In-Motion Classic: 1998 Mitsubishi Flying Pug – Get The Flock Outta Here

What’s the collective noun for a group of Flying Pugs? Should it be a pack, a fleet, a gaggle? I’m asking because this is the fifth Flying Pug I’ve encountered in just over a year, so if this keeps up, I might have to start tagging these things – perhaps start breeding them. Anything to keep me from going barking mad.

Caught this one last week. This is the first time I’ve seen one in its winter coat. Or is it an albino? Horrendous as the dark ones are, this is somehow even more unsettling.

If you’ve been following my rants on this website, you might recall that I’ve written about these before. Based on the Pajero Junior, the Flying Pug was reviled in its day as one of the ugliest retro / pike specials ever (ill-) conceived. Mitsubishi planned to make 1000 of those things, but sales were so bad that they called it quits after 139 units were made.

One hundred and thirty nine Pugs made over two decades ago – what are the odds of finding a single one, right? Well, counting the feature beast I photographed at the lights near Nishi-Sugamo station, I’ve caught five of these total dogs. Freaky, isn’t it?

Here are the others. Clockwise from top: August 2019 in Gunma prefecture; February 2020 in Ikebukuro (Tokyo); July 2020 in Hokkaido; October 2020 in Oji (Tokyo). All Tokyo sightings were very close to each other in the northern part of the city.

So for those keeping track and have access to a calculator, this post contains photos of 3.6% of all Flying Pugs ever made. Someone up there hates me. Actually, I’ve crossed paths with a phenomenal amount of CC fodder lately, so I guess this highly unlikely fifth sighting of a Flying Pug should be seen in the proper context.

But I’m not a dog person and I don’t care for Mitsubishis generally, so I would be perfectly happy never to encounter one of these ugly mutts again for as long as I live. Shoo! Scat! Git! Beat it and stay away, Flying Pug. If I see you again, I’ll take you to the vet and get you fixed!

 

Related post:

 

Curbside Classic: The Japanese Retro Re-Trial (3rd Witness) – 1998 Mitsubishi Pajero Jr. Flying Pug, by T87