Yes, the singles collection is back, after a small climate-related hiatus. Summer in Japan is uncomfortably hot and humid, so there are fewer folks about driving interesting cars. Not only that, but the monsoon that usually lasts until early July lasted till early August this year, so I wasn’t really motivated to go CC hunting. That’s one of the reasons we escaped to Hokkaido, where I discovered this 1st-gen 1990-95 Mitsubishi Diamante, amongst other noteworthy finds.
Which doesn’t mean there weren’t the odd encounters on my doorstep every once in a while, such as this perfectly serviceable 2nd generation (1986-92) Debonair. I’m still holding out of bagging a 1st-gen one, though – easily the coolest four-door Mitsu ever.
Out on the hills near Sapporo, this lovely SWB Mitsubishi Jeep beckoned me over. How could I say no?
Keeping it Mitsubishi, this is the third Flying Pug I’ve documented in 12 months. Given that they made less than 200 of these horrid things, that’s quite a feat.
Here’s another Mitsubishi rarity: the dog-themed 2003 EK Wagon “Mifil.” Only 200 were made, thankfully, according to Japanese websites. Still, Japan wouldn’t be Japan without the odd weirdo retro kei cars here and there.
Just like this thing. It’s a Nissan March/Micra with a special “Herbie” kit that really makes it look like an Eastern European car. I’ve run into one of these already, but they’re pretty rare, so I thought an extra showing wouldn’t be amiss. And the backdrop made this one even more photogenic.
Looks like we’ve progressed to the Nissan part of the post. This C33 Laurel (1989-93) is typically lowered and shod with gaudy rims. Could be worse. At least, someone out there still cares for these.
Just love the way this non-taxi Y31 Cedric saloon is parked. No wonder vehicle width is subject to strict regulations here…
Speaking of Nissan taxis, here is something that I haven’t seen in a while (and never featured on CC before, I believe). Behold, the original Nissan taxi, better known as the 1993-2009 Crew. I remember seeing a few on occasion a while back, but they have now disappeared from Tokyo. But they do survive in fairly consequent numbers beyond the Kanto plain.
Case in point: these über-basic cars, which are a blend of C32 Laurel and Y31 Cedric and use the immortal RB20E 2-litre straight-6 (or a 2.8 Diesel), are still in operation out in the boonies of Hokkaido. Some of them showing pretty advanced rust, but they soldier on.
Turning to Toyota, we start with an uncommonly derelict 1991-95 Sprinter AE100, captured at a seaside town in Hokkaido. That part of Japan sees the kind of weather some might associate with places like eastern Canada: -20 Celsius and huge amounts of snow in the winter. Unless they’re really pampered, cars don’t live too long in that sort of climate.
Here’s a pampered one: a Sprinter Levin AE86 – caught in Sapporo, the largest city in Hokkaido.
Aaaand here’s another one but white, caught in Tokyo this time. I know, I know, it’s getting tiresome. I’ll stop documenting these, there are just too many about.
There were lots of these old Land Cruisers in Hokkaido as well. Not too surprising, but seeing a relatively pristine one like this was interesting.
They also drive the good old Mark IIs, up there. This high-trim 1988-95 Grande (X80) hardtop was quite fetching.
Back in Tokyo, a few days ago, this pillared version was discovered. Actually, it’s the Mark II’s fraternal twin, the X80 Cresta. And like the previous car, this one seems like a fully-loaded deluxe model, judging by the markings I saw on the back. It’s not just a Toyota Cresta, it’s a Super Lucent Exceed Cresta. So there.
Here’s the Cresta Super Lucent Exceed’s interior. Looks comfy. A wee bit boring perhaps, but comfy.
Our obligatory Mark II (X70) wagon. These are immortal, it seems. Hope you don’t mind seeing these so regularly (I think I’ve featured those on every Singles Outtakes post I’ve done so far), but I kinda like them. And I’m sure I’m not the only one.
It was in dire need of a wash, but this third generation (1986-92) Supra A70 still had a lot of presence.
Topping it off with a Crown. This is an 11th generation (a.k.a S170) saloon, made between 1999 and 2003. There are still plenty of these about, but this one caught my eye due to its fender mirrors. This is the first S170 Crown I’ve ever seen with these. No idea if Toyota made it like that or if it was modified later.
I’m not sure whether this is a Toyota TownAce (R10) or a Daihatsu Delta Wide (B10), but it’s a pre-1981 model. Or what’s left of it, anyway. Also seen in Hokkaido, on the outskirts of Asahiyama.
Normally, I wouldn’t bother the CCommentariat with a lowly 1995-98 Daihatsu Move L600, but this one was decorated with a bunch of “rising sun” navy flags, battleships and other odd symbols and writing. The valiant patriot who presumably owns this car was inside taking a snooze, parked on the curb in a relatively narrow street, his 3-cyl. engine idling. The mind boggles, the blood pressure rises and morale plummets.
