Mitsubishi has long since associated their brand with celestial events. Monday's total solar eclipse, which Mitsubishi alluded to in an ad from 1989, was the first one visible across the U.S. in 99 years. Once again, Mitsubishi tried to take advantage of eclipse-mania to market its latest vehicle by that name. Unfortunately, this effort was far less successful—at least, in this writer's mind.
Mitsubishi was also streaming the eclipse from just outside Salem, Oregon, with "social influencers" from 10 different countries on hand to observe it, according to Mitsubishi. The event also provided the unique opportunity for a photo shoot of the Eclipse Cross under an actual solar eclipse, which, admittedly, does look pretty cool.
But there's no way this photo can achieve maximum coolness with yet another compact SUV as its centerpiece. Solar eclipses are unusual, spectacular events you don't see very often—pretty much the opposite of an SUV.
But what if we substituted one Eclipse for another?
The image is transformed. The first-generation Mitsubishi Eclipse looks amazing under an actual eclipse. In the original picture, it's hard to tell whether it's a Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, a Honda CR-V, a Toyota RAV4, or any number of other generic compact SUVs. But here, there's no mistaking what this car is.
And that's the problem with the Eclipse Cross. It's the opposite of the original Eclipse. The only thing they might have in common is drivers who bought the old Eclipse years ago might choose the Eclipse Cross for their growing families. Maybe that's why Mitsubishi stuck this name on the SUV...but the company isn't fooling anyone.