quicker in a straight line than the #1 selling commodore isnt it?
also you are forgetting the 380 was going out the doors at like $10k cheaper than its rivals. tell me what features could it possibly be missing to still represent poor value?
RallyWhiz

I bought a 2006 Mistsubishi 380 Series 2 VR-X from a dealer few weeks ago. I got a pretty good pricing on it. I did lot of research on most of the brands and did not find any car apart from Mistsu 380 coming close to my price range. My first option was Honda Accord Euro but then it was slightly over my budget. Toyleta with their passionless products was not even in the list of possible options. MP3 compatible audio player was top in the feature list as its the best way to entertain yourself in the car. Falcon and Commodore as everyone knows do not support MP3 (not the new iterations though). So they are out of the list. Also test drove a Mitsu Outlander 2007 iteration….naaaah! pretty good but a total family image…naaah! didnt want that. Then test drove a 2003 Subaru Liberty GT….as everyone knows first words …..were EXCELLENT but the price was too high. Out of the list.

So here is what I did. After a long series of test driving i went to Mitsu dealer Sutherland, NSW spotted a Black 2007 Mitsubishi 380 Series 3 VR-X. Took a test drive and the first words were…..mmmmmmmmm very very good ride quality, pretty good handling, body feels strength and confidence, pretty good TCL. Pretty impressed with Suspension and chassis pretty. But there was one thing I didnt like about it…Low rev torque….353NM comes at 4000rpm….at low revs in normal drive there is very little hint of perfromace…and when the accelerator was pressed hard I could feel the engine struggling a bit….but no issues with Mid-range torque…Also..there were some obvious issues with the interior…it feels plasticky…..but feels strong overall though…6 Stacker CD player with MP3 capability was pretty good and user friendly. Sound system was also pretty good.

Missing Automatic Stability Control hit the card very bad…..

Ok! now I was doing a deal on the car but then I spotted a burgundy Mitsu 380 2006 Series 2 VR-X on the other side of the car yard. Immediately I enquired about the car and as everyone knows that there was just a cosmetic change done to series 2 to make it series 3…there was no change in the major feature set…just the front bumper…rear spoiler and alloy wheels……

Made a deal on the series-2 VR-X and landed at a price within my price range…..along with it i got 1 year Rego…6 years warranty…(3factory +2 yr extended) and also a full set of series 3 alloys……

So if you guys spot a Mitsu 380 VR-X Series 2 Burgundy with series 3 wheels then its me…..

I am very satisfied with the car. Tiptronic is a dream…….no regrets I am pretty happy with the car….

Very sad the car is no more in production…..
http://. Naughtyius Maximus

ANDREW M…..380 had the features and it truly had the best quality of the 3 Aussie made cars easily. For me it had to quirky a front headlight as too weirdly arc’ed on top and rear end ugly. It was priced really low to get stock off the showroom floor! If only the fixed these things up as there was carry over from Magna and the ugly designs from there!
Andrew M

NM,
i partially agree.
but i think in VRX form it started to look a bit better.

ive always thought they should have implemented the galant style front end etc to the 380 in the way they have used it on the lancer.
the old magna styling was going somewhere. the proof is when you see them getting around with after market wheels and spoilers etc that it should be obvious that people dont mind the looks. they went a bit too bland with the 380 and that pushed a bit of the sporty image off of their large car.
i honestly think if they had have gone galant styling their sales would have been much better
BOSSCR

I have a 380 pov pack as a company car. At first when i found out that I was getting one, I was dissapointed. I too think big cars should be rwd. However, I was and am still, impressed.

I got a grandpa-gold one, so nobody expects it to launch from the lights in an orgy of tyre squeel and smoke(hey, i did mention it’s a company car….). Build quality is fantastic, spec level for $$$ is awesome. Power is fine, 5spd auto is far superior to Holden and Ford’s 4sp autos. Lack of traction control on my car is an issue, because I drive it hard..

All in all, a good car, just not a good looking car. Maybe mine will go up in value. Just think, one day Shannons may auction them along side A9X’s GTHO’s etc…. May not though….

Hopefully my next company car is an FG……
golfschwein

Full marks to Mitsubishi for what was, just quietly, a very good car indeed and, secondly, for being good corporate citizens in donating the last cars to charity and for doing the best they can for their employees in the circumstances. Bravo!
Kenn

Andrew M

Next generation US galant will be based on Concept ZT, similar front to the Lancer. We won’t see the next generation Galant till 2010. Unfortunately it won’t be built locally, most likely built in US. From all the reports it will be fascinating car.
It’s sad to see the end of the 380. It’s difficult to pinpoint to once thing for the demise of the 380.

