I live in a small town, surrounded by mostly other small towns. The kinds of places that not too long ago would have been the butts of jokes and shaggy dog stories that end in the line “Can’t get there from here…“; except given the precision that New Englanders like to exact in order to differentiate ourselves from fellow New Englanders from lesser states (which would relatively be pretty much all of them), I need to note that the “Can’t get there from here” joke is actually about people from Maine, not Massachusetts. But you get the point. Old guys sitting out front of the general store with nothing to do but to poke fun at non-locals. Rusty pickups and a tractor or two are in the parking lot.
Fun times.
And times that don’t really exist any longer. Oh, the stores are still here except they’re now more likely to contain shelves of artisanal locally-sourced lab-grown pet food (and candles) than any necessary provisions, unless you’re a vegan dog or cat…and we know how many of those are around. The old guys have mostly sold the farms and have turned to real estate development. Subsequently, they now live much of the year in the Virgin Islands and seldom miss Red Sox spring training in Fort Meyers. And the cars, well, now there’s nearly always something interesting in the parking lot. Which brings us to the subject at hand.
The local garage where I go to get things done that I can’t do myself – including state inspections – is almost directly across the street from the town’s former general store. The store has been converted into some kind of coffee bar frequented by all the young mommies in yoga gear, but the garage is next to the cinder-block-built two-bay fire station and has operated as a garage for longer than anyone’s living memory. In my memory, there’s nearly always something interesting to see here. This week, when going to get the Volvo inspected, I found a 1995 Mitsubishi Pajero Wide Exceed 5-Door Turbo Diesel. That’s a mouthful, so I’ll just refer to it as the Pajero for the remainder of this article.
I am a lover of boxy vehicles when that boxiness comes in the form of utility. This Pajero reminds me of my much-missed mid-1980s Isuzu Trooper II. Although the generation-newer (than my original Trooper II) Pajero conveys a heft and sturdiness that the Isuzu never exactly managed to pull off. The Pajero’s gigantic auxiliary lights, bull bar, and OEM “rain guards” lend a degree of over-accessorized fussiness that somehow manages to work on this JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) import.
This side view of a nearly identical Pajero – except for color – is from one of those companies that import JDM vehicles to the US. It looks like the one in this picture sold for nearly $15,000 several years ago. I couldn’t approach the Pajero I saw from the side because it was parked too tight against other (considerably more mainstream) cars at the garage.
The Pajero also caught my eye since I’ve driven its US market version – the Montero LS (or various other trims) – numerous times as a rental in the USVI where I used to travel frequently for work.
Sorry for the awful interior picture. The sun wasn’t being very kind to me that morning and there wasn’t space enough to get a better angle.
Knowing that the Montero was of course sold as a RHD vehicle in its home market, it always impressed me as odd that I had to drive a LHD version on the left side of the road when a nice RHD Pajero would have made more sense. I guess what made sense to me didn’t make sense to the local Caribbean Mitsubishi importer or something like that. Anyway, the Montero/Pajero impresses me as a very competent vehicle (dare I say “truck”) that would have likely out-lasted my Trooper II.
This particular Pajero comes with an engine option that no US market Montero has/had. US buyers had to settle for a V6 gas engine as the most powerful Montero offering. Perhaps then it’s the diesel engine that attracted this vehicle’s owner to something that is both somewhat familiar (in its Montero version) and alien (in its RHD diesel Pajero version). I don’t know for sure since I wasn’t able to speak to the owner and my mechanic (who owns the garage) just shook his head and laughed when I asked him about it. I suspect that the Pajero’s owner may also be the owner of a set of similarly unusual Delica 4x4s that I have spotted on the road around town but have never been able to get a good photo of. Why exactly anyone would want to drive an RHD drive vehicle around a place where most of the roads are twisty, barely two lanes wide, with no center-line and motorists coming the other way who have a hard time staying hard against the right shoulder of the road at any cost, I don’t know.
But some folks just gotta be different.
That’s cool.
That little Japan-specific mirror on the corner of the passenger side front fender is cool too.
And it wouldn’t be a JDM vehicle without curtains. I’ve never exactly figured out the endearing (and enduring) Japanese fondness for accessorizing their car like someone’s Grandma’s bedroom. It’s distinctive and seems to be an automotive trend that flew right past the American market. I kind of prefer the lacy curtains found in many Japanese sedans, but these heavier shades I suppose could have some function in a utility vehicle like the Pajero.
