Just how rare is a Delica in the United States?  When I jumped out of my friend’s car in Oakland to snap some shots of this van, there was another dude already next to the van, taking pictures of his own.

This is the third Delica I’ve seen in the States.  The first was registered in a Southwestern state.  The second one, powered by biodiesel, was spotted south of Portland.  The British Columbian owner was headed to a Phish concert in Berkeley.  This 1994 model, as you can see, is also registered in B.C.

Fortunately, there is a helpful dealer sticker on the liftgate.  It’s from Silk Road Autos, which imports used cars from Japan.  It sold recently for $12,400 CDN (or $12,500 U.S.).  It is powered by a two-and-a-half liter turbo diesel.  As is the case with almost all used Japanese cars, it barely has any miles.  In this case, just 84,000 kilometers.  (If you scroll down on the left column of the Silk Road website, you can see more pictures (exterior and interior) of this specific vehicle.) 

The Japanese English on these cars is hilarious.  On the Phish fan’s Delica, a sticker read: Mitsubishi Delica Star Wagon 4 Wheel Drive GLX Turbo Diesel Specially Designed For All Season Out Door Player.  

 

I have fond memories of the Delica.  One summer during my childhood, my father’s friend, who was the consummate outdoorsmen, rented a Delica and took his kids and me all over Japan camping.  More recently, my wife and I hired two Han Chinese guys and their Delica and had them drive us from the Silk Road oasis city of Kashgar all the way to the Chinese-Tajik border.  It was wild.  

 

Apparently, this sticker denotes the van as equipped with a cold weather package.  So it may have been from Hokkaido!

 

Images source: Copyright 2012 Hooniverse/Jim Yu