It’s been a while since we haven’t had a Mitsuoka sedan on CC. I’ve been one of the main purveyors of these fascinating machines on this website, to the eternal chagrin of many retinas. I’m afraid it’s going to continue, as I am now strategically located in Mitsuokaland, which I’m proposing to use as a new name for Japan.
OK, my sensible side is arguing, with some merit, that it’s not really up to me to rename countries and that Mitsuoka-land is probably not going to be a popular option for the many citizens of Japan who do not own a Mitsuoka. Damn that sensible side, he’s always right and so damn … sensible. But where is Mitsuoka’s sensible side? The front? The rear? Nope. Nothing sensible about these at all.
Well, seeing as this is a 1st series Galue (1996-2001), I think there might be a way to argue that it’s the most sensible Galue. It’s a bit like being the tallest midget, sure, but have you seen the later Galues? I caught a couple a while back. Challenging to say the least. We’re currently on Series V of the Galue and the situation has not improved one jot. They just keep getting bigger and uglier.
By comparison, this early model is relatively tame and not too bulky. As well it should be: whereas subsequent Galues were based on the Nissan Cedric/Gloria Y34 (Galue II), the Nissan Fuga (Galue III) and the Teana (Galues IV and V), this initial one was based on the lowly Nissan Crew K30. (By the way, just to confuse the enemy, Mitsuoka also made a small Galue, the 2-04, based on the Toyota Corolla from 2008 to 2012.)
The Nissan Crew K30 taxi, a.k.a the Anti-Crown, made from 1993 to 2009
And what is a Nissan Crew? Well, it’s like the basic Toyota Crown Comfort, only more so. It’s the marriage of a Cedric/Gloria Y31 saloon with a C32 Laurel’s front end, with the RB20E (2-litre straight-6) still inside, mated to 5-speed manual (or 4-speed auto) sending all of 129 hp back to a coil-sprung live axle. These were mainly for the taxi trade, as well as local police forces and driving schools, but from 1994 to 2002, the Crew was also available for the general public. Hyper-conservative septuagenarians were the main intended clientele, but some Crews have had a second life as souped-up driftmobiles, due to their simplicity, rear-wheel-drive and solidity.
Mitsuoka saw this toothless dinosaur of a car and did what they do best: a trowelful of chrome here and there, Caddy-like lights out back and “wood” on the dash (but no leather, please) and Bob’s your uncle, the Galue was launched in 1996. It seems Mitsuoka didn’t bother changing the steering wheel, which still says Nissan. It’s a bit of an oversight, if you ask me. If you’re going to plant a massive Bentley grille and chrome bumpers on a taxi, you might as well sign your work inside as well.
It’s not exactly understated, but it’s definitely not the worst offence Mitsuoka have committed upon the automotive world. And with its upright formality, straight-6 and 4-speed slushbox, this Galue is at least in the same philosophical ball-park as the ‘50s Bentley it is amusingly trying to emulate. It’s not the ideal candidate for the Tokyo drift crowd, but I’m tempted to let this one slide.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 2007 Mitsuoka Galue MkIII — Bentley/Cadillac Tribute Band Goes Off Key, by T87
CC Capsule: 2013 Mitsuoka Galue III Limousine – A Darker Shade Of Weird, by T87
Curbside Classic: The Japanese Retro Trial (2nd Witness) – Mitsuoka Viewt K12, by T87
Mitsuoka Le Seyde: The Compact Zimmer, by PN
CC Outtake: 2019 Mitsuoka Rock Star – Rockin’ to the Heartbeat of America, by Jim Brophy
Peugeot 403 with Jaguar headlights and pseudo-Bentley grille. Weird.
Perhaps the least repulsive Mitsuoka. The Crew made for a much better donor car than the others Mitsuoka chose from and the design is pretty harmonious… or as much as a Mitsuoka design can be. I can kind of dig it.
Less terrible than the others (trying to pay it a compliment).
It is nearly impossible to retro-style a modern car with fixed (glued) windows, since the window chrome bracket is missing. So this is a pretty good job, except for the windshield and door handles of course. And in an odd way it does even emulate some britishness.
I LIKE it!
Do my eyes betray me ?
I like all the Mitsuokas dang it! In all their gaudy over the top tacky glory.
But I do enjoy vehicles that make people do a double take and say: “DAFUQ is that?”
Dan you should play in our traffic sometime, theres always something like that every day/night.
Oh dear. What comes out when an old thoroughbred is sent to the Galue factory, I guess.
Ha, brilliant! 😀
Speaking of glue factorise who is that panelbeater with the lit at night showroom in your town I drive by you know the one or should do it has the partially completed Cobra on display, theres not enough room to park a truck and trailer or I’d stop and look closer.
I was almost ready to admit to liking this (OK, the rear more than the front) until I looked at those rear quarter panels. Where the long crease that goes from the front to the back of the original car just abruptly disappears a few inches behind the wheel opening. Ugh.
Envy, Sir, and nothing more.
Whilst quite possibly I thank the exact same thinks you thunk, I at least can acknowledge that, by a certain age, the noting of the non-(or dis)appearance of any wrinkle or crease in another – even inanimate – is a reflection only of one and one’s decay, and therefore one’s resulting covetousness.
Another one for the like category. Not only like (I tend to like all Mitsuokas), but would actually consider owning one were it available. My idea of a brougham.
I’d just love to see this being put into taxi service someplace, since it’s based on one.
I love that this is a thing. From the rear it’s just a boring looking sedan, but from the front? Holy tacked on 1950s British luxury sedan front end! I would never buy one but it’s awesome that Mitsuoka has created this monstrosity and that people can actually purchase these things. Shame on the owner though as I don’t see Grandma’s lace decor inside!
Keep bringing us weird cars from Mitsuokaland!
The back is actually very nicely done, quite attractive. The front…. not so much
Somewhere in that hodgepodge of everyone else’s styling ideas is also the Mercedes 180, 190, and 220 of the late 50s.
I often wonder if Mitsuoka realise they have taken all Japanese innovation back to where its reputation actually began, as makers of cheap knock offs of other peoples products lots of shiny bits but with the durability of wet tissue paper, they have come a long way from there and now Mitsuoka have stepped straight back to the made in oriental Sheffield steel days.
Ahh, I am always fascinated with the Mitsuoka CCs, keep them coming!
There is a recently imported 1991 Le Seyde (the Zimmer look-alike) for sale near Los Angeles and I have a strong urge to photograph and write it up.
The rear end is reminiscent of a Rover P6 that has started to melt.
When I saw the first picture I was hoping someone at Mitsuoka just might have had the sense to copy one like the below but then it IS a Mitsuoka, so no.