Remembering Japanese cars from the past
I received a huge stack of Mitsubishi brochures, and this time they come from the Dutch dealerships!
Most of the brochures are from the 80s and early 90s, including the Cordia and the Starion. But I also couldn’t resist getting that late 90s Galant that I love soooooo much. Watch the unboxing below: Continue reading
Regular readers know I have a weakness for the third generation Mitsubishi Mirage (which is also known as the Mitsubishi Colt outside Japan) because it was my first car. I guess everybody has the same thing with his/her first car… So of course I was very excited to watch this ’87 Mitsubishi Mirage cup race taken from an 1988 Best Motoring video (posted on Youtube by Rocketpencil):
Of course my Colt wasn’t as quick as this the ones zooming over the circuit (mine actually featured the slowest 1.3 SOHC carb-ed engine) so I can only dream of what performance must have come out of the 4G61T powered Mirages. The specs on Wikipedia speak about the range of 200hp, so not bad for a 1.6 litre Twin Cam Turbo engine. ;)
Anyway, here is the video: Continue reading
When I spotted this advert on Marktplaats earlier this week I was surprised that a Colt with this low mileage (28000 kilometers, confirmed) was for sale for less than 3500 euros!
The car has always been taken care of by the one and the same dealer: Borgmeijer in Zwolle.
Its grey color still looks stunning after 33 years: Continue reading
Just watched this road test of the Mitsubishi Cyborg C50 (aka the Mitsubishi Colt) by Video Option and it is a bit weird to see the Stig driving for a different automotive video magazine!
And yes I know: I do have a weakness for this Colt model as it was the first car I bought. ;)
Just imagine it is someone around the same age as your dad (or granddad of course) who drove this Mitsubishi Colt 1000 with his wife back in 1963 for the backside of the Colt A20 catalogue:
The photograph is done in a typical early 60s style: showing the magnificent progress (the car, the blurry neon lights), the mood (dark, gloomy and wet asphalt reflecting the tail lights) and of course usage of the colors (pastel like). Makes me wish I could have taken this photograph!
Just got back from a two week trip to Manokwari and Jayapura (Irian Jaya aka New Guinea) and I did find loads and loads of old J-tin! I spotted many old Coronas (T80 to T120s), Kijangs (especially the first three generations), Chasers and Mark IIs (X70/X80/X90) and loads of these tiny taxi busses called bemo for your everyday transportation. The drivers tend to outdo each other with modifications and I’ve sat in some very very bizarre creations already!
Bemo taxi minibus in Jayapura
A ride costs next to nothing (2000 rupiah), you can hop on whenever you see one and they take you along on the main routes. You can also hire one for a personal destination but you can expect to pay a lot more than the 2000 rupiah…
Also at the terminal you can find loads and loads of these busses waiting for a ride:
Bemo taxi minibus in Jayapura
Most of the busses for short distances are either the Suzuki Carry (or Suzuki Every) or the Mitsubishi Colt (Mitsubishi Minicab), but some other brands and models are also used for mid range transportation.
Bemo taxi minibus in Jayapura
Some of them are really shabby and you really get the feeling they will fall apart while they master another hairpin of the many touges around Jayapura!
Bemo taxi minibus in Jayapura
But most of the drivers are really creative and improve their rides every day…
Bemo taxi minibus in Jayapura
Most of the time they start with a bunch of deep dished wheels at the rear that stick out of the bodywork with at least 3 inch. Later on they do the same up front, followed by big wings and spoilers. Steering wheel, audio, tsurikawas and dash bling are mostly done in the later phases followed by big foglights.
Bemo taxi minibus in Jayapura
I’ve given away a couple of the Bosozoku Style stickers (only whenever I really liked the car and driver) so in case you are visiting Jayapura anytime soon you can spot one on a bemo!
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