By Tim Plouff

 Retail sales have plummeted the last two years faster than a loose anchor chain slipping over the gunwale as customers have largely ignored the brand’s product offerings. Dealers have recorded 60-percent fewer sales while three CEOs have come and gone in 36 months, and a financial scandal in Japan rocked company headquarters. Engineers and creative talent have been leaving the brand faster than you can read this paragraph.

Clearly, Mitsubishi has been, and still is, an automobile company working through tough times.

Good product usually remedies these kinds of ills (just look at Chrysler’s current rebound, Hyundai’s climb up the charts, and the reawakening at GM). In this regard, Mitsubishi offers consumers a brand new Eclipse, perhaps the single most recognizable car in its entire limited lineup, a small car needed to prove to buyers and dealers that there is life in the brand while each awaits more new products this fall.

The Eclipse has been a nice halo car for Mitsubishi. The first rendition quickly became a cult classic like VW’s GTI. Available with all-wheel drive and a potent little turbocharged four-cylinder engine, that Eclipse changed how buyers thought about dowdy Mitsubishi back in the ’80s. The new front-wheel-drive Eclipse is longer, wider, and consequently, much heavier, but it is also much more comfortable than the original.

The new body is a curvaceous shape that is candy for the eye. Peer into the body’s little details and you’ll find hints of Porsche, Nissan and others as the stylists borrowed some obviously popular cues to make this car more sexy than its predecessor. The front and rear lenses are interesting all by themselves while the big hip profile gives the car a wider stance to improve handling. The only downside to the new shape, other than the typical interior compromises you have with a sleek coupe body, is the inclusion of the trademark Mitsubishi diamond emblem on a Galant-style front fascia. I think the Eclipse’s exciting shape deserved better.

Inside, the Eclipse delivers ample room up front for each occupant. The power roof robs little headroom and flows a lot of fresh air without ruffling your hair or creating a lot of annoying turbulence. The GT’s leather and suede bucket seats carry unique two-tone hides that coddle your body in all-day comfort.

The rear seat is typical sporty coupe, pretty much a space for legless adults, small children or vertically challenged friends. If your legs do fit behind the front seats, your head might rub against the sloped rear glass so plan on this as a personal use vehicle that you share with a close friend or partner.

The rear is quite useful, however, as an expandable cargo hold. Flip the seatbacks forward and the rear hatch opens up to an oversized space that swallows much more odd-sized cargo than you could ever fit into a sedan’s boxy trunk. An elongated rear wiper helps to keep the expansive glass clear of road grime and rain, which certainly aids your driving in reverse as the large C-pillars and small side windows do little to help backing up action.

The dash layout is clear and convenient with cool blue lighting shining the way at night. The stereo is mounted where you can easily see and reach the controls while the climate station buttons are lower, reflecting their more infrequent usage. Up top is a small screen that relays time, temp, compass heading and audio settings; right where you can capture all of this data with a glance of the eye.

Buyers are not attracted to cars like the Eclipse because of their functional attributes; they want excitement, performance and sex appeal. The GT delivers.

The new 3.8-liter V-6 spins out a healthy 263-horsepower that makes a big bang. Unleash the engine’s fury and you scramble to maintain control as the front wheels are forced to deal with the car’s directional control and a ton of torque steer. Hurried starts produce noise, smoke and lots of stares as the front wheels struggle to get the power to the ground. If you are a shy personality, this aberrant behavior may be embarrassing.

However, you won’t dislike the available torque that is on tap for passing slower traffic or making dramatic on-ramp moves. The slick-shifting six-speed gearbox channels the power easily and makes every driver look efficient.

Under way, the Eclipse is nicely balanced and a fun car to pilot at all speeds. The steering is pleasantly communicative with the driver and responds smoothly to your inputs. The chassis is nimble and delivers a crisp, controlled ride without punishing you via an overly firm suspension setup.

All of this said, the Eclipse’s new found V-6 power seemingly demands a rear-drive chassis like Nissan’s 350Z or a return to the all-wheel-drive layout of the first generation Eclipse. Mitsu even builds some very creditable AWD sports sedans right now, and in the past. An AWD chassis would make the Eclipse GT a stellar performer like an R32, its own EVO-4 or Subaru’s WRX instead of just a pretty good driver now.

Contradictions: The svelte shape includes a nicely integrated and mature-looking rear spoiler that also hides the handle for the hatchback lid. Good job. Oddly, Mitsu relies on one oversized chrome exhaust tip while the recent trend is to multiple tips on sporty cars.

The steering wheel tilts but doesn’t telescope. Even Chevy’s new Cobalt has a telescoping steering column. Combined with a rough spot on the center tunnels plastic housing, I frequently had difficulty finding the proper sitting position for my gas pedal leg. Move close to the wheel and my right leg tired; move the seat back and my left leg strained to fully depress the clutch pedal.

Lastly, the wonderful Rockford-Fosgate stereo is a great traveling companion. But how did Mitsubishi omit the option for satellite radio when its primary target audience is such big fans of the exploding variety of music available from space?

Sales of sporty coupes have been shrinking. The Honda Prelude has disappeared, Toyota’s Celica is gone, and Nissan’s duo of small coupes has ceased production.

Mitsubishi won’t predict sales for the Eclipse but feels strongly that the coupe can bring profitability back to the brand while buyers wait for the new Raider pickup and a new mid-size SUV set for debut this fall. That’s a big task for a small car.

The Eclipse isn’t the home run that Mitsubishi needed, but it’s a solid triple off the wall. Some strong marketing and aggressive pricing could bring this runner to home plate.