Welcome to part two of four, wherein we will look at Mitsubishis and Nissans, as well as a few Isuzus, Subarus and (sort of) Mazdas. Nissans are always very well represented in these Singles Outtakes, but Mitsubishis aren’t’ always – except this time. We’ve seen this particular J36 Jeep wagon before, but it’s always a pleasure to see it out and about. And it brought some friends…
This is a military-style SWB version. Not sure what type it is exactly – J3/J4 or J73? – but the triple wipers are at the ready on this one as well.
On the other hand, this one had two wipers anchored on top of the windshield. Love the stickers on this one, as well as the lovely little forest of levers growing inside.
Let’s pick a lever, shift gears and briefly look at a couple of fun keis. With Mitsubishi, that means the Minica. Here’s a well-used seventh-generation Walkthrough van (1993-98), always a strikingly bizarre sight.
The retro 1997 Minica Town Bee is pretty out there, too. That front end is almost disturbing.
As a palate-cleanser (or perhaps an eye wash), a GTO/3000GT’s rear end. The front was rather less magnificent, sad to say. Must have led a hard life.
I quite like the look of these late ‘90s Mitsu wagons, but I just can’t get past their name. They spelled it Legnum? Seliousry?
Absolutely awesome to see this 2nd-gen (1983-87) Mirage still soldiering on. Love the wheels.
But the Mitsubishi of the (bi-)month, clearly, was this 1970-77 Colt Galant GTO in full rallying regalia.
Anyone can put Recaros in their precious ‘70s fantasy rally car, but it takes a special person to get grey mouse-fur upholstered ones. T87 approves.
A pair of Subarus, while we’re at it? Kei cars from the 360cc era aren’t all that common anymore, but if you see one in 2022 traffic, odds are it’ll be a 1958-71 Subaru 360.
Gah! Casa Blanca horror! I’ll never understand why they did that to the Impreza. Don’t play it again, Sam.
I didn’t find any interesting Mazdas as such, only Mazda-adjacent CCs like this 1993-97 Eunos 800, later (1998-2003) known as the Mazda Millenia.
And here is a very presentable (but alas occupied) 1992-98 ɛ̃fini MS-8, another Mazda under a different name.
I know, I know, that’s a blue oval. But it was made in Japan. The 1983-90 Ford Spectron, here in AWD guise, is a rebadged third-gen Mazda Bongo. These were sold in Japan back in the day, but most were exported throughout the Asia-Pacific region, along with their cargo van sister model, the (alternate reality) Econoline.
Fairlady Zs. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em, amirite folks? I’m here all week.
What, it’s Y30 Cedric wagon time already? We’re deeper in Nissan territory than I thought.
Even better than the previous one, because those things come in pairs, but not all have stock wheels, woodgrain sides and Mickey-Mouse chrome mirrors.
The meat of the Nissan chapter, in this edition as in many others, were the Skylines. Let’s start with some lovely C10s (1968-72) – a fine early model 2000GT saloon…
And what looks like a GT-R coupé, though given how few of those were made, this could be a fugazi.
We then skip forward in time to the R30 (1981-85) – again with a saloon…
…And the matching R30 coupé. Both were of the desirable RS Turbo variant, just pick your number of doors.
Skip forward again to the R34 (1998-2003) – just a fine-looking saloon this time.
A true rarity, barely caught before it disappeared from view: one of the 600-odd S13 Silvia drop-tops made by Autech back in 1988.
I rarely get to catch Nissan Crews (1993-2009) in Tokyo, though they still live in considerable numbers in other parts of the archipelago. This one is a rare private car, most are taxis. Obviously a well-cared-for 1999 example, apparently used to carry an impressive population of plush toys.
First K10 March I’ve seen in ages! This is a JDM special, obviously: a 1988-91 Super Turbo with a supercharged and turbocharged (!) 930cc engine producing 110hp. It’s still the fastest March ever made, allegedly: 0-100kph in 7.7 seconds.