What else is there but Mitsuoka to raise the spirit? This is a very recent Himiko drop-top, based on the Mazda MX-5 ND. The Himiko was made from 2008 to 2018 on the MX-5 NC platform and had a retractable hardtop. They switched to a soft-top when the second generation arrived, but little else changed. Not a common sight even in its home country, this one.
This Ryoga is more familiar territory. Photographed in Otaru (Hokkaido), this is a very decent-looking example of a 2nd series car (2000-04). But the kicker was the profile shot below…
I didn’t really pay attention to it at the time, but the bicycle handlebars behind the Mitsuoka lined up almost perfectly with the hood. If you squint a bit, it ends up providing this retro faux-Engrish automobile with a gigantic Spirit of Ecstasy-type ornament.
Before I close this little shop of horrors, here are a couple of old heavies. This Hino bus hasn’t seen the road in a very long time, but at least it’s still in one piece. As far as I can make out, this is a Hino Rainbow RL made sometime between 1970 and 1980.
And to see us out, here’s a rickety Mitsubishi Fuso Canter. Looks like an earlier model, probably 1979-80. Those forty years of labour in central Hokkaido look to have been pretty rough on the old thing… Anyway, tomorrow will bring foreign cars – and some pretty cool ones, too. So see you there.
At least the Sprinters aren’t red, so there’s your excuse…
The Mitsuoka Himiko is a new one for me, based on the pix and the lack of anything for scale I figure it to be FAR larger than it apparently is being based on a Miata. Interesting how they are branching out using the Miata what with the other Rock Star Corvette thing.
The Diamante was sold over here too, and seemed to to fairly well, there’s still some running about but I see more in the junkyards nowadays. I suppose it was sort of a budget Mazda 929 and maybe Lexus ES300 competitor (?)
But keep the Mark II wagons coming, the more the merrier as far as that goes. Looking forward to tomorrow now as well, thank you!
One of the owners of the business I worked for through most of my college years traded in his 1987 BMW 325 for one of those Australian Mitsubishi Diamantes. Other than viewing it as a knock-off BMW, what I really remember about it was that it had an overstuffed interior that made it feel considerably less roomy than a BMW. He also had a Mustang GT convertible and a Cherokee Sport, and he took to daily driving the Cherokee shortly after trading in his BMW.
I’m curious what most Japanese think of the retro body kits. There are various automotive subcultures in the US that provide comic relief to many of us, and I wonder if the retro body kits elicit the same response there.
Those Diamante interiors were a bit on the tight side. But we managed with two teenagers and all their stuff. I often felt two more inches in wheelbase and in width would have been nice.
The Diamante actually grew a bit, inside and out, before the 2nd generation car shown in your photo was made. I was a rabid BMW fanatic at the time, and the Diamante’s extra 675 pounds of curb weight for less space relative to an E36 325i seemed odd to me. The Diamante LS my friend bought did have thirteen more horsepower than the BMW, but the weight really snubbed the advantage.
I almost forgot that I dated a girl from a high-net-worth family in 1995. Her parents replaced their BMWs with Mitsubishi Diamantes, which she pointed out because I drove a BMW at the time. She really hated BMWs and wanted to buy me a new Wrangler for my birthday, which didn’t appeal to me at all. Apparently at least one of their BMWs was stolen from their driveway following an episode of 20/20 or Dateline that had a story about how newer cars were being stolen. She blamed BMW and the show for the loss of their car or cars. Whenever I was at their house on the golf course behind the Cavalier in Virginia Beach, their Mitsubishis were parked outside of their garages with the keys in their ignitions. I asked if the keys were in the cars when the theft occurred. Of course, why did I ask?
Some cracking finds! The Japanese seem to have a great sense of humor around car culture, I have to smile at the doggy Mitsu Mifil.. Taking a long look at the 1st gen Mitsu Debonair I think it’s really funky and cool, the second gen not so much. I’m always up for looking at a Mk 11 wagon [Cressida here], still a regular sight on the roads, some in great condition.
Don’t know if it was a good car or not, but the Diamonte had a shark nose look like an old BMW, and thats enough for me to like it.
I like cars with a pretty face, instead of the nightmarish monster faces of now. (Looking at you, almost everything!)
Please don’t stop with the AE86s – I’m still sad that I will never own one.
Also sad about the demise of Mitsubishi – a Galant was on my short-list once, and my daughter drives a Lancer I found for her.
Mitsubishi seems alive and well here, Fuso is still a popular brand of truck and the cars and SUVs seem to sell ok of course used examples from Japan keep turning up but car yards of new stuff are here.
