Minneapolis Street Sighting: Dodge Colt

Along my travels, I sometimes encounter cars I never expect to find; I usually expect to find hoards and hoards of old Cadillacs, older Buicks, and a few Chevrolets; if it's a Ford product, it's likely a 1970s-era LTD or an old pickup. When I'm hunting for Dodge products, that's where it gets iffy. I'm never sure what to expect.
In the 1970s, the Chrysler Corporation formed an alliance with Japanese maker Mitsubishi; this enabled Chrysler to get small cars over here to do battle with Honda, and Toyota, but it also enabled Mitsubishi a sure foot into the emerging Japanese car market in the US. One of the smallest offerings from this American-Japanese partnership was the Dodge Colt and Plymouth Champ. In 1979, the fourth generation Colt was introduced; available in 3 door and 5 door bodies (the 5 door started in 1982, there were a myriad of special editions produced along the way.
To date, I have only seen maybe ten Colts total. Total. As in, I have only seen ten Dodge Colts from this era. Ever.













I happened upon this Colt by chance; I was scouting out the area, when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted this gem. And gem, it is. Not a spec of rust on this 54,000 original miler. The current owner, who I talked to for quite awhile, is an avid SCCA racer, and a car enthusiast to the core. He cares about Colts as much as a Mustang fan loves the galloping horse. Getting to talk to him gave me wonderful insight on what it means to be a car enthusiast. He's thrilled that wherever he goes, people turn there heads. Some folks remember when the Colt was new, others are curious as to what it is. And that's the point of having an interesting car.
This is by far the cleanest Colt I have ever seen; the paint is factory fresh--as it should be. The emblems are all present, and in very good condition. Even the dealer sticker on the hatch has not succumbed to the elements. Inside, it looked damn near factory fresh. The steering wheel, the shift knob, everything was in tip-top condition. This truly is a time capsule car, and I don't often say that.
I had a pleasure shooting this car, and talking to the owner. In my blog career, I hope I have many more instances like this. A truly great little car (sorry Mazda), with an equally appreciative owner. Both make a great combination in my book.