When I am scouring the rows of a significant, quickly-inventory-turnover vehicle boneyard for intriguing examples of automotive heritage, I maintain weird examples of badge engineering at the best of my browsing list. Subarus with Saab emblems, Isuzus with Acura emblems, Hyundais with Mitsubishi emblems, Austins with Nash emblems, Mazdas with Mercury emblems, all the vehicles that sprang into existence because Carmaker A wanted to fill a vacant slot in the showrooms and Carmaker B proved inclined to present a vehicle that suit that slot. Even though I have still to unearth a discarded Suzuki Equator pickup, I’ve discovered this truck with a much extra convoluted model-name heritage: a 2006 Mitsubishi Raider in Phoenix.
Chrysler sold rebadged Mitsubishis about below for decades, beginning with the Dodge Colt in the 1971 model year. Trucks joined the mix in the center seventies, with the Plymouth Arrow and then the Dodge D-50/Ram 50 pickups. The Dodge-ized Mitsubishi pickups before long confronted competition from their Mitsubishi-badged twins, in the variety of the Mighty Max, and then Chrysler commenced promoting to start with-technology Mitsubishi Monteros with Dodge badging.
That truck became the Dodge Raider, obtainable with “Imported for Dodge” emblems in North America for the 1987 via 1989 model a long time. Raider house owners beloved their tough little SUVs every single bit as much as Montero house owners beloved theirs, and so the Raider name continued — decades later — to have favourable connotations in the earth of Dodge and Mitsubishi truck house owners.
So, when the American outpost of the Mitsubishi Empire essential a pickup to present in their showrooms (the Mighty Max getting been axed in 1996), they turned to their good friends at Chrysler and the Dodge Dakota pickup. With some new bodywork and tough-looking Raider badges, the Dodge/Mitsubishi Raider circle experienced been closed. Raider income commenced in 2005 for the 2006 model year.
Revenue figures proved disappointing, and 2009 was the past year for the Raider. This 1 got crashed really hard, then picked about for mechanical goodies by Dakota house owners.
You won’t locate quite a few pickups this new with manual transmissions, but this 1 experienced 1. The motor is prolonged absent, but would have been an American Motors-made four.seven-liter V8 or 3.seven-liter V6.
With Dodge going murderously macho with their ads past 10 years, Mitsubishi experienced no selection but to follow that components with the Raider.
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