PennSilverTaco's non-Toyota Japanese (and Korean) vehicle Rant/Rave MegaThread!

This same Mitsubishi showed up at the meet where I saw the 1991 Honda Beat...


April 10th, 2022:

Hatfield, Pennsylvania

 

Did you see this one?

 

I did

 

There's a guy in my area who's got a red 1995 Eagle Summit AWD with a 5-speed manual transmission; I want one!

 

I remember those.

 

@shakerhood
@Taco critter

I saw this blast from the past at CarShop this past Sunday; It is a 2002 Mitsubishi Mirage that has obviously never been garaged and was obviously traded because unlike a Toyota Corolla of the same era, the cost of keeping it on the road far exceeded its actual cash value...


April 17th, 2022:

Hatfield, Pennsylvania

 

I do not think the Mirage is bad vehicle, but nowhere near as reliable as Toyota Corolla of any year; Corollas and Nissan Sentras of the same era were far from interesting and had the same boring factor as the Mirage, but far more of them were sold. The Ford Focus and Chevy Cavalier of the same era also sold better than the Mirage, which is why I still see a good number of them out and about that range in condition from dilapidated shitbox to immaculate creampuff. This one was likely on its second or third owner at the time it was traded, has well over 100K miles, and likely has some sort of mechanical issue that was going to cost a fortune to fix...

 

The Mirage's inspection stickers were valid through September of this year, so I'm guessing the A/C quit or something; For an early 2000s commuter appliance, this car was quite well equipped! It had A/C, power windows and locks, and a CD player; It definitely did not have cruise control and also didn't seem to have a tilt wheel.

 

Factory stereo CD players from this era with no cassette player are worthless today because they lack Bluetooth, USB ports, AUX inputs, etc...

The fact that this stereo was never replaced with a more modern aftermarket HU tells me that this car was never owned by a millennial, as factory radios with no iPod connectivity are generally among the first things to get replaced when someone born from about 1982 onward gets a vehicle from the early 2000s or even earlier; Cars with stereos more valuable than the car itself were a common sight in the student lot of Bucks County Community College!

 

Does PA require working AC to pass inspection? And how often is inspection required?

 

The original Mirage was such a better car than the current Mirage in so many ways. The overall quality was much better, and it had a 4-banger rather than an overworked 3-cylinder turbo...


The gray one finally sold over a month ago, but I found this base model red one there last Sunday; Only marginally higher miles than the gray one, but it's a base model and they're still asking $18K...

 

What John said; Heat doesn't have to work either...

As for inspections, once a year; Safety inspection required for all vehicles statewide unless they have antique tags. Emissions required for gasoline-powered vehicles under like 10,000 pounds GVW in 25 of the 67 Pennsylvania counties. All diesel vehicles from Jettas all the way to big 18-wheelers are exempt from emissions testing, as are some gas vehicles (2500/3500 pickups and cargo vans, utility trucks, and commercial vehicles).

Vehicles driven 5,000 miles a year or less are exempt from emissions; All vehicles older than 1975 are exempt from emissions, even if not registered as an antique. Antique means you are exempt from both emissions and safety, but you are extremely limited in when and where you can drive. Vehicles 15 years old and older qualify for classic tags, which exempts them from emissions but not safety; Restrictions on driving classic-plated vehicles are almost nonexistent, unlike antique-plated vehicles, but the catch is that you have to own at least one normal-plated vehicle to get a classic plate for another vehicle. If anyone with a vehicle older than fifteen years old was able to get a classic plate, then everyone would be getting classic plates to circumvent emissions testing, and Pennsylvania wouldn't be able to rake in tons of money from annual emissions testing; That would just be unacceptable to the bureaucrats in Harrisburg, now wouldn't it!

Until about 1983, safety inspections were required every six months, but that was about as popular as a tax audit on Christmas Eve and they mercifully did away with it.

 

I take excellent care of my truck, it's never failed an inspection, and just look below for an accurate depiction of my feelings on PA state inspections...

​

 

[QUOTE="PennSilverTaco]

The fact that this stereo was never replaced with a more modern aftermarket HU tells me that this car was never owned by a millennial,



[/QUOTE]

Say what
I was born in 83.

My truck doesn’t have AUX
Single disc. That’s it.

I have no intentions of changing it either.

 

Say what
I was born in 83.

My truck doesn’t have AUX
Single disc. That’s it.

I have no intentions of changing it either.

[/QUOTE]Something went wrong with your quote...

 

Another one from the CarShop Hatfield trip; 2017 Infiniti with no wheels...

 

Also at CarShop; 2014 Nissan Altima with an interesting issue. There was absolutely no body damage, so I have no idea what happened...

 

In the Northeast, rust is a fact of life on certain vehicles and I do NOT consider it to be body damage; However, it will always confound me why people trade in vehicles like this 2011 Mazda3 with pretty obvious body damage. Even in perfect condition, this car likely would have ended up going to wholesale auction anyway due to its age, but show a little pride in ownership!