In April 2023, I was in crisis mode. We had gone from three functional cars to one functional Kei car. The Z3 had been rear-ended the month before and was awaiting repairs. The 760Li, which had started April 2023 in a functional state, blew its alternator in the middle of traffic and was awaiting repairs. While I had a rental car, I had lost all faith in the 760Li. It had never been reliable, and it would never be. I then decided to cut my losses with it and instead order another car from Japan, though knowing that it would be months before it arrived.
I knew from the earlier Subaru Bistro purchase that I had a reasonable chance of getting a good car if I ordered one from Japan, even if it was a little beat up. I pored over listings for cars in Japan, considering anything with an engine larger than the one liter on our Kei car. I carefully considered a number of sedans and small SUVs. My partner, L was partial to the Nissan Rasheen, given its retro, boxy styling. While I considered it, I much preferred a sedan.
However, the obvious candidates were all too expensive. Toyota Century values had sky-rocketed prior to the pandemic and had only gotten worse since the pandemic began. Prices for a Nissan Skyline of any stripe were in the stratosphere, and those that could be imported under the 25 year-rule were even higher. While I could not find a budget alternative to a Century, there was a far more suitable alternative to a Skyline available to me: The Nissan Crew.
The Nissan Crew was a mid-size sedan used primarily as a taxicab in Japan. Most were sold with an RB20E, a SOHC-version of the RB-series straight six used in the Skyline. While by no means a powerful engine, it was a reliable one. Power was sent by either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic to a solid rear axle. The four-speed automatic was a Jatco unit used in several different rear-wheel drive platforms over the years, many of which were sold in America. In short, even if the Crew was not bulletproof, it would be durable enough to last my family.
However, the Crew was and is light on the ground in Japan, and it is also a highly boring car. Unfortunately, the same qualities that made it an excellent taxi must have made it a very unappealing private car. But there was a solution to both problems. Specifically, the Mitsuoka Galue I. Mitsuoka needs little introduction here, as several have been covered by Tatra87. But in short, Mitsuoka is a Japanese coachbuilder that takes cheap economy cars and turns them into retro-styled cars (or abominations, depending on your perspective). While their volume seller is the mini-me Jaguar-styled Viewt, they do sell a senior model. Specifically, the Mitsuoka Galue. The first-generation Mitsuoka Galue (1996-2001) was based on the Nissan Crew, and despite being a hand-built variant of that model, they happen to be more plentiful. This meant I could more easily get hold of the more interestingly-styled Galue, which solved both the problem with the Crew’s scarcity and its lack of excitement.
Neither the Nissan Crew nor the Mitsuoka Galue had been sold outside Japan, and I would presume only the best of the bunch were selected by speculators. Mine had a deep gash in the passenger (US driver) side rear door, some holes in the clearcoat, and the badging on the wire wheels was almost completely gone. But at least on the listing, that was all I could see that was wrong with it. I would later learn that a few minor things were (and still are) wrong with it, but I had faith that the Mitsuoka would be reliable enough. Also, it had factory doilies for the seats, and that was totally worth the risk. I made arrangements with the Import Guys to have the Mitsuoka shipped to America, and again it went through Las Cruces. I ordered it in April 2023, and it snuck into port in July 2023. I know it came over on a Hoegh ship, but the importer was caught off-guard by the ship coming in as well. Its timing was perfect. Not only had the 760Li finally let go that month, but L and I had just become the primary custodians of her children.
The Mitsuoka was mostly in good shape when it arrived. It made a whining noise that I never figured out the cause of, and the A/C servos were disconnected from the control panel. I never tried to solve these problems. The whining noise went away eventually, and thanks to our Buick Terraza, I was already accustomed to manually moving blend doors around. Other than this, the Mitsuoka was trouble-free. Drama-free too, as it turned out.
Whereas the Bistro had struggled to make highway speeds and felt like a novelty, the Mitsuoka felt like a normal car, but with the steering wheel on the other side. The radio worked and I could use a Bluetooth transmitter to listen to YouTube through the car’s two perfectly adequate speakers. The 2.0-liter RB20E made enough horsepower to maintain highway speeds without much drama, and the conventional four-speed Jatco automatic did its job in the exact same manner as every other four-speed automatic I had ever driven. Occasionally, the whining noise would pop up, and I would simply ignore it until it went away. That afternoon, L and I picked up the children, drawing a raised eyebrow from her ex-husband in the process, and so began my life as a full-time stepfather.
Unfortunately, being drama-free also means that it is fairly mechanically uninteresting. The Mitsuoka starts every morning, brings me to work, and brings the children to cub scouts. It is the definition of a family car. It is by no means fast. The engine is gutless, and the Mitsuoka apparently weighs a great deal more than it is prepared to pull. The steering is too light, but it is precise and the car goes where you point it. The body rolls in heavy corners, but I have never managed to make it understeer, nor oversteer. Gas mileage is decent. I have observed about 25 MPG on average. It is roomy enough for myself and four of my fairly overweight friends, as I learned on a day trip to Red River.
