There’s been some love on CC recently for the second generation Mitsubishi Colt/Mirage hatchback and its derivatives. It came in many forms, under various model names – as the Colt, Mirage, Lancer and Champ and various brands – Mitsubishi in most of the world, Proton in Malaysia and south Asia, and parts of the British Commonwealth, and as Dodge, Plymouth and Eagle in North America.
Europe got the Mitsubishi brand, until the UK got the Proton version from 1989, as the Mitsubishi version was replaced by the next generation. Sales in North America were under the Mitsubishi label and also the Mopar brands, with Eagle added from 1988. But these brands never came to Europe. Or did they?
This is a 1987-90 Dodge Colt DL wagon, which from the badging is trying to hide its Dodge branding (Colt by Dodge?). Perhaps Chrysler wanted a “Colt is Japanese” reputation to be read across? Based on what has been said on CC recently, this is now a rare car in North America, and indeed in Europe. This car will have a 1.8 litre engine, and either a five speed manual or three speed automatic (I confess to not looking to check) in place of the earlier car’s Twin Stick transmission with the two speed auxiliary gearbox.
So, a Dodge in France? Yes, and based on the number plate format it’s been in the same ownership for at least 15 years, of someone living in the Department de la Dordogne in the southwest of France (the 24 at the end is the department number – a department is analogous to a British county).
Google tells me that Cogdill Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM are still around, although now in Knoxville, Tennessee rather than North Carolina.
The number of rarity points is high; the reason and history are unknown but, apart from some missing cladding on one rear quarter, it looks reasonably tidy for a daily driver of that age. Especially in France…..
Could it be a former car somebody had in the US military that was sold off in Europe. Maybe it was imported three times. Could have been from someone on an American military base in Germany maybe that left the service, went back to the US, and sold their car there?
One of the best (or at least most distinctive and interesting) tail light designs of the decade, helping to make an fairly basic car have an inordinate amount of pizzazz in at least one aspect.
Count me as a fan of the whole Mirage lineup of this generation. From the humble two door hatch to the four door sedan to this wagon (albeit as Colt only) and then the turbo hatchback that was one of the first new cars I ever test drove at a dealer (what was the salesman thinking, letting two of us 16-year-olds take one for a spin on Van Nuys Boulevard because “my dad might buy me one if I like it”)?
Anyway, back then the styling was very modern and holds up as a crisp and aero shape. Somehow I think (or like to believe) this humble Colt wagon has been living its best life criss-crossing the European continent rather than just being consigned to shopping and church runs in North Carolina for a decade or two before being crushed.
Roger seeing this in France probably got as excited as any of us stateside seeing an Alpine A110 in the Costco parking lot… 🙂
This Colt fits in quite well in France. A Renault badge would not look out of place on it.
My neighbor across the street from me had one of these wagons when I still lived in the US, but I never thought to capture it, so it’s a good thing you caught this one. I’d always been curious about these, but they were never common, always vastly outnumbered by Subaru Loyales and Tercel 4×4’s.
+1. It does look very European, not Japanese at all.
Because of Renault’s current partnerships with Nissan and Mitsubishi it’s like seeing a Studebaker on an AMC/Eagle car lot! If Renault started remaking these, their rep for reliability would soar!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault%E2%80%93Nissan%E2%80%93Mitsubishi_Alliance
Great find, and a great mystery too! These wagons were great cars from an objective standpoint, but I recall them being rather poor sellers here in the US.
It’s tough to tell from the photo, but the sticker on the driver’s side of the windshield appears to be a North Carolina inspection sticker — I believe that N.C. began using that style of sticker in the late 1990s (an example of this is below). If so, then this car likely spent at least its first decade in North Carolina before migrating across the ocean. Quite a world traveler!
Hi Eric, you’ve got good eyes….original zoomed in
The teensy-weensy “Imported For Dodge” (or “Plymouth”) branding was done because they ran a single ad campaign with both Dodge and Plymouth division logos (white Pentastars on red or blue backdrops) side-by-side at the end of TV spots and the lower corners of print ads.
Also it can be a car of a former diplomat that served in the American embassy in Paris, and at the end of his mission, sold the car. I have experience on it since a father of a friend of mine bought every American car that was possible to buy from American leaving Brazil at the end of their diplomatic mission. I was raised taking rides in Plymouths, Grand Marquises, Mustangs, Camaros, Cadillacs, and many other, all of them from a American diplomats that left the cars behind in Brazil, selling them to brazilian individuals.
Sold as Mitsubishi Mirages here and imported used out of Japan there were plenty about not that long ago
Not a wagon but I have a 1994 Dodge Colt 1.5 litre that I use as a back up car. Mitsubishi made great little reliable motors. Doubt if there are very many still around?
Best guess is it’s a serviceperson’s car sold off second hand. I actually found a junkyard in the French countryside that specialized in American cars only and had a few for sale. I have pictures somewhere but they’re on film. This is not an American car but is one originally sold there.
Throughout Europe, in the 1990’s at least, you did see some American cars and they were actual export models meant to be sold locally. The Plymouth Acclaim/Dodge Spirit, the peak of K-car development, was marketed as the Chrysler Saratoga. Mopar minivans were plentiful, as they were the only legitimate competition for the Renault Espace (imagine if Chrysler never bought AMC and those made it stateside).
And, of course, Jeep Wranglers and Cherokees were available as well, with a 2.5-liter turbodiesel option coupled to a manual transmission that turned out to be a solid performer. An XJ Cherokee so equipped outran me on the Nurburgring, a clear tribute to the driver, of course. And European suspension tuning. Would anyone track an XJ over here?
Pontiac Trans Sports had revised lighting and bumpers to accommodate European license plates. These were clearly not models that were brought over from the States like this Colt was.
I’ll add that France’s controle technique requirements are as strict as the UK’s MOT or Germany’s TUV. Hence the good, solid condition of the car. If left to go to seed as it would have stateside, it would never make it on the road.
In France? Why not?. Since MOPAR imported Simca in the 60’s and I think the Dodge Omni came from Chrysler Europe, why not have a Mitsubishi based Dodge in France?
I think Tatra87 has shown pictures of French cars in Japan…so isn’t this kind of equal opportunity?
I don’t think I saw as many Japanese cars in Europe as we have in the US though.
Never owned a Colt, a wagon would be nice, but I think I lost my opportunity when they stopped selling the Mitsubishi Lancer…in particular the hatchback version, which seems pretty rare. Unfortunately it seems I’m never in the market when the ideal car for me is being sold new; I’m not a crossover/SUV fan, and with diminishing Mitsubishi offerings I probably never will…too bad for me.
Maybe we need to look for pictures of a Westmoreland Golf in Germany (or Brazil)?
Or vice-versa (probably pretty likely though it’s been a long time since Westmoreland has made a VW).
Looks to be in pretty good nick .
I too think most likely a serviceman’s old car, the bases used to have lots where they’d get left and newbies could buy them cheaply .
-Nate
The wagon version was built until mid-1991, since there was no new station wagon in the third generation Mirage/Lancer. At that time they sell well in Switzerland, but under his original name Mitsubishi Lancer. The other name variants are almost unknown in Europe. This car was rare in France even with Mitsubishi label, because France had very strict import restrictions on Japanese cars, until the liberalization of European markets by the EU.