The crossover Chevrolet sells under the Blazer name is great. It's practical, relatively fun on the road, plus it looks like a Camaro SUV. But it's also a huge disappointment in the context of the Ford Bronco.
The Blazer has such a complex history that Wikipedia won't know what car you're talking about. There's a crossover in production right now, along with the tiny Trailblazer, plus the TrailBlazer package for the S10 sold in the 2000s. But the cool one everybody remembers is the K5 Blazer, the full-size SUV based on the C/K pickup chassis.
While it wasn't a nimble little thing like the first Bronco, some would argue Chevy got the Formula right, as the second-gen "Dentside" Bronco from 1978 also switched to a long pickup chassis.
The first-gen would be our favorite Blazer look, but this article focuses on the model that followed. It entered production in 1973 and stuck around until 1991, and that is quite an achievement. Many of these retro rigs have a unique front end with four equally sized headlights, stacked vertically.
And a brand new SUV looking very similar just entered production... in Japan. This isn't the work of one of those Chinese automotive giants that have millions of customers and don't care about copyright laws. No, this is by Mitsuoka, a small but famous JDM company.
They made two cars that kind of looked like old Jaguars, and we loved their "Rock Star," which resembled early Corvettes and was based on the Miata.
We've known about the "Mitsuoka Buddy," but the shots we looked at originally looked like renderings. Japanese reviewers have been given the chance to check out the design and how it looks in the real world.
The front end is the most striking feature. It's got a large, flat chrome grille with deep-set quad lights. Despite us living in the era of crash safety, Mitsuoka has managed to insert a long chromed bumper with a hint of over-riders. It's probably soft plastic, and the grille seems to have a hidden radar system, so it's probably as safe as any other modern car in a pedestrian crash.
The profile obviously differs from a K5 Blazer because it's not square at the back. But the RAV4's fender flares have been filled out with replicas of Chevy Rally Wheels. And at the back, the fake Blazer gets square taillights and a rectangular insert for the tailgate, along with another chrome bumper.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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