I’m seeing more and more Rasheens wearing these aftermarket grilles these days. Guess the quirky look of the original front end isn’t popular with everyone.
A fine-looking LWB mid-’90s Terrano / Pathfinder with all bells and whistles, and the 3-litre V6. Neat!
Less neat and final Nissan of the post: a dying 1st-gen (1982-92) Atlas truck. Kind of pathetic, but a great way to transition to the wildest Isuzu we’ve had the pleasure of seeing in a while – see below.
Oh goodie, it’s more of that undiluted dekotora silliness! The craziest thing is that this thing has clearly been in heavy use – the bed part is far from faultless.
One of the more outlandish dekotora designs I’ve ever come across, but I’m sure it can be topped.
It seems there’s always a 117 Coupé out there someplace, it’s just a question of finding it. This one not only sported a rather fetching burgundy paintwork, but also has an A2 Golf as a parking buddy.
To end things on a high, we should punctuate this parade of plenty with a Prince. A pristine 1965 Gloria Super 6, to be precise.
I really have a thing for these. The only comparable car that would be more of a find would be an early Debonair, but the big Prince’s Corvair-ish / Falcon-esque styling melange, along with its more impressive technical specs and orphan marque status, tops the Mitsubishi. Someday, I’ll catch one that’s standing still.
See you tomorrow for (the first part of) the imported stuff.
I understand that automakers and their designers borrow styling ideas from what is current, striking, and so on. I’m not particularly bothered by it, but I am amused with the similarity of certain Mazda efforts of the early half of the 1990’s and what seems to have been someone at Buick paying extremely diligent attention. The resemblance of the ɛ̃fini MS-8 to a 1997 Century/1998 Regal is hard not to notice to these eyes, and the 1997 Park Avenue also has an uncannily similar profile to the aborted Amati 1000.
Lots of good looking cars there. Especially love the ’65 Gloria Super 6, what a beauty.
Do you like living in Japan, Tatra? I think it would be a great place to take a vacation.
Having seen Dodge pickups (Hate the Ram name) all over Europe seeing one in Japan is not surprising.
What a fantastic collection of cars! And I love the early Gloria; the ones I saw back in the day didn’t have the lower chrome side trim or tail panel applique. Beautiful shape. I’ve often wondered what Prince could have achieved if they could have remained independent.
CC-in-scale has many of these cars; here’s a C10 Skyline.
Great finds. That Prince Gloria is a real beauty…
Even in the bright sun that eccentric dekotora stands out so well. At night they remind me of rolling pachinko machines. The introvert in me is drawn to their extroverted design like a tractor beam. I think the world would be a better place with more Dekotora spread around it.
Thank you again, these Singles Collections are a highlight of my (bi-)month!
That is NOT a Minica Walkthrough van, which would be a Minica nose with a generic tall ungainly boxy metal lump for the cabin backwards with folding bus doors on one side, but an actual factory 1st-gen Minica Toppo, a competitor(ish) to the Wagon R.
That Town Bee really doesn’t suit white. Most photos I’d seen before were in dark colours that do a better job of hiding the weird.
That generation of Galant/Legnum is still extremely handsome all these years later. Shame it wasn’t a bigger hit, despite winning JCOTY. Someone in my village used to have a really very nice one. Likewise, the MS-8 is still handsome after 30 years. The Eunos 500 too, if there had been one. And the R34 Skyline sedan, killed by Ghosn and emissions regs after a short few years.
The Subaru 360 is surprisingly clean, but I was distracted by the rare Toyota Pixis Van in front of it, a fleet flesh-out (you’re buying hundreds of Hiace, we have some keis now for your needs in that size class too!) special restickering of a Hijet.
The March Super Turbo is stunning. Takes me back to the used dealer on GT2 in some horrible toilet beige. Likewise, the Prince Gloria is gorgeous. Prince had a solid run, shame they were forced to merge.