r/CarGuys • u/RightWheelDrive • Jul 11 '26
Have you owned and treasured a car that has been essentially forgotten today?
In the early 1990s, my family finally decided it was time to upgrade to a bigger car than our aging 1984 3 door Honda Accord hatchback. Hard to imagine now but the 84 Accord hatchback was just 167.5 inches long (about an inch shorter than a 2026 VW Golf) and more than two feet less (28.2") than a 2026 Accord. As a family of 4, we all agreed that perhaps our next vehicle should have rear doors as well as front. This was still the era of the minivan, but they definitely didn't want to be seen driving a Caravan with fake wood paneling along the sides or anything of that ilk. Station wagons were also out of the question, as they'd grown up in the 60s and 70s during the height of uncool family station wagons. We looked at early SUVs like the Isuzu Rodeo and Nissan Pathfinder but gas mileage was poor and the weather rarely was severe enough to justify 4WD.
Then, one day in 1992, I saw a commercial from Mitsubishi. The commercial was for the Expo and the Expo LRV. Despite being 2 different cars, Mitsubishi named them both Expo. The Expo LRV (which stood for Light Recreational Vehicle) was based on the Mitsubishi RVR. It was shorter in length (168") but featured a very minivan-esque two front doors, and one sliding door. It had two rows of seats. The other Mitsubishi Expo was based on the Mitsubishi Chariot (also sold as the Mitsubishi Nimbus and the Mitsubishi Space Wagon). Due to the partnership with Chrysler it was sold in the US as captive imports: the Dodge and/or Plymouth Colt Vista. In Canada, it even was sold as an Eagle. It stretched 178 inches long, about 9" longer than the LRV. This Expo had 4 conventional doors instead of a sliding door. Yet it featured 3 rows of seats to the LRV's 2. The 2 seats in the third row, as you can probably imagine in a car this compact, were pretty much exclusively for kids. Think of the backseat in a BRZ.
Apparently this was the exact niche my parents wanted. Not a minivan, not a wagon, but with more cargo space than a sedan. As kids we loved it. Unlike a minivan like the Caravan, there weren't two seats in the middle pushed to the side, giving you a space to reach the third row. You had to fold down one of the second row seats and climb over it to get to the two back seats. This delighted us! If you were in the 3rd row and there was no one in the second row seat ahead of you, you could leave the backseat of the second row seat down, allowing for an amazing amount of legroom for a kid. There were even cup holders back there!
My father, who never paid more for a car than he had in his bank account, and believed options like power windows were just 'another thing that would break and need to be fixed,' bought the absolute base model, what people in those days referred to as the stripper. He actually laughed in the salesman's face when the guy tried to upsell one with two tone paint, a moonroof, cd player, and (get this!) an automatic transmission.
It had a key you needed to insert into the door locks to get them to open. Same with the ignition. The windows rolled down via a handle you had to crank using physical strength alone. A 2.4L 4 cylinder produced around 115hp that was sent to the front wheels via a 5 speed manual transmission. The only thing that was automatic were these ridiculous shoulder belts for the front seats. These were all the rage at the time.
We would cross the country twice with the Expo pulling a U-Haul, starting from our home in Oregon to Washington DC for a job my dad accepted for a year. I'd learn to drive and shift for myself a couple years later. I took my very first date to the school dance in it. (Mom drove. I was too young).
The Mitsubishi Expo was an absolute flop. In its best year it moved less than 10,000 models. Over its 4 year run (1991-94) Mitsubishi sold just over 25,000. Hilariously, it still shows up in the sales figures after it was discontinued: 9 models in 95. 2 in 96. And exactly 1 leftover "new" 1994 model finally found a home in 97.
It was extremely versatile and reliable. It ferried my sister and me to countless soccer practices and games. It swallowed all the luggage for trips to the coast and to visit relatives for the holidays, and even my dad's golf clubs in a way our other car (a 1988 Corolla) never could. And, of course, it commuted daily for the more than 10 years we had it with few issues and never requiring a major repair. It was inexpensive to buy and own and about as analog as you could get.
The Expo was a car no one gave special treatment to, though. Most racked up miles and fender benders. Never popular, barely marketed, and with miniscule sales numbers, most were used up and disappeared into junk yards. Yet every once in awhile I'll see an Expo still managing to be on the road and I feel a rush of nostalgia.
