Minneapolis Street Sighting: Dodge Colt

Monday, I started Dodge week with a Colt, so I figure its best to end Dodge week with one, too. Like one from the early 1980s, this car, too is a Mitsubishi in disguise; while it says Dodge and even has the funky Ramhead logo, it clearly is a Mitsubishi Mirage in (not quite convincing) drag. Equipped with a choice of two equally underpowered engines, these "new" Colts were not quite the "fun" car the first 1980s version turned out to be. The engine of choice was a meager 1.5L four with all of 92 horses. Honestly, that probably wasn't so bad given the fact those most economy prod didn't produce over a hundred horses.








This car was kind of a "well, it's not rust-free, at least" shoot for me. I never really liked these as a child, and I still don't. What honestly made me shoot this was the rarity factory. Obviously, a Dodge Colt of this generation is no collector car, nor does it retain any sort of enthusiast following. But--like it's much earlier predecessor, these things are quite hard to spot. I honestly can't remember the last one I saw.
For a forgotten half-import, this little coupe has been preserved quite well. I used to see these infrequently when new, and some twenty years later, this one's still kicking. I have to say, someone did a rather good job of keeping the tinworm away from this one. Yes, it has a little rust spot on the passenger door, but I suppose that's inevitable for a car of this age and purpose.
Rarely do I see any Colt, much less a base model with no frills whatsoever. It appears that under the cheap hubcaps, the base steel (aluminum?) wheels still lurk. I'd chuck these hubbies in a minute and expose the original rolling stock. This is no special breed of performance car, but I do think it needs to be kept original, if only for the sake of not having many other survivors.
The Dodge Colts marks the true end of badge-engineered Chryslerbishis, and it leaves with a bittersweet feeling. I know neither Chrysler nor Mitsubishi made stellar cars in the 1990s, but together, the joint venture spawned quite a few interesting vehicles. To many, the Colt does not make that list, but to me it does.

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.