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An awd Eclipse is a pretty nice car actually. Lots of mod parts available for it, especially the turbo 4g63 engine.
Here are a few more answers to some of your Q's. There are 2 Mitsubishi Eclipse turbo models, the GST and the GSX. The GST is FWD, the GSX is AWD. In my opinion, the GST is not very good. There is a limited amount of hp you can effectively put to the ground in a FWD before you encounter severe traction problems and problems with torque steer. All the FWD cars you see making fast runs at NIRA and the IDRC have wheelie bars. You can't drive a street car with a wheelie bar on it.
As for the last years they were made. I believe '99 was the last year for the GSX and GST models. The 2nd gen models, known as 2G to afficionados is better in several ways, but has some downsides too. '94-'99 cars have a remodeled bumper that will fit a larger front mount intercooler.
Mitsubishi stopped producing the GSX and GST for several reasons. for one thing, although the GSX was the flagship Eclipse whose image sold the Eclipse line, GSX's did not account for sufficient sales percentages. Also, in Japan, the Eclipse is not popular, considering they've had the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, which became immensely popular from late '93. the only reason they retain the Eclipse line is because it is the No.1 selling Mitsubishi in the US. I never agreed with their decision to drop the turbo models though.
One of their reasons for removing the turbo cars from their line back in '99 was the fact that in the mid-90's Japanese car manufacturers came to the conclusion that the average American didn't know how to take care of a turbocharged car and didn't understand that it needs a little more care and maintenance to continue operating at full potential. Customers driving turbocharged cars and redlining the engine shortly before shutting it off were damaging turbos unknowingly and this resulted in the perception that turbocharged cars were unreliable and prone to engine problems, an image no car company wants. You'll notice that although there were several Japanese companies marketing turbocharged cars in the late 80's to the mid-90's, with a selection available like the Subaru SVX, the Supra Turbo, RX-7, 3000GT VR-4, Eclipse GST and GSX, 300ZX and such, by the late 90's these were all gone.
Fortunately, with burgeoning interest in performance imports and the aftermarket scene and (much as I hate to say it) additional interest caused by movies like 'Fast and Furious', plus gaining interest in WRC events and awareness of certain cars from Gran Turismo, some Japanese manufacturers have decided that the American market may now be ready for Japanese performance cars, and so they're bringing in the WRX, the Lancer Evo, and soon, the new Skyline GT-R.
Also, you might find that the 3rd gen Eclipse looks a little like a Pontiac mostly because of the 'ribbed for nobody's pleasure' styling. I don't like it either. But then again, once they decided to remove the GSX from the line, Eclipses became 'Automobilia non grata' to me anyway.
As for the comment that DSMs have inherently weak transmissions there is some truth to it although it is misleading. The simple fact is that awd cars have an immense amount of traction, and repeatedly trying to launch the car like you just stole it puts an incredible strain on the tranny. Proper driving technique and shifting can avoid these problems, however, if you intend to drag race a GSX, there are several companies that can beef up the transmission for it. Kormex Transmission Parts in California is one, Team Rip Engineering in Michigan is another. In fact, I'm currently waiting to get my transmission back from TRE.
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