#MitsubishiColt

From ancient times until the 20th century, horses were the fastest form of personal transportation on earth. If you had to get somewhere in a hurry, chances were you’d be riding one of these beasts.

The new Mitsubishi Mirage has already been introduced in Asian markets, and though it has not been confirmed for release in the U.S., this new Mirage will replace the Mitsubishi Colt which currently sells in worldwide markets.

The Mitsubishi Colt is one of the oldest nameplates in the compact car market, having been sold across the globe in fairly substantial numbers. While North Americans missed out on the previous incarnation, the Colt was well regarded as a practical and inexpensive subcompact that was also a competent driver’s car.

Mitsubishi‘s lineup in the rest of the world is a pretty far cry from the Outlanders, Eclipses and Galants we’re used to in North America. In foreign markets, cars like the i, Colt and Delica can be had instead of the pulse-slowing fare sold here.

Mitsubishi aims to double its sales in the U.S. in the next three years, says Mitsubishi North America Executive VP John Koenig. Last year the Japanese automaker sold just 53,986 vehicles in the U.S., down alarmingly by 44.5 percent compared to 2008. While the recession did hurt the automaker considerably, Koenig believes that much of the loss can be attributed to a heavy focus on fleet sales and a perceived brand instability, with reports that the company would pull out of the U.S. market.

Just last week Mitsubishi announced that it is planning to bring over a smaller Lancer-based crossover to North America and now comes word that the Japanese automaker has yet another new model to debut shortly thereafter. Based on a new global small car platform the car will be smaller than the Colt (shown above), which is currently on sale in both Japan and Europe. Fuel-economy for this new model is important and the engine size could be as large as 1.3-liters or as small as just 1.0-liters. It is not clear if this new model will replace the current Colt (which is in the same class as the Toyota Yaris, Hyundai Accent and Honda Fit) or if it will be more of a mini-car.