I just counted. Of the 149 posts I’ve written for Curbside Classic, a full 15% of them are about trucks, or vehicles based on truck platforms. That’s a huge proportion. It’s not that I’m a big truck fan – I just photograph the old vehicles I find. I live in Indiana, you see. Hoosiers have loved trucks since before loving trucks was cool. And starting in the late ‘70s, we started loving compact Japanese trucks. It was not an easy transition for us here in the made-in-‘Murica breadbasket. But these things were just so tidy and practical that we finally couldn’t resist. I think that our slow acceptance of little Japanese trucks eventually made it socially acceptable for us buy Japanese cars. Oh, but listen to me go on. This should be about this Mighty Max.
Because these were uncommon choices. While small Japanese trucks never sold in numbers to rival the F-150 and C-10 back in the day, when you saw one, 90% of the time it was from Datsun or Toyota. Datsuns owned the market at first, but Toyota chipped away at it steadily and finally came to dominance. Meanwhile, Isuzu/Chevy, Mazda/Ford, and Mitsubishi/Dodge/Plymouth duked it out for third place. Together, I’m sure they didn’t sell in numbers that would make whoever was in second place at the moment even break a sweat. (Maybe it was different where you lived. Maybe my memory is faulty; such is the nature of memory. But that’s how I remember it.)
I found this truck parked in front of a Yats where I was meeting a colleague for lunch. I spent the summer unemployed, so I was meeting a lot of colleagues for lunch or coffee or drinks to catch up and see if they knew anybody who is hiring in my field. It’s how I found the gig I started the first of August. I walked out the front door and there sat this old Mighty Max in full CC condition. And by the way, if you’re ever in Indianapolis, find a Yats and have lunch. It’s delicious. And man, this post never really was about this particular truck, was it? Even today, a Mitsubishi truck can’t get a lot of love in Indiana.
Related reading:
Now for the real question: If a Dodge Stealh hits a Misubish Mirage, did the accident really occur?
Deep philosophical questions are not our forte!
Was the forte KIA?
Perhaps, but give it 20 years.
Only the (Diamond) Stars can say.
For reasons of ‘Murca! These were a lot more commonly seen with Dodge badges as the Ram50. Even if everyone, including the owner, knew it was a Mitsubishi, driving a foreign-made vehicle was a lot more acceptable if it said “Dodge”.
My college roommate drove a Ram 50, but we only ever called it the “Mighty Max” to irritate him. Ahh, male friendships…
On the back, it actually said “Imported for Dodge”. I found it ironic that one of the D50s I knew was owned by a man who wanted nothing to do with anything Japanese.
But, it’s a Dodge, you know!
My BIL was wounded on Iwo Jima and hated Mitsubishi. Loved Toyota and Subaru. IMO it is hard to establish a direct link between the Zero plane and a Mitsubishi truck but he said there was for him. He kept the shrapnel they pulled out of him so I was in no frame of mind to argue. He wasn’t real happy that I was sent to Japan at about the same age he had been sent to Iwo Jima years before.
I guess there are a lot of things that, as individuals we don’t experience that make the world a different place for those that have lived through them.
All the japanese car companies were as involved in producing war related material as ours were. Subaru (Fuji Heavy Industries) has it’s roots in the Nakajima Aircraft Company. I’m sure your BiL will love that one! Mitsubishi’s connection is obvious. Toyota made trucks. So did Nissan. Mazda made the Type 99 rifle.
Mitsubishi should tap into this market again. Everyone else bailed out and they would have the field to themselves. I knew a few people who had D-50 Dodge versions and they all said they were tough as hell.
I doubt they will: Ford was the last one standing in this segment; nevertheless, Ranger/B3000 sales declined consistently to the point where it became only a niche. And it was never a bad truck, either; the market simply upsized, for better or worse.
The Ranger may never have been a *bad* truck, but it was hopelessly out of date by the time they pulled it out of showrooms. I doubt the age of the truck was the cause of the poor sales, but it didn’t help matters any either. Chicken, egg, etc.
Wow, those are getting rare. Back in 91, my friend’s dad had one he fixed up for car shows. It was charcoal grey with the Dodge lower gradient stripe kit.
Those were tough lil Mitsus. Too bad Mitsubishi has abandoned most automotive genres… Except SUVs and microcars. 🙁
Ah no they havent Muricans have abandonned Mitsubishi, they still make utes 2wd 4wd and cars of all sizes just you guys wont buy them,
These old Mitsu L200 utes are still everywhere around my area twin cab models seem the most popular but the basic utes are still popular there are even a couple of rare Dodge and Plymouth badged examples.
Plenty of their utes here, and SUVs if you care about those things, but their biggest car is only the Lancer – which hasn’t changed in, what, ten years?
Wish they’d send us the Dignity – though that’s based on the Nissan Cima/Infiniti M. Still, it’s a V6 RWD sedan; I could use one of those.
Mitsubishi in the USA has no dignity.
Tons of Mitsubishis in Southeast Asia. They’re the biggest vehicle manufacturer in Thailand, I think.
I’m distracted by the drastic difference in height between the Max vs. Dodge Intrepid and the Max vs VW Passat. The Intrepid gives the Max an impression of actually being a truck. The Passat’s height makes it look like some sort of Oompa Loompa conveyance.
