My new racecar...

[carrrnuttt]

NOT!

Anyhow, I'm a family-man, so I am stuck with these kinds of cars for now, until I can afford to save up enough for a personal "toy".

Mine's a 1997, purchased below blue book. Here's Consumer Guide's review of it:

Originally Posted by Consumer Guide

1997-2004 Mitsubishi Diamante: Highlights


Built in Australia, Mitsubishi's front-drive near-luxury sedan served as its U.S. "flagship." A previous Millenia had been marketed through 1995, but consigned to the rental-fleet business in '96, its final season. Redesigned for 1997, the new Diamante was nearly 4 inches longer than before, with a bigger interior and crisper styling than its predecessor. The V6 engine also grew in size, to 3.5 liters with a 210-horsepower rating. Only a sedan was produced this time; the former station wagon was gone. Rivals included the Infiniti I30, Lexus ES 300, Acura TL, Mazda Millenia, and Nissan Maxima ES. Diamantes came in base ES or upscale LS trim. Despite an unchanged wheelbase, interior volume grew by 7.4 cubic feet. Weight dropped by nearly 250 pounds, thanks to greater use of aluminum components. Dual front airbags were standard, with antilock brakes an option. The standard 4-speed automatic transmission varied its shifts depending upon the driver's style. Standard equipment included power windows, mirrors and locks; a security system; automatic climate control; cassette stereo; 15-inch tires; and a 3-point rear center seatbelt. The LS sedan added wider 16-inch tires on alloy wheels, a power driver's seat, CD player, and leather interior trim. New options included a built-in rear child-safety seat.

My car is the LS, with the Luxury Convenience Group option package, which also includes an eight-speaker Infinity upgrade audio system, keyless remote entry, a driver info display, a child restraint seat and a Homelink System.

Pics

Front:


Side:





Rear:


Sorry about the quality of the interior pics, but the sun was glaring right into the car, as I was taking these, and I think I kind of jarred the camera a bit, as I was trying to shade the lens a bit.

Interior pics:


Driver info center, along with the climate monitoring screen:


^ You can somewhat see the top of the Infinity stereo.




I hate that it's automatic, but it's hard to find a cheap sedan that can carry the whole family in comfort, that's a manual. This car wasn't exactly "cheap" when it first came out (35K or so), but I got it for a real reasonable price. The 210HP/231TQ motor allows the car to get out of its own way, although it is by no means fast.

[street_racer_00]

I like it...Dias are nice cars.

[BullDog71ss]

Nice car mang.

Just custom fab an eaton for it and you're set for the ultimate sleeper.

[tha_new_guy]

Cool stuff, I bet you miss that SE-R though...

[King Of Crunk]

the chrysler 300m has an autostick

[turtlecrxsi]

Nice car.

[TatII]

how do you like this compared to your buick? lol. the diamantes are pretty decent cars for mitsu's. they're interior plastic trims do fade however and the wood is very fake along with too much plastic being used in them, but thats not the cars fault, thats how all japanese cars were back in the day.

[-Josh-]

Nice new ride! You switched from a Buick to a Mitsu to!! Does this make us car switching buddies? Or car swingers?

[Polygon]

We actually took one of those on a Jeep trail in Moab. We didn't mean to, but we missed a turn and it took us a while to get around things but the car made it.

[mason_RsX]

The diamantes are pretty nice comfortable cars, but their very rare in Canada

either way its nice...but a family car? come on you know very well a Z4 is just as much a family car...thats exactly the train of thought you need to get into to convince yourself and everybody else that you need to buy a Z4

[GritMaster]

Kinda ugly, bad choice.
















J/k Man, looks good. Now you just need a VR-4 powerplant in there

[clawhammer]

Is the FWD, RWD or AWD?

[carrrnuttt]

Heh.

My last car was an Oldsmobile - close enough though. Too close that Josh's swinging remark is making me uncomfortable...


I DO miss my SE-R - a lot. Especially when I run across some ricer that could've used a good lesson in humility.


The motor is a 6G74 (3.5 liters), in the same family as the VR-4's 6G72 (3.0 liters), though only minimal parts can be swapped, besides the fact that mine is a SOHC. There's actually a JDM supercharged, and even a TT version of the 6G74, and there's a possibility that the N/A 3000GT/Stealth's 5-speed tranny can fit my motor, though I doubt I'll ever have enough money and patience to open that can of worms. In Australia, TT versions of my car, known as the Magna there, have gotten into the low 11's in the 1/4, while being street-legal.


clawhammer: It's FWD.

[BullDog71ss]

Dude, you'll be able to give most ricers a lesson in humility in your new mitsu..heh. Even more humiliating come to think of it.

[-The Stig-]

Tiss pretty man...

Glad everything worked out for ya...