Dear lord…how did these things become popular? In Kuwait and Iraq, vans like the Mitsubishi Delica, the Kia Bongo, and more that are all pretty much the same thing really: a cube with lights. They aren’t fast. They are not freaking roomy once you get past three people inside. And this isn’t even the weirdest version…the next generation wound up looking like a semi-curled roly-poly and was called the Space Gear. No, seriously. Complete with a chunky pushbar, a ladder and a roof rack. And there is a huge market for these things. What the hell….?!
I get it, not every car is cool and every car has a fan of sorts. There are people who love Ford Granadas that weren’t built in Europe. There are fans of 1980s Dodge Colts, the one with the weird twin-stick transmission. Somebody out there collects early 1990 Geo Trackers, but only the bright aqua painted ones. Whatever. How on this planet did this van, a crossover between a Mitsubishi Pajero, a Hello Kitty episode and the nightmare of an NHTSA engineer, become a darling? You couldn’t hold out for a Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa, a legitimate bus a hair bit bigger than a larger Ford Transit? At least there, you could have space to set up a compact RV or a real “Van Life” kind of rig that you could theoretically live out of. The Delica, by comparison, looks like a cartoon character, one that I can’t get too descriptive about lest I get termed a racist for pointing out the fact that everything about it is Asian. Looks, ergonomics, optional karaoke bar. Everything.
1992 Toyota Supra Twin-Turbo R…or this thing. What the hell.
That Fuso Rosa looks massive! I don’t want a transit bus or mobile home on wheels. Probably doesn’t get near the MPG a diesel Delica does. That, size, and reliability is what drew me to a Delica. Can’t wait to take it into the snowy mountains.