These pictures as well as the following information are coming from Auto Week's infamous forums

"Mitsu Press Release:

Mitsubishi Motors Reveals Name Of Its New Truck
New Truck and New Eclipse Models Previewed at National Mitsubishi Motors Dealer Show


September 23, 2004 -- New Orleans -- Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) today announced that "Raider" would be the name of the company's new midsize truck to be unveiled at the 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Mitsubishi Motors dealers attending the national franchise convention were treated to a preview of the new truck, along with the new Eclipse sporty coupe also scheduled to debut at the Detroit show. Both new vehicles feature interior and exterior designs created by Mitsubishi Motors Cypress, California design studio. The Eclipse is slated to go on sale in summer 2005, followed by the truck in early fall.

The truck's styling emphasizes sportiness with a bold stance and aggressive attitude and incorporates signature design cues from the Mitsubishi family of vehicles - including Endeavor and Galant. The all-new Eclipse takes a dynamic, muscular stance and hints toward a performance and handling package that will re-excite the sporty car segment.

The Raider will include a standard V-6 and a V-8 engine option, two different cab configurations, and unique interior and exterior styling distinctive to Mitsubishi. The Raider, based on the Dodge Dakota midsize truck, will be built in the Daimler-Chrysler plant in Warren, Michigan.

Raider available feature highlights include:

4.7L V8 with 230 horsepower and 290 pounds-feet of torque
Fully boxed steel frame
Independent front suspension with coil-over shocks and
live axle and multi-leaf rear suspension
Extended or double cab in two- and four-wheel drive
500-watt audio system with 6-CD in-dash changer
Bluetooth ® technology.
The new Eclipse will offer more powerful four and six-cylinder engines than the current generation, an available 6-speed manual transmission and many interior feature upgrades to appeal to discriminating buyers. The Eclipse will continue to be built in the Mitsubishi Motors plant in Normal, Illinois.



Eclipse available feature highlights include:

3.8L V6 with 260 horsepower and 260 pounds-feet of torque
5-speed Sportronic or 6-speed manual transmission
18-inch wheels
650-watt Rockford Fosgate ® audio system with 6-CD in-dash changer, MP3 playback, nine speakers with a 10-inch subwoofer.
Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. is responsible for all manufacturing, finance, sales, marketing, and research and development operations of the Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in the United States and Canada. Mitsubishi Motors sells coupes, convertibles, sedans and sport utility vehicles through a network of approximately 650 dealers.

 

The eclipse seems pretty nice, although putting a big 3.8L DOHC V6 in what used to be a sport compact seems a little weird. I guess the outgoing model had a 3.0L. 260hp is alot, but it seems like the car might be fairly heavy, and if it's FWD thats a kind of weird place to position a car. But hey, maybe it'll be AWD and a hybrid... with Mitsu you never know.

 

Oh yeah, and they better bring more then 230 HP in the Raider if they want it to compete in the full-size market. The Colorado makes almost that much from a much more efficient I5.

 

I think that the Eclipse is a nice car. Looks great.

 

Mitsu best offer a GS-T and GSX type model(s)...it doesn't take a genius to see how popular the older ones are. It would make sense to do it again, especially considering the market. - Oh..and I was wondering when they'd get into trucks. That one actually looks pretty nice, I must say. But I'm not a truck person.

 

I agree, the pre-2000 eclipse's had such a following, mitsu really dropped the ball when they redesigned them.

 

I agree that the older Eclipse was much more popular, but the niche it occupied (high-performing boosted 4, appealing to the tuner market) is now filled by the evo. Of course the eclipse is a two-door, and probably FWD versions will be available, but I don't really understand where they are going with it, especially throwing in a V6. But I guess we'll see, maybe because it's different it will establish its own (and profitable) nich.

I was reading up a little on the Raider, and it's a mid-size pickup based on the Dakota platform. The Raider also uses the Dakota's engines. With agressive styling as shown and a good pricepoint, I think it could do well in mid-size.