Photo: carfromjapan.com
For a moniker so associated with America, freedom, and fuel economy so woeful it may as well sip on crude oil all day, the Jeep name's found itself used in several non-Chrysler and non-AMC companies. Today, let's focus on one made in Japan. Not by Chrysler, but Mitsubishi.
If you can believe it, Mitsubishi Motors produced what was essentially a license-built copy of American Jeep products since 1953. At that time, they were initially based on just recently retired versions of U.S. Army Jeeps that had very recently been used against Imperial Japan during the Second World War.
These Mitsubishi Jeeps were built for a staggering 45 years with only incremental body and mechanical changes along the way. While genuine American Jeeps got bigger, heavier, and less capable off-road, Mitsubishi Jeeps looked the same, apart from minor styling cues between the three and five-door variants.
There were a few essential safety measures implemented as well as the years passed. Of course, these Mitsubishi Jeeps were never allowed to sniff the American market. But we all know archaic laws about what cars can or can't be imported can only keep an interesting car away for so long.
This 1994 Mistubishi Jeep has the same overall silhouette as an equivalent model year Chrysler Jeep Wrangler YJ. But where there should be iconic square headlamps, the classic bug-eye Jeep headlights reside. Where there should be a door, there's a zippable hole in the canvas roof that you can squeeze yourself in and out of. It's a bizarre sight to behold. But as surprises go, this is a rather pleasant one.
Under the hood of this Japanese Jeep is not an AMC straight-six, as you may expect from a Jeep of this vintage. Instead, a 2.7-liter diesel four-cylinder engine does all the work lugging this little 4x4 around. It's bound not to be very fast, but why go fast when you can savor the scenery?
This little nugget of Japanese-American history can be all yours via the Car From Japan retail website, along with so many other imported JDM Classics. A check for $12,223 before taxes and fees takes this one home. You can even pick the port it ships to. Happy days!
These Mitsubishi Jeeps were built for a staggering 45 years with only incremental body and mechanical changes along the way. While genuine American Jeeps got bigger, heavier, and less capable off-road, Mitsubishi Jeeps looked the same, apart from minor styling cues between the three and five-door variants.
There were a few essential safety measures implemented as well as the years passed. Of course, these Mitsubishi Jeeps were never allowed to sniff the American market. But we all know archaic laws about what cars can or can't be imported can only keep an interesting car away for so long.
This 1994 Mistubishi Jeep has the same overall silhouette as an equivalent model year Chrysler Jeep Wrangler YJ. But where there should be iconic square headlamps, the classic bug-eye Jeep headlights reside. Where there should be a door, there's a zippable hole in the canvas roof that you can squeeze yourself in and out of. It's a bizarre sight to behold. But as surprises go, this is a rather pleasant one.
Under the hood of this Japanese Jeep is not an AMC straight-six, as you may expect from a Jeep of this vintage. Instead, a 2.7-liter diesel four-cylinder engine does all the work lugging this little 4x4 around. It's bound not to be very fast, but why go fast when you can savor the scenery?
This little nugget of Japanese-American history can be all yours via the Car From Japan retail website, along with so many other imported JDM Classics. A check for $12,223 before taxes and fees takes this one home. You can even pick the port it ships to. Happy days!
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