Delica

White waiting in line for the ferry on Saturday the distinct sound of diesel being driven a little bit hard caught my attention. I looked up and eventually realized the sound was coming from one of these.

 

The one I saw was a little less pimped out than the one pictured. Slightly oversized tires with pretty aggressive tread. It was the kind of 4X4 you see in places where people own a 4X4 because they need one, not because they are compensating for... My reaction was, well, WTF was that? I just caught D-E-L-I-C-A on the rear gate as it pulled away. It made enough of an impression I had to later look it up. Apparently Mitsubishi has been building a Delica in some fashion or another since 1968. Oddly, we've both been on this earth the same amount of time and yet I had never encountered one before.

I can remember being fascinated by a handful of vehicles over the years that were sold in Canada but not in the US. I'll never forget seeing an RD350LC at a stop-light in Canada in about 1980 (with no prior knowledge that they even existed) and just feeling robbed. Hell, I still do...