In all, the Galue is little more than a boring sedan wearing interesting clothing. Which was just fine for a time. However, after a few months I was window-shopping the JDM market again, and I found its intended replacement after six months. Fortunately for it, that replacement would not be legal to import for two more years. So I planned to wait out the time, and then to sell the Mitsuoka to the highest bidder. However, as Robert Burns would tell you, even the best plans don’t always work out. And my plans are seldom good.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Find: 1998 Mitsuoka Galue (Series I) – Downhill From Here
CC Capsule: 1997 Mitsuoka Galue – Real Horrorshow
Curbside Classic: The Japanese Retro Trial (2nd Witness) – Mitsuoka Viewt K12
Can’t wait to see where this goes next.
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Let me get this straight, If I’m understanding this correctly, this person, D, buys old cars from Japan, ships them to the US, then drives them until they die and then does it all over again. And apparently “L” is fine with this. Wow, talk about making car shopping way WAY to complicated. There are good used cars everytwhere
Now, yes. There are. Back in 2023? Not so much, no.
And yes, my wife is fine with it.
Wouldn’t it have been alot easier to just go visit your local Ford/Chrysler/GM dealer?
Actually no. Even now, it’s still harder to deal with the local Ford dealer, but back in 2023 they all had it in their heads that they could charge outrageous prices for terrible used cars, and they had a terrible attitude that made them impossible to deal with. We actually test drove a last generation Jimmy at the Santa Fe Chevy dealer, but they wanted $7,000 for it and it clearly had something going on with the brake system that they did not want to acknowledge. The local Chrysler dealer was still riding the shortage pricing high, so that was a non-starter.
Every company you just mentioned is a hard pass.
Wow! I have seriously thought about importing one of these over the years. The styling is Mitsuoka’s best with the retro bits working well with the upright nature of the Nissan Crew. It seemed to me that parts would be harder to get as the Crew was not sold outside Japan and seems to be very rare these days.
I am glad it worked well for you.
I often tell people it is the most coherently styled car they built for years. As for parts, I can get them with only a little difficulty. I ordered brake discs from Japan when it came in, and they’re sitting in storage and will go with the car when it sells. Ordering parts is a process, but it’s not altogether different than ordering parts for an old BMW. You pull up the electronic parts catalogue for the chassis, find the part, and then google the part number until you find the part. I actually ordered the timing belt kit from the local Nissan dealer because they had all the relevant parts. As for those I can’t find in that fashion, the EPC is connected to a Japanese parts store that will sell you the parts, albeit at a higher price than I’d like.
What a contrast to the 760i. Yes, these are essentially Japanese taxis with a six and of course all dressed up. But as you noted, the mechanicals are all extremely basic, solid and well-proven. Probably not that different from a 1980s Maxima. Retro on several levels.
Bravo! Great way to stand out if the crowd and make a statement while having a very usable and reliable mode of transport. “Big” Japanese cars work well in the US, much more so than big American cars do in Japan.
It’s great to be different! The back end of this car is actually quite elegant, dare I say shades of Graber Alvis? The front end maybe not so much..
Exactly (about the rear end.) I…like it?
Front end looks like the car from the movie “The CAR’.
It certainly looks nice .
Here’s hoping it serves you well and the next owner too .
-Nate
Don’t know why – this vehicle holds a certain appeal for me…
Glad it’s worked out well for you.
Mitsuoka continues to amaze me – here in Japan they’ve successfully pulled off the niche manufacturer challenge for over 40 years and continue to be profitable and roll out new cars.
At least in North America, when you hear “aftermarket” you tend to think “slapdash” – but every Mitsuoka I’ve sat in the workmanship and materials have been top notch.
That’s different from a Toyota Crown Comfort taxi or livery car. Had you considered a Nissan President or a regular Toyota Crown?
I’m familiar with the JDM life since my son has a Toyota HiAce. He gets some stuff sent from overseas,emergency items from Van Life Northwest in Portland, and some parts interchange with US market car. I knew of the Galue but didn’t know of the Nissan Crew. I find most of Mitsuoka’s cars amusing apart from the Orochi, which is not only ugly but requires the sacrifice of an NSX.
Well that wins the award for the most unexpected COAL! I’ve seen plenty of Crews here over the years – not many left now – and plenty of Mitsuokas – but never a Galue. I had an RB20E (with 5-speed manual) in my R33 Skyline, it’s such a sweet and smooth little six – and can easily be made to get up and boogie with K&N filters, ehaders and free-flow exhaust! It woke the Skyline up anyway, with the added bonus that an RB20 with big exhaust sounds abso-freaking-lutely gorgeous! Looking forward to your next choice of vehicular transport!