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Junkyard Gem: 2006 Mitsubishi Raider

When I'm scouring the rows of a big, fast-inventory-turnover vehicle boneyard for fascinating examples of automotive history, I keep strange examples of badge engineering at the top of my shopping list. Subarus with Saab emblems, Isuzus with Acura emblems, Hyundais with Mitsubishi emblems, Austins with Nash emblems, Mazdas with Mercury emblems, all the vehicles that sprang into existence because Carmaker A wanted to fill a vacant slot in the showrooms and Carmaker B proved willing to offer a vehicle that fit that slot. While I have yet to unearth a discarded Suzuki Equator pickup, I've found this truck with a far more convoluted model-name history: a 2006 Mitsubishi Raider in Phoenix. Chrysler sold rebadged Mitsubishis over here for decades, beginning with the Dodge Colt in the 1971 model year. Trucks joined the mix in the middle 1970s, with the Plymouth Arrow and then the Dodge D-50/Ram 50 pickups. The Dodge-ized Mitsubishi pickups soon faced competition from their Mitsubishi-badged twins, in the form of the Mighty Max, and then Chrysler began selling first-generation Mitsubishi Monteros with Dodge badging. That truck became the Dodge Raider, available with "Imported for Dodge" emblems in North America for the 1987 through 1989 model years. Raider owners loved their tough little SUVs every bit as much as Montero owners loved theirs, and so the Raider name continued — decades later — to have positive connotations in the world of Dodge and Mitsubishi truck owners. So, when the American outpost of the Mitsubishi Empire needed a pickup to offer in their showrooms (the Mighty Max having been axed in 1996), they turned to their friends at Chrysler and the Dodge Dakota pickup. With some new bodywork and tough-looking Raider badges, the Dodge/Mitsubishi Raider circle had been closed. Raider sales began in 2005 for the 2006 model year. Sales numbers proved disappointing, and 2009 was the last year for the Raider. This one got crashed hard, then picked over for mechanical goodies by Dakota owners. You won't find many pickups this new with manual transmissions, but this one had one. The engine is long gone, but would have been an American Motors-developed 4.7-liter V8 or 3.7-liter V6. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. With Dodge going murderously macho with their ads last decade, Mitsubishi had no choice but to follow that formula with the Raider. Related Video:

Junkyard Gem: 2003 Mitsubishi Diamante VR-X

Mitsubishi has been selling cars and light trucks under its own name in the United States since the Starion, Tredia, Cordia and Mighty Max appeared here as 1983 models, but only one big luxury sedan has ever been in the Mitsubishi Motors USA lineup: the Diamante. For the last few years of the Diamante's availability here, a factory-hot-rod version of the Diamante known as the VR-X could be purchased. Here's one of those extraordinarily rare cars, now residing in a Denver-area self-service wrecking yard. The Diamante was the successor to the Mitsubishi Sigma, an upscale "pillared hardtop" version of the fifth-generation Galant. The Sigma sold poorly here, but Mitsubishi had hopes of stealing some American-market sales from the strong-selling Lexus ES and Acura Legend. Making a North American version of the swanky Mitsubishi Debonair didn't seem like a wise investment (though some Debonair DNA eventually showed up here, within the Hyundai XG), and so the brand-new Diamante made its North American debut as a 1992 model. The first-generation Diamante was available in both sedan and wagon form, with the wagon getting the axe here after 1995. The second-generation Diamante sedan appeared in American Mitsubishi showrooms as a 1997 model, with sales here continuing through 2004. There was a facelift for the 2002 model year, after several miserable sales years in the United States, and the sporty VR-X version was added to the lineup at that time. The VR-X got some cladding, white analog gauges, a louder audio system, some performance upgrades and a fast-and-furious optional spoiler. The MSRP for the '03 VR-X was $27,557, or about $46,362 in 2023 dollars. The VR-X's engine was a 3.5-liter 6G-series V6, rated at 210 horsepower. This was just five horses better than the regular Diamante's 3.5-liter. All 2003 Diamantes sold in the United States came with mandatory four-speed automatics.  This car, like the Diamante wagons of the middle 1990s, was built in Australia. The leather seats came with VR-X embossing. This is a good example of a rare special-edition car that's not worth much now. Perhaps some Front Range Mitsubishi enthusiast will buy the unique VR-X wheels and other bits before this car goes to the crusher. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 0% interest, zero down payment, zero payments until 2004 on all new Mitsubishis. This content is hosted by a third party.

Mitsubishi AR Concept continues a wacky, wonderful tradition [w/video]

Mitsubishi enjoys a long history of thinking outside the literal box when it comes to designing minivans and people movers. Remember the Mitsubishi Van, a.k.a. Delica? How about the Chariot, better known to us as the Colt Vista? The Expo and Expo LRV, the twin models that succeeded it? These were all left-of-center takes on the MPV genre, and while they never sold in large volumes, we can't help but look back at them with a mix of bemusement and respect for their oddball character. Who knows? A production version of this AR Concept could be next.
According to Mitsubishi, "the comfort of a minivan and active personality of an SUV are merged at the highest levels" in the Concept AR. Us? We just think this mild hybrid concept looks kind of neat, even if it's just putting on off-road airs with its elevated ride hight, faux skid plates and black-lipped wheel wells.
Hardware-wise, this Active Runabout is less showcar and more 'real world,' with the front wheels drawing their power from a 134-horsepower, 1.1-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine paired with a 10-kW electric motor used as a belt starter generator (read: mild hybrid). A continuously variable transmission handles shifting duties.