Back in early December it was announced at the Tokyo Motor Show that Mitsubishi finally was going to bring the Colt back over to the States. For months we were left wondering if the subcompact car, long-popular in other parts of the country because of its sweet body and tiny frame, would be headed our way, but now longtime fans of one of Mitsubishi’s smallest vehicles can rejoice. The Colt is coming.

And what a time to come. Small cars are a hit with the buying public right now—not only are they easy to park, easy to drive, and easy on gas usage, but they’re also trendy—so much so that Ford and Mazda have plans to bring over small cars soon as well. Any Bloomington car dealer peddling Mitsubishis will have done very well in the last couple of years with the Outlander, Lancer, and EVO, but some other vehicles have been a little more challenging to move. In Normal, used cars like the Eclipse and Galant have struggled, and the Colt is expected to remedy some of those down sales.

Many already are lauding the move as a huge step in the right direction for Mitsubishi, but the even more interesting tidbit about the re-introduction of the Colt to the States is the fact that it’s not the current Colt that’s being brought over. Instead, Mitsubishi is planning on bringing over a new-and-improved version of the car for American sensibilities.

This new car is, in fact, even smaller than the Colt driving all over Japanese and European roads right now. Instead of a 1.6-liter engine, the new Colt is expected to have a 1.0-to-1.3-liter engine, and other minor changes and upgrades are expected as well. Either a hybrid or plug-in, all-electric version of the car is being planned for 2013, but Mitsubishi doesn’t know which of those two options they’ll pursue just yet. Whatever it is it’ll be with future American fuel economy standards in mind.

While it’s unlikely that the new Colt will do much for Bloomington, IL used cars, the upcoming crops of new Mitsubishi vehicles will certainly be further bolstered by the release of this new subcompact automobile headed our way. Consumers get what consumers want, and small vehicles are what consumers want right now. Mitsubishi has proven that it’s more than happy to oblige.