Astute observation. As cars have gotten taller and fatter, short and skinny things like this look really weird.
Dodge D-50s of this generation were fairly rare, the Plymouth version was even more rare, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen this as a Mighty Max. I think a lot had to do with the number of dealers each brand had for retailling these small trucks. In the area where I grew up, there weren’t a lot of Ford Couriers or Chevy LUVs sold, but I think Chevy outsold Ford in this segment.
I’m considering a new Colorado but most dealers in my area are stocking loaded crewcabs, usually with 4WD. MSRP on those trucks can approach $37,000…..it’s like they really want you to see the full-size truck as the better deal.
That Mitsu must not have originated in the heartland because it doesn’t have huge rust holes in it. My father had an ’86 D50 in this style and one of the issues was supposed to be the weird carb and rebuilding same. He sold that truck in 1997.
And 1986 was the last year for the MM/Dodge D50 in this configuration as the 1987 model Mighty Max/D50 changed to the more square cab/body shape. The later model continued until the early 1990s.
My brother-in-law in KY recently renovated one fo the square body versions (1992? maybe) in 4×4 configuration and that one still had a little rust on it.
Where I was in the midwest at the begining of the mini truck fad the LUV was king followed closely by the Courier. Datsuns and Toyotas just weren’t around probably in part to there just not being any Datsun and Toyota dealers.
When I moved to the PNW when the fad was really starting to heat up the Datsuns were everywhere and Toyotas were far less common than the LUV and Courier.
As far as the Mitsu triplets go there were quite a few of them carrying the Plymouth and Dodge badges but the Mitsu badge was pretty rare likely again due to the number of dealers vs the other options and the fact that Chrysler actually advertised them.
I remember these and hated working on them when new .
My ex Father In Law (a really nice guy FWIW) bought one used , of course nothing worked so it spent a lot of time at my house getting sorted out ~ it turns out that Mitsubishi made them all but the Dodge D50 badged ones had myriad ever so slightly different parts and his had been assembled using a mish-mash of various D50 & Mighty Max parts so nothing ordered ever seemed to fit .
I would up using a _lot_ of Junk Yard parts , it ran O.K. whenever that crappy carby with the internal wax pellet choke thing wasn’t screwed up and being an Old Man he simply _LOVED_ the damn thing .
-Nate
Weird carburetor indeed, at least the Mikuni used on the 2.6L.. It had a choke actuator that worked similar to a thermostat, a wax element in a water-heated housing that expanded when the coolant reached operating temperature, thus opening the choke. At least that’s how it was supposed to work. As the carburetor got older, the choke took longer and longer to open. Not uncommon to see these back in the day stopped at a traffic light with a fast idle and black smoke out of the tailpipe. Naturally this was not good for the catalytic convertor, which Mitsubishi cleverly hid inside the exhaust manifold.
Ooooooooh that’s all a right mess.
Seen a couple dodge versions of the first gens over the years, but never one of these.
Drove one all over Guam after I retired. Liked it a lot. Not my fault I quit driving mini trucks. Got harder and harder to get junk yard parts. I did, indeed, drink the koolaide, Now it’s a Japanese SUV and a batch of trailers. So long as the hay gets hauled. koolaide
I think the Mitsu/Mopar mini trucks sold just a bit better than the Dodge Rampage/Plymouth Scamp. Yeah, Mighty Max got stomped.
Oddly there are tons of Mitsu powered Mazda trucks out there. Where hasn’t that 2.6 been?
My bil had a Ram 50. It was actually pleasant to drive.
We had an 81 for several years, the Plymouth Arrow Sport version. It had the 2.6 and 5-speed manual. It was a great ride and I wish there was something like it out there now.
Never say never regarding small pickups in the U.S. 20 years ago Explorers and Tahoes were flying off the dealer floors and Escorts languished. Now Focus and Cruze sized cars are standard family cars and the Escape and CRV are standard “SUV’s”. Yes, people rationalize that full-size pickups, especially with V6 power, are more cost-effective than the remaining, rather bloated “minis” like the Tacoma and Colorado/Canyon or even the non-US Ranger. But I think that if one of the manufacturers introduces a smaller pickup equivalent to the CRV or Escape, it would take off. Maybe the Koreans will do it. Oh well, I can hope …
On a vacation to LA in winter ’86, was amazed at seeing so many of these and customized too. Was a fan and wanted one, but on a later trip to So. CA in mid 90’s saw hardly any Mighty Maxes. But plenty of Toyota’s with just “YO” on the tailgate.
CC effect! I spotted a platform twin of this truck yesterday, a Dodge Power Ram 50. Looked very straight and clean; wish I’d had time to stop for some photos. It, and most of the Ram 50’s I’ve seen, had quad lamps instead of these duals. Nice-looking trucks either way.
Also I had no idea these didn’t go to the new body style until ’87. This looks like the 70’s design it is, and one would think it would have been rather uncompetetive after all of the competition had been redesigned. (Though Isuzu may have still been selling the P’up in ’86 as well).
This is my truck lol! Thanks for the yats shout out I’m the manager, if your ever back around you got a meal on the house. Was just looking on google images and ran accross this lol! Still have the old girl and she’s still running solid 122,000 miles!