By Kamil Kaluski
Welcome to another edition of Mystery Car. Today’s mystery is obviously very functional and perhaps not sufficiently cropped. Same rules as always, make and model. I can do without the engine specs this week, just because I don’t even know what they are. Get to it!
Congrats to last week’s winners. There were several, on multiple platforms (here, Facebook, twitter), and it’s impossible for me to tell who is the actual winner. In my book you’re all winners! I spotted this Dodge Lancer Shelby one lovely spring morning some years back. The driver seem to be truly enjoying it.
I got one, I think this might be a first. A Kia Bongo!
https://cdn-www.cardealpage.com/carimage/17104405/04.jpg
https://www.cardealpage.com/mazda/bongo%20van/17104405/?seller=tomisho&refkey=80a98d25205d21bef8bce27ef6056504
I’d say Daihatsu Hijet, but the door handle isn’t right, and there is no pillar visible between the doors.
But it’s something like it
Mazda E2000 van, or a rebadged version of it.
3rd (more likely), or 4th generation Mazda Bongo, Mazda Traveller, Ford Econovan, Ford Spectron, Nissan Vannette, Mitsubishi Delica, Kia Bongo.As nice an example of ‘badge engineering’ as anything British Leyland or GM came up with, and indicative of some of the curious cross-linkage between otherwise unrelated Japanese brands.
It was Mitsubishi’s production of Nissan’s Kei-car range in a deal, connected with the deal that gave us these vans, that gave Nissan early warning that Mitsubishi were cheating on their emissions and fuel economy testing. The early knowledge of this allowed Nissan-Renault to take advantage of the resulting scandal by buying out a controlling share in Mitsubsihi Motors as the share price collapsed when the scandal became public knowledge. An early sign of the Nissan-Renault conflict was further revealed at this point when Nissan Motors, itself, took on the Mitsubishi ownership, rather than it going to the combined Renault-Nissan alliance. The struggle for control between Renault and Nissan, and the digestion of Mitsubishi, is what led directly to Carlos Ghosn’s imprisonment and the current legal fight in Japan for control of what, on paper is the largest car producer on the planet.
Of course Nissan also had/has joint venture agreements with Isuzu, which by dint of previous GM control/ownership means Nissan vans have also appeared with Chevrolet, Opel, and Vauxhall badging as well as that of partner Renault.
In this case, Mazda under Ford control, was the original designer and manufacturer of this design, the Ford, Nissan, Kia, and Mitsubishi models being badging exercies only, all mechanical and bodywork parts coming from Mazda.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Mazda_Bongo_Brawny_101.JPG
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Bongowagon.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/1995_Ford_Econovan_Maxi_MWB_van_%282015-07-15%29.jpg/1280px-1995_Ford_Econovan_Maxi_MWB_van_%282015-07-15%29.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/1999_Ford_Econovan_%28JG%29_SWB_van_%282016-01-04%29_01.jpg/1280px-1999_Ford_Econovan_%28JG%29_SWB_van_%282016-01-04%29_01.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Nissan_Vanette_S20_001.JPG
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/NISSAN_VANETTE_VAN_GL.jpg/1280px-NISSAN_VANETTE_VAN_GL.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Mitsubishi_Delica_Van_001.JPG
The Mitsubishi L300 is not the same, they don’t have the vertical door handles on the front doors.
The L300 might not, but the version of this Mazda van marketed as a Delica in Japan and a few other markets does. As seen in the picture above your comment. 🙂
Ok, didn’t note the badge on the last one on my phone, there is no accounting for what goes on in the JDM I suppose…
There are some really weird cross connections.
sounds like Mazda actually good the best deal, making all those vans kept the factory running at a profit and subsidized RX-7s and Miatas. Sort like contract brewing the eminently hateable Zima Clear Malt kept Full Sail Brewing in the black during the 90s.
Dang, beaten by 5 minutes…
It’s definitely a Kei van and based on b pillar I was thinking 1990s Mitsubishi Minicab, but that was last night and apparently I’m wrong
Kei’s are much smaller, this Mazda would be slightly narrower than the VW T3 van but pretty similar overall. It wasn’t easy to find a pic of a Kei van next to a ‘normal’ one.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fe89f8c536ccc50c3987a038232af22cefb49eadb58a4f8f63663447ce032b72.jpg
Kei’s are much smaller, this Mazda would be slightly narrower than the VW T3 van but pretty similar overall. It wasn’t easy to find a pic of a Kei van next to a ‘normal’ one.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fe89f8c536ccc50c3987a038232af22cefb49eadb58a4f8f63663447ce032b72.jpg
Yeah I was thrown off by the Daihatsu HiJet guess. My understanding is that a Bongo is similar to a Mitsu Delica or Toyota HiAce in size
Bongo!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f1eee3c0d1a136a70fc651148facedaa5ba6824e1490381feaaaacb827fb76f6.png