Some very unusual finds there! Just one small correction, the AE86’s are Corolla Levin (fixed lamps) and Sprinter Trueno (pop-up lamps).
May I share this feature with a Japanese-car interest FB group, Tatra-san?
Hai! Please go ahead. The more eyeballs the merrier.
The photo of the rear of the white Sprinter Levin AE86 looks like a close relative of a Toyota Celica. Or am I missing that they are one and the same?
No, the Sprinter Levin is basically our Corolla GT-S with minor front and rear differences. One size smaller than the Celica but along with the Corolla SR-5 (same body, different engine) stayed RWD through 1987 whereas the rest of the Corolla line went FWD for 1984 and the Celica did so for 1986.
Lol! Was just watching Jay Leno on YouTube yesterday zipping around in his Morgan Aero Super Sport. I had to look three times to confirm it was infact a Mitsuoka that you kindly noted. Also of note on the same car is the reflection on its hood in the second image. For sure I thought it was some kind of trippy lenticular paint job. Alas I determined it must be a building reflection. 😉
Your posts are very enlightening to those of us who haven’t yet been overseas.
Some of the Japanese car names are priceless!
I’d buy a Mitsubishi Flying Pug without a test drive just to be able to announce what my daily driver is and watch the reactions.
One is moved to note that the non-moving patriot’s non-moving Move uses its Glorious Naval Battle sticker on the back corner to cover a dent, which might indicate he misunderstood the term “battle scars” by putting a battle over a scar before passing out from confusion.
Why does the huge fan with small yellow bus built around it have the restaurant writing in English?
The bus was in a ski resort, which are usually frequented by a number of foreigners (at least, that was the case in the Ante Covidem epoch). If you want foreigners to come to your place of business, it’s good policy to advertise in their alphabet.
The Debonair was also produced in Korea as the Hyundai Grandeur. In a period of stringent import restrictions, this was the vehicle of choice for the burgeoning well-to-do class.
Those Mitsubishi Diamontes came with most of the fruit available at the time theres a rumour they were Australian the later ones were the earlier ones certainly werent a mate had a used Jappa like the one pictured nice to ride in sort of cramped lots of toys inside but not much of a car tghe Debonaires were still around as used imports when I moved back to NZ,
Trapped in an Auckland motorway traffic jam yesterday I was surrounded by Kei cars two of which Ive never seen before either here or on Tatra posts mind you the ever expanding array of used Japanese imports here is astounding I pass the pickapart and
Zebra self serve wrecking yards regularly for my job and being up high in a cabover truck can see over the fences at the display of dead imports plus they pass regularly when on their way for scrapping, some dont seem to last long.
I love seeing these vehicles that do not come to The U.S. although some do under other names. On 9/6 in a shopping center in Rhode Island in the Narragansett/Point Judith area, i stopped dead when I saw a DELICAR. I had never heard of one or seen one. The owner explained to me that is is 25 years old or older and, therefore, could be imported to The States without regulations problems. The vehicle is a 4×4, off-road van that at its lowest point is 5 inches in clearance from the ground. The power is a Diesel. There is a website called http://www.delicarusa.com. I am putting one photo in this note because only one photo can be added per post. I wish you could explain it more to us. Tom.
Well, no picture was displayed. Here we go again. Tom
Try reducing the file size. When I post pictures, I usually reduce them to a max. of 1,200 pixels in the larger dimension. Usually uploads that way.
Eric, I do not know how to reduce this to 1200 pixels. Please guide me. It has a 4000 x 3400 roughly dimension of pixels. I use Office Pro 365. Tom
Simplest way that I’ve found is to open the file in a very basic graphics program. For example, on my computer I can open pictures in “Paint” (by right-clicking the image on the desktop). In Paint, there is an option on the top-left called “Resize”.
I click the “Resize” options, click “Pixels” and then change whatever the bigger number is to 1200.
Other Paint or Graphics programs probably have a similar feature. I hope this helps… if not, let us know what kind of program you have on you computer and hopefully someone here can figure it out.
Well, I tried reducing it. Let us see what happens.
Nothing. I tried attaching the WordPad reduced images. That did not work. So, I copied it to “Word” and that has also not allowed an attachment. I tried resizing in other picture options in the Office Pro 365 software. I will have to play with this later. However, there is still the web site: http://www.delicarusa.com. Tom
A rather Town Car-esque C-pillar window on that Debonair.
Mmmm, lovely C33 Laurel there. It’ll be a trainspotter and note it’s a pre-facelift ‘89/90 model (different taillights and rear door window surround trim). I had a ‘92 C33 with factory fender mirrors, was a great car. Enjoyable selection of shots, thanks Tatra87!