The Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid (PHEV) has been delayed. Again.
For Mitsubishi, it?s yet another product-cadence shuffle in an unfortunate chronic procrastination pattern in the United States.  The embattled brand desperately needs a halo vehicle here to expand its current buyer base beyond frugal types and the subprime set. With the Lancer Evolution in retirement, driving enthusiasts who look to the brand as having a heritage rooted in performance models feel written off indefinitely. And now the brand?s best hope for getting more affluent shoppers back into Mitsubishi showrooms has been pushed off to the horizon yet again.
Mitsubishi Motors North America spokesman Alex Fedorak provided us with this latest statement about the model?s rollout, which now will be almost certainly furloughed until the 2018 model year (even though the brand?s consumer site still lists it as a 2017 model): ?Following a thorough evaluation process, we have determined that in order to meet a level of competitiveness that will exceed customer expectations in the United States, the launch of the Outlander PHEV will be delayed until the summer of 2017.? The model already had been postponed once this year. Company officials had been anticipating that the plug-in would reach U.S. dealerships this summer, with the arrival of a mid-cycle refresh for the Outlander lineup, but things had changed by spring, when Mitsubishi showed the Outlander PHEV in cosmetically correct form?albeit as a prototy...