Chrysler began importing Mitsubishi Colt Galants for the 1971 model year, badging them as Dodge Colts. Through 1994, successive generations of Mitsubishi Lancers and Mirages were sold as Dodge and Plymouth Colts (along with some 1979-1982 Plymouth Champs). I still see many of the front-wheel-drive Colts of the late 1980s and early 1990s as I roam the junkyards of the land, but the rear-wheel-drive 1971-1978 Colts have been very rare for a good 15 years now. Here’s a ’78 with some nice personalized touches, spotted in a Denver self-service yard.
When I was in high school in the early 1980s, my peers fortunate enough to get hand-me-down cars from relatives mostly got fully depreciated 1970s Dodge Colts, Ford Pintos, or Chevy Vegas; these cars were nearly valueless once they hit about ten years of age and got rough around the edges. I rode in, drove, and worked on many a Colt, though I never owned one; my first car was a $50 Toyota Corona, I’m proud to say. These Colts weren’t bad cars, by the standards of the time, though they were underpowered, noisy, and prone to rust.
The rear-wheel-drive Mitsubishis of the late 1970s still have a fairly strong following, so I’m surprised that a solid, non-rusty Colt coupe like this didn’t get rescued prior to ending up in a wrecking yard. The interior is sun-toasted (Colorado is hard on car interiors) and the body shows plenty of evidence of hammer-and-Bondo repairs over the years, but there’s nothing too horrible here.
I had my 1941 Semi Gelto film camera along when I found this Colt, so I captured this image of a 40-year-old Japanese car with a 77-year-old Japanese camera.
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