Secretly still a Dodge
Always fun: an American-looking pick-up on Dutch roads that does not have a nameplate with ‘Dodge’ or ‘Ram’. But secretly, this special Mitsubishi Raider is indeed a Dodge.
Pick-ups and America, it remains a very successful recipe. One of the many consequences of this apparently eternal bond of love is that Americans now have their own unique view of the ‘truck’ they so much love. The fact that there are hardly any pick-ups for sale in North America that you can also purchase from us is not only due to the size of the vehicles in question.
Mighty Max
Relatively compact pick-ups, which in that respect are comparable to the well-known Hilux, D-Max and Amarok, are also not always available in the US, Mexico and Canada. Take Toyota. It supplies the iconic Hilux worldwide, but has been spoiling American customers for years with the more luxurious, spaciously motorized Tacoma. This Mitsubishi Raider actually fits in the same vein. Mitsubishi has had the Triton since the 1970s, the workhorse that is usually called ‘L200’ and which sells like hot cakes, especially in Asia. Until 1996, this car was also on the American price lists under the suddenly current name ‘Mighty Max’, but this came to an end with effect from generation 3. Mitsubishi already thought it better to treat the American buyer to their own, unique vehicle, but that car was not developed entirely in-house. Instead, they turned to Dodge, a brand of the Chrysler group with which Mitsubishi had had close ties for decades through shared shares. This resulted in a number of shared models, but in nine out of ten cases a Mitsubishi was the basis. This Raider is that tenth case.
Loyal to the owner
The third-generation Dodge Dakota served as the basis for the Mitsubishi Raider. The model below the regular Ram 1500, which was then called Dodge Ram 1500. The Raider was presented in 2005 and has always remained quite rare even in its home country – the US. In the Netherlands we never actually see him at all, until today. At first glance, this dark red example seems completely original and still quite neat for a vehicle that usually has to work hard (!) to earn its right to exist. Not surprising, because this copy has not changed hands since it was imported in 2008. The 2007 Raider has not only been driving around in the Netherlands for almost its entire life, but has also been in the hands of the same owner for almost its entire life. Now that’s good for growing old! We are happy to see this pick-up, if only because of the special story that comes with it.
That story isn’t even completely finished yet. Until recently, Ram supplied the Ram 1200 in certain (Middle Eastern) markets. That is in fact a Fiat Fullback, which in turn is a – you’ll never guess – Mitsubishi L200.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl