New Truck News | 10 Almost Long Lost SUVs of the Past

Chrysler’s partnership with Mitsubishi in the 1980s allowed it to offer a number of vehicles under its own brands, and in the rapidly expanding midsize SUV segment it was able to offer the first-generation Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero as the Dodge Raider starting in 1987. The Raider was only offered in two-door form. The model filled an important niche for Dodge just as sales of these types of SUVs were surging, positioned below the aging Ramcharger, but Dodge only offered it for three models years, with sales ending in 1989. Curiously enough, with Chrysler’s acquisition of Jeep from AMC, the model competed with the two-door Jeep Cherokee of the time.

Sold for a very short period of time through Daihatsu dealers (remember those?), the Rocky landed at a time when small, Japanese SUVs were all the rage, following up on the success of the Suzuki Samurai. Powered by a 1.6-liter inline-four, the Rocky was offered from 1989 till 1992, when Daihatsu left as abruptly as it arrived. This small SUV has an equally small but ardent following today, and there is actually a Rocky owners group. But spotting one on the street is a tall order.

The Amigo landed stateside in 1989 as a two-door version of the Isuzu Rodeo and stayed on sale until 1994. Four-wheel drive was optional, as were rear seats. The base engine was a 2.3-liter inline-four, but a slightly more gutsy option was the 2.6-liter inline-four with 120 hp on tap. The 3.1-liter V6 from the Rodeo wasn’t available, because Isuzu wanted to keep the Amigo fairly inexpensive. With the debut of the four-door Rodeo in 1990, Amigo sales took a back seat role, which is one of the reasons you don’t see these very often.

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