What if you were to lose your Kizashi?

[KuroNekko]

Where in Canada did you go?

Vancouver is swarming with Delicas. They're especially popular with those that build furniture out of reclaimed wood and old pallets while raising chickens in their tiny backyards in the city.

I went to Victoria on Vancouver Island. It was part of a cruise up to Alaska.
It was funny to see the Canadian customs and immigration officers not care at all and wave us into Canada, yet the US customs and immigration were much more thorough even on their own citizens in Seattle returning from the trip.

Seeing the Delica in Canada was very cool. Also interesting was how Cuban cigars were sold in stores there. They are contraband in the US.

It seems like Delicas and Pajeros (Monteros) are the 2nd runner to Toyota in terms of Japanese offerings for offroad prowess and expeditions globally. I see quite a few of them involved in safaris and the like in videos I see. Always diesel too.
The JDM even offered a Pajero mini as a Suzuki Jimny rival.

[murcod]

I'm guessing that would be the Pajero iO? We got both versions here for a couple of years, with the iO appearing to be a bit of a flop against rivals like the Suzuki Vitaras etc. It died a quiet death.

[KuroNekko]

I'm guessing that would be the Pajero iO? We got both versions here for a couple of years, with the iO appearing to be a bit of a flop against rivals like the Suzuki Vitaras etc. It died a quiet death.

I've never heard of a Pajero iO until you brought it up. Upon researching it, I can tell you that they are different cars. The Pajero Mini is a kei-car so it was specifically designed for the JDM and had a 660cc engine. I believe it's only a 3 door vehicle as well. Its rival was the Suzuki Jimny kei. It ended production in the last few years.

The iO is a smaller version of the full-size Pajero and is similar in size to the Suzuki Vitara. I think this could have done well if it were in the US at the right time given its compact size yet still being a SUV. Instead, we got the Montero Sport which was a vehicle similar to the Toyota 4Runner/Hilux Surf as the Montero was more like a Land Cruiser. The Montero was simply the USDM name for the Pajero.

Surprisingly, I think the iO looks rather similar to the Mercedes GLK.

Mitsubishi Pajero iO:




Mercedes Benz GLK:

[SamirD]

Yes, older Renaults were certainly unreliable. Anything built in the last 10 years should be vastly superior. My Peugeot was a big pile of poo as far as reliability went (bought it new too)- I don't know if they've improved much either from what I've heard. I'd buy another Renault, it's just the timing belt issue/ expense that put me off owning it. The lack of specialist mechanics in my area didn't help - the timing belt change on them is very difficult to do.

Renault has just started to sell cars in India and I had the pleasure of talking to a dealership there about the production. A lot of Renault cars there share parts with Nissan. In fact, you found half the parts under the hood with Nissan logos on them. If this is the case in the rest of the markets too, I think the reliability should go up based on Nissans track record.

[murcod]

Renault own Nissan.

[SamirD]

Renault own Nissan.

Yep, I forgot about that fact. Makes it easier to work with another company when you own both, eh?

[KuroNekko]

Actually, contrary to popular belief, Renault does not own Nissan. They have an alliance, but there is no actual ownership of Renault over Nissan. They both bought stock in each other.

It makes little sense that Renault could fully own Nissan given Nissan sells twice as many cars as Renault globally and is far more valuable as a brand. The alliance was formed when Nissan was near bankruptcy, but it was not a buy-out for ownership.

[murcod]

It's hard to imagine that just fifteen years ago, Nissan was nearing bankruptcy and sought the alliance with Europe's strongest home brand, Renault, who invested about $5.4 billion (US) into NIssan, taking a 37 percent stake. In the fifteen years since, the two companies have nearly doubled their sales (from 4.8 million units in 1999 to 8.3 million in 2013) and are now considered one of the top automakers globally. One in ten cars sold globally is a Renault-Nissan car. Renault has a 43.4 percent stake in Nissan as of now and Nissan holds about 15 percent of Renault.

Call it what you like, Renault bailed them out.

[KuroNekko]

It's hard to imagine that just fifteen years ago, Nissan was nearing bankruptcy and sought the alliance with Europe's strongest home brand, Renault, who invested about $5.4 billion (US) into NIssan, taking a 37 percent stake. In the fifteen years since, the two companies have nearly doubled their sales (from 4.8 million units in 1999 to 8.3 million in 2013) and are now considered one of the top automakers globally. One in ten cars sold globally is a Renault-Nissan car. Renault has a 43.4 percent stake in Nissan as of now and Nissan holds about 15 percent of Renault.

Call it what you like, Renault bailed them out.

Yes, Renault did bail them out however Nissan is the bigger company and sells twice as many cars.
2013 sales figures:
Renault: 2.6 million
Nissan: 5.1 million

You can say both benefited greatly from the partnership given French cars have just about no presence in North America and little in Asia. However, Nissan is Japan's second biggest automaker and popular in North America and Asia.

In fact, I saw my first Renault ever in the US last week. It was a Duster with Mexican license plates driving between DC and Baltimore, Maryland. I did a double-take on it when I saw it as I can just about identify any car in the USDM, but this was one puzzling. When I got up closer, I saw that it was a Renault Duster from Mexico.

[murcod]

Sales figures from the year Renault bailed them out would be a lot more relevant. (Along with profit figures for that same year - but there's no prize for guessing which company was making more profit.)

Anyway, shall we get back to topic instead of the usual petty arguing for the sake of arguing?