The rear of this vehicle carried several stickers/badges that at first I took to be either dealer emblems, tourist stickers, or perhaps the Japanese version of those Police Benevolent Association/Give me a Free Pass on Speeding Tickets things. Turns out that they are closer to the latter, but operate on a broader level than just hoping for good luck around encounters with cops. A little research indicates that these “kōtsū anzen” omamori are lucky charms (no, not that kind) intended to protect and bring good luck to the driver and his vehicle. Traditionally, omamori are little satchels that contain beads or small pieces of paper inscribed with prayers. These slightly more modern versions are stickers and are thus more suitable for applying to the exterior of a vehicle. Omamori are usually available in exchange for a donation at Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines throughout Japan. I wonder if the Pajero came with these, or if the owner actually traveled to these shrines to obtain the omamori directly.
The top one in this photo is from the Fushimi Inari shrine near Kyoto and the two critters depicted are foxes. Those readers looking to bone up on their Shinto theology may be interested to know that the Fushimi shrine is one of thousands of shrines around Japan dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. In a country where the traditional diet pretty much includes rice as part of nearly every meal, you have to figure that the “god of rice” would be quite the big deal. Inari’s messengers to humankind are believed to be foxes. Thus, the foxes on this omamori.
The other sticker pictured is from the ancient Yahiko shrine. This shrine which has been around in one form or another since 657 B.C. honors Ameno-Kagoyama-no-mikoto (the great-grandson of the goddess Amaterasu Omikami) who in Shinto legend taught the locals a host of seriously productive tasks including “agriculture”, fishing, salt production, sake brewing and sericulture (growing silkworms to produce silk). Basically, getting food, drink, and fabricating something decent to wear out of insect cocoons.
Well, someone needed to do all that, I suppose.
It seems fitting then that this no doubt very capable Pajero 2800 Turbo Diesel Exceed Wide 5-Door be adorned with good luck charms referencing such productive and important figures. I guess we may be mostly done with the old farmers here in this small town, but at some level their spirit lives on via some seriously significant agricultural honors attached to a big cool vehicle.
Come to think of it, maybe you just can get there from here.
You have a knack for going down obscure rabbit holes Jeff, and once again you delivered. I never would have guessed this post was going to end up in a pair of Japanese shrines.
I love JDM model names. I must confess that I never heard of the Mitsubishi Pajaro “Exceed Wide” but I totally dig the name.
Lastly, whenever I hear the “You can’t get there from here” joke, I’m always reminded of the SNL “What’s the best way” skit from the 90s. I can’t seem to find a video of it online, so you will have to settle for this transcript. https://snltranscripts.jt.org/92/92ibestway.phtml
Thanks!
That’s a great SNL skit, and it seems somewhat legendary in terms of its disappearance from the Internet. Probably caught up in the rights of someone’s estate (I guess that’d be Phil Hartman’s 🙁 )
A decent substitute though is the Hyundai ad from a few years ago. Despite hating to admit it, I do think that this captures much of the local accent fairly well.
https://adage.com/video/hyundai-smaht-pahk
I don’t know how they came out with the name, taking into account that there is a sizable percentage of their market is Spanish speaking. Moreover, it doubles its meaning, both as a guy who indulges excessively in self satisfaction, or as a moron, depending on where you are. Doesn’t include all Spanish speaking people, but a lot sure do. Of course, here all were brought in as Monteros…
“Wanker” is the English-equivalent term I read several times when researching this piece.
I love it when car companies screw up like that 🙂
LOL…I was aware of that but decided someone could not like it. Thanks!!!
Having come of age in the time of Punk, the term seemed to be pretty much in common currency. And somehow as a Britishism, it always seemed kind of tame to me.
(something that will likely offend someone reading this from across the pond 😉 )
I’ve never spent much time in New England, but a few weeks ago, we spent a long weekend with my sister and her family, who live in a small town, surrounded by mostly other small towns, in Massachusetts. And I’m sorry to say that after three days there, I saw absolutely no photo-worthy Curbside Classics in any of them. So I’m glad you saved the reputation of small-town Massachusetts in my mind by finding this Pajero.
Way back in the 1980s, my parents bought a two-door Montero, which was a great vehicle, but utterly unsuited to them due to its choppy ride and questionable handling. They traded it after two years, but I’ve always admired the no-nonsense approach that Mitsubishi and Isuzu took to their 1980s/90s SUVs, and I liked the 4-dr. Montero when it became available stateside. And the little oddities of JDM Pajeros like this are wonderful, in my mind’s eye.
If I owned one like this, though, I’d go for the full Grandma’s Bedroom look and furnish it with doilies as well. Completely incongruent with an off-roader, but that’s what’s endearing about the Grandma’s Bedroom look.