Negative publicity and perceptions about Mitsu (previous financial problem, potential closure of the ADL plant didn’t help, older reliability issues)
380 should have been released at least 12 months earlier (this would have allowed the model to establish itself, before the VE & Aurion. As well as before the petrol price rises.
380 name was not the right name (should have used a name like Galant or Diamante or Magna or Grandeur, Numeric name was not personal enough and made it difficult to have a choice of engines as 380 denotes the 3.8 L engine)
Under powered engine (175 kW is more than adequate for the car, Most of its competitors are powered by engines with more than 190kW, Like the US Galant should have used the 195 kW Mivec engine on sporty models)
Lack of a 4 cyl engine variant (may be as a different model like Toyota Camry & Aurion, it wouldn’t have been too difficult to use the 2.4 4Cyl engine used in the US galant)
Lack of ESP and curtain air bags (most of it’s competitors has these features)
Interior styling on base models, not so useable steering wheel controls( Could have made minor improvements to these)
Lack of significant export markets (Inability to export to LHD markets due to LHD Galant built in US needs exports markets, the size of RHD export markets are smaller and only significant markets the 380 could have been exported would have been UK, Japan and South Africa. The difficulty of the strong dollar, tariffs and meting requirements in these markets prevented the export to these countries. The other RHD countries are developing countries and you need a 4 cyl model to export to these)

I believe these were the main reasons the 380 failed. Even if Mitsu had addressed all the above except the exports to LHD markets the 380 would have died in 2010, as it’s impossible to sustain local manufacturing without a significant LHD/RHD export markets.
the VAG.

hey..ah…vehicle,

lets ride till we die.

i wanna make love in that ride…in that ride…((beat of music))
http://whitecarchariot.net.au Tissues please.

I’m just overjoyed that they are gone.When they start taking down their big ugly depressive sign, I’ll try to be there and have my picture taken in front of it with my two thumbs up doing a Toyota jump.I am so overjoyed words can’t explain.The only thing to top this would be the corporation folding.
Fat Tony

The 380 was killed by people who never even knew anything about the car either because they didn’t know it existed or they where too scared to look at it & take it seriously because it wasn’t in vogue like the VE Omega or the XR6 where.

Most people on this blog who are slinging the negative comments about the 380 have never even driven one, that is quite obvious.
Its shape is no worse than the the latest offer from ford which is a redesigned old as Falcon AU from the 90′s. The Omega is sort of nice though if you like a brick with wheels. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I can imagine what some of your women must look like,not all would be Glamors but some of you still married them!Why?

The 380 interior was way better than the standard bland Omega and almost on a par with the Falcon, but the Mitsu interior didn’t explode in heat & over bumps like the other two.
But it did need a new front & at least Totally new headlights because it still looked like a toned down way out ugly looking Magna, it also needed a rounder rear end. Before I even knew what the car was I realized what it was from those headlights. Obviously Mitsubishi didn’t listen to the consumer at all and went with the (toned down)scare buyers away headlights again.

I have seen & driven better built cars than the 380 but they are not made in Australia.
But Mitsubishi have to take most of the blame for the demise of the 380, because although they made a good car not enough people where made aware of this fact & they also cut corners on everything from the 380 headlights to advertising the vehicle. Also the 380 should have been a bigger step away from the smoke blowing Magna.

Then when the writing was on the wall Mitsubishi went all out in their advertising campaign but it was too late, most Aussies had already overlooked the 380 and got into another Holden or Ford.
RIP 380
Steve F

Yes it’s sad the 380 is gone because it was a good car but hey it’s not too bad because,like,, it’s not as if Mitsubishi has gone bust altogether.
The demise of the 380 is just like the end of a model and that happens all the time in all motor vehicle manufacturing companies. Holden,Ford,Toyota & just about every other vehicle maker have all axed low selling models at one time or another, and they will do it again.
Mark my words because Good low klm 380′s will be collectors cars one day. Just like the crappy old valiant is today.
Maurie

The 380 was fine, the reason it failed and MMAL died was the bloody front end on the 380.
The front end styling on the 380 looked like a bloody mid ninties Honda civic.
If MMAL had of used VE like head lights and squared off the grille, the car would have sold like hot cakes !
But even if the 380 had decent front end styling,
i personally would not have bought one.
I don’t like front wheel drive (hate it)and i drive a verada, so it’s not like i hate mitsu’s….got my peeps on a V8 Commodore.