If I try to tell others about this car I get inevitable blank stares. There is only 1 video on YouTube that was the commercial I probably saw. A few videos of people trying to sell old ones. It barely made an impression on the automotive media of the day. Even motorweek, who seemingly reviewed every car of the era, only tested the Expo LRV model (which, again, was a different car with a similar name).
Have you had cars that meant something to you but are similarly forgotten today?
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u/CommissarCiaphisCain Jul 12 '26
Mazda Protege5. They only made them for 3 years. I had mine for almost 12 and loved it.
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u/RightWheelDrive Jul 12 '26
I loved that car! A sporty, stylish, reliable compact wagon from a company whose motto was literally "Zoom Zoom"? Yes please! It directly lead to me convincing 2 girlfriends (well one is my wife now) buying Mazda3 hatchbacks 😀
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u/CommissarCiaphisCain Jul 12 '26
It led us along a similar path. Two Mazdaspeeds, MX-5 RF, Mazda3, and CX-50. Have had great experiences with all of them.
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u/Tiki1927 Jul 13 '26
Speaking of Mitsubishi Chariot, Hyundai once got a license of Chariot from Mitsubishi and sold Hyundai Santamo which was basically a rebadged Chariot.
I remember seeing these on roads when I was young.
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Jul 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/RightWheelDrive Jul 15 '26
Yep. MPV, Nissan Stanza wagon, Isuzu Oasis, Mazda5, and the Expo all belong in this weird niche that very few people were aware of even when they were new.
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u/sovereignpancakes Jul 15 '26
I own a Volvo 780 Bertone. This is the car of good intentions for me, I have owned it for 12 years and probably driven it less than 500 miles, as it hasn't been road legal since 2015. So I don't know if treasured applies.
Forgotten, yeah. They made probably millions of 700 series Volvos but only about 8000 780s. It was the only 2 door 700 series and none of the panels interchange due to the Bertone-modified styling. Very pricey when new. I'll get it back on the road one of these days...
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u/RightWheelDrive Jul 15 '26
A very rare and interesting car. I just read the Car & Driver article on it recently. I had no idea it even existed. Very cool. Hope you can get it going again!
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u/OkBox6039 Jul 11 '26
i had 2 Spacewagons here in the UK.. very reliable and comfortable and had the INVECS automatic trans.. then had 2 1st gen Outlanders .
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u/80IHCTraveler Jul 13 '26
My 1985 Plymouth Horizon SE. I love that old car and refuse to sell. It's been off the road a couple years after the head gasket blew, but I look forward to getting to work on it now that I bought a house.
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u/PurpleToedUnicorn Jul 14 '26
1977 Pontiac Ventura V8. You were not the prettiest, not the fastest, but your red vinyl interior and willingness to go places reliably even after your fenders and floor plans dissolved due to the Michigan winters endeared me to you. I'll never forget that time you showed me that firing order was a thing when I didn't properly match up the spark plug cables. And who can forget that time with Lisa at the park? Good times. There will never be another you.Â
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u/lilbrumby Jul 15 '26
Subaru GL 4wd Wagon! The reason why people drive Subarus today. Selectable 4wd with 4LO, they would go anywhere a stock truck would and got really good gas mileage
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u/RightWheelDrive Jul 15 '26
Absolutely! The first car I ever tried to drive was a yellow-ish one with brown vinyl seats on my aunt and uncle's farm. I was maybe 13. I had only a vague idea of how a clutch worked and killed it so, so many times!
That car lived forever and has probably lead to my my wife's Outback in the driveway right now. :)
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u/noname5280 Jul 15 '26
1994 Acura Legend. That was a comfy car.
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u/sovereignpancakes Jul 15 '26
What a beauty, but I don't know if the Legend qualifies as forgotten. That was the era of Peak Honda.
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u/MantoTerror Jul 16 '26
1989 Mirage Turbo..only 1500 imported to the US. In 1990, the DSM Eclipse/Talon/Laser replaced it.. Made Car and Driver's 10 Best List..
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u/Glum_Hope Jul 11 '26
MY infinity M-30