Neat information about the shrine too. I like it was cars that improbably make the journey from a faraway land come with mementos like these stickers. I’d keep them on too.
I should add that one random thing I found amusing about small-town Massachusetts are the yellow road signs that say “Thickly Settled” when approaching a town. I assume that’s a Massachusetts-specific thing – the term itself seems quintessentially New England-ish, though I’m not sure whether in a charming or snobby way.
Ah yes, “Thickly Settled”. We’re all about “settled” here, in that all of our town signs (and all towns, and cities, all 351 of them, have signs posted on all major roads that enter town/city) contain the date when the town was settled or established. My town proudly proclaims “1655”. And it’s not the oldest by far.
But “settled” on the road signs is in fact about population density, and in MA, speed limit laws are not always about obeying the posted limit. In areas where it’s posted that the density is “thickly settled”, the speed limit is automatically reduced to 25mph, regardless of what the limit is on the road before entering (or after exiting) the “thickly settled” zone. Traditionally, speed limits on local and secondary roads were 35 or 40 mph. Again, seldom posted…you were just supposed to know that you needed to slow down to 25 or 15 mph when entering anywhere where there are buildings close together. There are actual laws about this, and everyone who gets a drivers license in MA supposedly has to know the rules. They’re on the test.
Nevertheless, this “thickly settled” thing has traditionally (oh, for a 100 years or so) operated mostly on faith, courtesy, and manners…expecting drivers to pay heed and slow down without the clear threat of enforcement. For a long time that’s worked…but relatively recently, it’s NOT worked and towns are starting to adopt and post actual speed limits in the hope/need to slow drivers down. Having had several people run down (a few killed) on my town’s main street in the past 5 years, we’ve finally started posting 25 throughout town…and 15 in the town center, it being “Thickly Settled” there.
The phrase, “you were just supposed to know,” encompasses the entirety of New England culture,
There’s definitely some truth to that. 🙂
Thanks – that’s very interesting. I had no idea they were effectively speed restriction signs. Not that I paid attention to this, but I don’t recall seeing “Sparsely Settled” signs head out of towns, to let drivers know when they can safely resume their previous speed.
No, you’re “just supposed to know” when the population density thins out.
I love New England, and share my life with a Massachusetts native, and charming vs. snobby isn’t so much an “either-or” as much as a “both-and”. He would be the first to agree.
The other quintessential New England road sign is “Frost Heaves”. That was even the name of a minor-league Vermont basketball team a few years back.
Being a hard core Isuzu fan from my Chevy LUV days, I would take your Trooper II over this all day long.
I did very much like the Trooper – and we’d had 2 LUVs before that! But those LUVs seemingly came from the factory with rust, and the Trooper was starting to rust at about the same time as the head gasket went on the engine. That combined with some absolutely criminally bad Isuzu dealers in my area pretty much put an end to my Trooper. I tend to think that similar things happened to many Troopers as I probably haven’t seen one in the metal (either my old 80s one or the much more Montero-like ones from the 90s) in 25 years.
My Father had an ‘86 long wheelbase 2-door LS in that burgundy/champagne two tone from new until ‘95; rust surprisingly was not an issue (Minnesota, no less). He did wash it regularly and always waxed it at least every fall, but only faint bubble spots on the rear doors and minor undercarriage rust were present when he parted with it. It did, however, crack the intake manifold while off-reading around Roseau when it was only a couple years old, and he swore it never ran 100% right again after that. Can also corroborate the suspect dealer experience. I distinctly recall a worthless heater from day one. Started backfiring upon nearly every upshift around the 90k mark. Too old to bother, he said, so off it went. The family has fond memories of it, but I really don’t think they truly realize how agricultural and dare I say crude it really was (even for then).
I tended to feel that many Isuzu dealers took that whole Joe Isuzu campaign a bit too seriously.
Interesting that you say “agricultural”. This is the same word I use to describe driving my 1976 Volvo 245…and that comes directly from feeling that shifting gears using that somewhat spindly gearshift is absolutely an agricultural experience. I love it. It’s what I feel that driving something like this should be. (I do realize that my opinion is just that)
” I love it. It’s what I feel that driving something like this should be.”
Yes – you’re so right. That is the feeling of absolute reliability.
What a unique find! I find the alloy wheel design, very attractive.
We had the US version, a ’94 Montero that was an excellent vehicle all around. Traded in for a ’98 Trooper that had a V6 with periodic intake manifold leakage problems that were exacerbated by very cold weather, not a good situation when living in Northern Vermont. Other than that it was also a good vehicle and still running at 230k miles, currently living with our son. Replaced by 2 Xterras in succession, also great functional vehicles.