Rare, Intriguing, and Undesirable Cars

The car pictured above is a 1988 Dodge Colt Wagon that I found on craigslist. Ever seen one? I wouldn't be surprised if you hadn't. They were sold in the mid-to-late '80s and were imported for Dodge by Mitsubishi. This one is front-wheel drive, but you could buy them with all-wheel drive and a manual transmission, which happened to be the only transmission if you opted for AWD. The boxy styling is distinctly '80s Japanese and very Mitsubishi-esqe. They weren't popular then, and nowadays I'd say they're downright rare. But being rare always make it desirable either, and I'd say that's the case with this vehicle.

This car is one of those that most people have either never heard of or have completely forgotten about. It's one of those cars that isn't (and wasn't) on most people's radar and will likely never be. And herein lies the intrigue. Why weren't these cars successful? Was it it the design? Poor marketing? Lackluster performance? Perhaps a case of all these variables? Maybe the car was ahead of its time, or perhaps it was a mechanical nightmare. It's kind of like why I find ghost towns and derelict sites interesting. They're rare, hard to find, and there's a story behind the demise, even if you'll never know that history.

Although this Colt Wagon is both rare and semi intriguing, it is also mostly undesirable, although I did think about how badass a 4G63T-swapped Colt Wagon would be. But I'm guessing you'll be hard pressed to find people scouring the depths of the Internet to actually buy vehicles like this '88 Colt Wagon or perhaps a Mitsubishi Sapparo, an early Isuzu I-Mark, or a Suzuki Swift Sedan. Yes, these all existed and all were pretty unpopular both then and now.

I fall into that small group of people who searches craigslist for these unloved cars. However, I rarely have the intent on buying a vehicle such as a Mitsubishi Cordia or Tredia; a Chevrolet Spectrum or first-generation Toyota Tercel. I'll occasionally run across a Daihatsu Charade or AMC Concord; a Renault LeCar or Nissan Axxess—but I'm not about to run out and buy one. Then again, a 4G63 swapped Daihatsu Charade would also be pretty badass.

While I have my bucket list of cars that are still a bit rare but are desirable (or at least somewhat desirable), I'll continue to entertain myself by finding these rare, intriguing, and undesirable cars, but I'll let someone else take them home.