To be honest, I was in two minds about writing this instalment of ‘Forgotten Heroes’ on the topic of the truly rare and probably-impossible-to-find-now Mitsubishi Emeraude. Firstly, the Emeraude never sold particularly well, and can hardly be called a hero in terms of its longevity, popularity, or modern desirability. Secondly, the Emeraude was nothing to …
Growing up in New Zealand and reaching “driving age” in the mid 2000s, I was blessed to live in a place and time where ex-JDM cars were abundant. Import rules for bringing cars into NZ have tightened substantially in recent years (this is one of the reasons why our good friend and occasional contributor Tim …
In the 1990s, Japanese car manufacturers were on a roll when it came to building great hot hatchbacks. In particular, the Japanese domestic market was blessed with a dizzying array of “economy hot hatches”. Taking basic, popular economy cars, companies like Honda were using common models such as the Civic, stuffing in larger and more …
In the mid to late 1990s, Toyota was winning the sports coupe game with the Celica. From basic economy models (for those who wanted to look like they owned a fast car) through to the fire-breathing, WRX and Evo-matching GT-Four, there was a Celica for everybody. And what if you wanted a Toyota Celica in …
When it comes to Subaru’s back catalogue, there is perhaps no greater hit than the 22B. Taking the formula of the normal, already-epic WRX STI bit dialled up to 11 (or a rally car dialled down a notch to be suitable for the road – you take your pick) the 22B is a legend. The …
Ask the average car enthusiast to name the car that they would most associate with Mitsubishi’s rallying efforts, and 99% of answers would probably be the ‘Lancer Evolution’ aka ‘Evo’. Across a number of generations from the early 1990s to late 2000s, the Evo dominated the landscape and waged a constant war with the Subaru …
Mitsubishi probably isn’t the first brand you’d think of if somebody asked you to name a manufacturer that has built a “fast wagon”. Audi is perhaps the incumbent in the go-fast-family-wagon stakes, with Subaru being the Japanese pack leader (although sadly not so much any more with the demise of the Legacy GT) and Volvo …
When you think of JDM luxury/VIP cars, what comes to mind? The Toyota Celsior (the Japanese market Lexus LS400/430) might come to mind. Perhaps something like a Nissan Cima, or even the Nissan President. But you probably won’t think of anything from Mitsubishi’s back catalogue. However, Mitsubishi did make – at various stages – luxury …
Sometimes when browsing car classifieds, you come across a vehicle you forgot even existed. One such car is the Mitsubishi Diamante Ralliart (known as the ‘Magna’ Ralliart to Australians; I’ll use the two names interchangeably). In doing my research for my recent article on the Nissan Maxima Spec R (which was a rare, New Zealand-only …
Once upon a time, Australia (and to a lesser extent, New Zealand) had well-developed domestic car industries. Unique, market-specific models were built in local factories by Aussie/Kiwi workers. At the same time, domestic versions of existing cars were built in these same factories, as opposed to importing finished cars from Japan, America or Europe. Socioeconomic …
