I think Mitsubishi has produced some great vehicles over the years and it's ironic the vehicles I tend to associate with Mitsubishi's greatness are the ones they've decided to kill off.
As an example, the old Ram 50 truck from the 1980s was a fantastic vehicle in my opinion. They were cheap, reliable and lasted forever. The Boeing Company was using Ram 50s to move parts and equipment in their plants and it wasn't uncommon for the vehicles to rack-up 200K miles without any major repairs.
Mitsubishi let their small truck grow old and decided to ditch it for a re-badged version on the Dodge Dakota -
and we all know how that turned out.
The other vehicles I associate with Mitsubishi's strength were their excellent turbocharged vehicles. I remember the first time I drove a AWD Eagle Talon with a turbocharged five speed - the vehicle performance was phenomenal and the interior design was light years ahead of anything Chrysler had available at the time.
More recently, the Mitsubishi EVO has established a cult-like following but Mitsubishi's walking away from that market. MMC doesn't offer a high-horsepower vehicle in the U.S. any longer and there's nothing to keep the EVO faithful loyal to the brand.
Does Mitsubishi have a future in the U.S.? I don't think so and I'm even less convinced after reading the article from Automotive News linked in the first post of this thread.
In answer to your questions: 1. No, I don't think Mitsubishi's limited product offerings (Outlander, Outlander Sport and Lancer) will be sufficient to sustain a U.S. Dealer Network.
2. Trying to create advertising awareness for a national car brand that only sells 3,500 - 4,000 vehicles per month is just about impossible. Mitsubishi would probably be better off to use their limited resources and create lease deals or other incentives their dealers could advertise in their own markets.
3. In my opinion the dealers have virtually zero control and the best thing they can do is limit their exposure to the possibility Mitsubishi will pull out of the market.
Concerning the Mitsubishi Dealers, I'd be interested to learn how active their Dealer Council is and whether the Dealers are passionate about keeping the franchise alive? The impression I get is most Mitsubishi Dealers have multiple franchises and Mitsubishi's fate in the U.S. is mostly irrelevant to their lives.
(That's just my impression, maybe I'm wrong?)