Junkyard Find: 1984 Mitsubishi Cordia

OK, so I've got a silly obsession with the Mitsubishi Cordia. I was only vaguely aware of the Cordia/Tredia back in the 1980s, but since then it has come to symbolize crazy pre-Boredom Era Japanese automotive design plus drive home the point that not all Japanese cars were more reliable than Detroit products back then. So, my heart leaps when I see a Cordia, be it on the street, on the race track… or awaiting a one-way trip to a Chinese steel factory. Here's a non-turbo Cordia I found in Northern California last month. According to the odometer, this car has fewer than 30,000 miles under its belt. Huh? Cordias were never known for racking up Corolla-like lifetime mileage figures, but the completely worn-out interior suggests that the odo broke early on in the car's career. That, or someone lived in it for a decade or so. The naturally aspirated Cordia came equipped with an 88-horsepower, 2-liter four. The base model scaled in at a featherweight 2,101 pounds (just 79 pounds heavier than the same-year Chevette, which boasted a mighty 65 horses on gasoline… and 51 with the diesel engine). So, Cordia drivers could feel confident that their futuristic-looking Mitsus could eat up a new Chevette in a drag race! One of these days I'm going to find a junked Tredia. There must be a few left! Until that time, let's contemplate the incomprehensible Japanese-ness of this Cordia ad. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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