Diamond-Star Motors

Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) Manufacturing Division

The former DSM auto-manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois; now wholly owned by Mitsubishi
Company type	Subsiduary
Industry	Automobile manufacturing
Founded	October 1985
Headquarters	100 N. Mitsubishi Motorway, Normal, Illinois 61761
Key people	Jerry Berwanger (EVP, COO) Hideyasu Tagaya (Chairman, MMNA)
Number of employees	1,900
Parent	Mitsubishi Motors North America
Website	MitsubishiManufacturing.com

Diamond-Star Motors (commonly abbreviated to DSM) was an automobile-manufacturing joint venture between the Chrysler Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC). The name came from the parent companies' respective logos: three diamonds (Mitsubishi) and a pentastar (Chrysler). Since 1995, the plant's official title has been Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc (MMNA) Manufacturing Division.

DSM can also refer to three of the vehicles produced by Diamond-Star Motors, the Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, and Plymouth Laser.

Background

The origins of Diamond-Star Motors can be traced back to 1970 when Chrysler Corporation took a 15% stake in Mitsubishi Motors, as part of MMC's strategy of exapansion through alliances with foreign partners. The US company began distributing Mitsubishis as Chrysler-, Dodge- and Plymouth-branded captive imports, a successful venture as the compacts met consumer demand for smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles in the 1970s, filling a gap at the bottom of the Chrysler group's range.

By 1982, Chrysler was importing 110,000 Mitsubishis annually. However, a minor conflict was forming as the Japanese now wanted to sell directly through their own-branded dealerships. A voluntary import quota system was in place at this time, restricting the number of cars Japanese automakers could bring in to the US. As the Japanese company began to open its own branded dealerships to sell directly, every imported Cordia, Tredia and Starion sold by Mitsubishi had to be discounted from Chrysler's allocation.

Incorporation

In order to circumvent this, the two partners officially incorporated Diamond-Star Motors in October 1985, and in April 1986 ground was broken on a 1.9 million square-foot (177,000m²) production facility in Normal, Illinois. The plant was completed in March 1988, with an annual capacity of 240,000 vehicles.

Initially, three models were produced at this facility. The Mitsubishi Eclipse, Plymouth Laser and Eagle Talon were smaller 2+2 sports cars on a new co-designed platform. Models subsequently produced during the next decade included the Mitsubishi Mirage / Eagle Summit, the Mitsubishi Galant, the Dodge Avenger / Chrysler Sebring, and the Dodge Stratus.

Departure of Chrysler

Initially Diamond-Star Motors was a 50/50 joint venture between Chrysler and Mitsubishi. However, in 1991 the Japanese company purchased its partner's equity stake, and thereafter the manufacture of Chrysler vehicles was on a contractual basis. Chrysler sold its equity stake in Mitsubishi in 1993, and Diamond-Star Motors was renamed to Mitsubishi Motors Manufacturing America (MMMA) on July 1, 1995.

Currently the plant produces vehicles using the American-developed Mitsubishi PS platform, including the current Endeavor, Galant and Eclipse. 1,900 people are employed as well as 1,000 robots. Expansion in 2003 means that it now occupies 2.4 million square-feet.

Aftermarket and Tuning Community

The vehicles that Diamond-Star Motors produced, which include particularly the Mitsubishi Eclipse and the Eagle Talon now have a large cult following. These vehicles were equipped from the factory with much more capability for speed then other vehicles at the time. Finding the three vehicles, Talon Eclipse and Laser are commonplace in the streets.

Many of the market who still buy the used Diamond-Star Motors vehicles attempt to purchase the vehicle with a production date of up to 1992, in which the motor changed in that year. Known to the owners, it went from a 6 Bolt Crank to a 7 Bolt. The 7 Bolt was widely panned at the time and to this day due to a symptom known as "Crank Walk". A majority of the buyers today look for primarily the turbo version of all three of the cars in all wheel drive drivetrain form.

Production numbers

• 1988 — 2,409
• 1989 — 90,741
• 1990 — 148,379
• 1991 — 153,936
• 1992 — 139,783
• 1993 — 136,035
• 1994 — 169,829
• 1995 — 218,161
• 1996 — 192,961
• 1997 — 189,086
• 1998 — 157,139
• 1999 — 161,844
• 2000 — 222,036
• 2001 — 193,435
• 2002 — 202,352
• 2003 — 173,699
• 2004 — 113,435

Total to 2004 — 2,665,360

External links

• Official website, Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. Manufacturing Division
• Official US website, Mitsubishi Motors
• A history of DSM
• DSM model information
• DSM owners' club