Mitsubishi Delica Is the Smallest Camper Van You'll See in 2026

12 pointsposted a month ago
by tortilla
(robbreport.com)

9 Comments

jrochkind1

a month ago

how long do we have to wait for the pendulum to swing again and we are able to buy small cars in USA again?

isubkhankulov

a month ago

It’s not really a pendulum. A law with unintended consequences needs to be adjusted or repealed: Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE)

jrochkind1

a month ago

I don't understand how discontinuing (eg) Honda Fit or Mitsubishi Mirage would have helped manufacturers meet CAFE standards. I think they in fact were not selling very well. I get how light trucks have different standards so they like to produce them, but wasn't every (eg) Honda Fit or Mitsubishi Mirage sold an aid to meeting CAFE standards too? (The profit margin isn't as good though, true). I don't have them in front of me now, but I think I did see sales figures that were a downward curve for those models though. What am I missing?

It also looks like, for better or worse, CAFE compliance penalties were eliminated in the "one big beautiful bill" act? So the changes you advocate have been made? (And applies retroactiely to model years 2022 and above). So we'll see if small cars come back as a result, I guess? https://news.sustainability-directory.com/policy/congress-el...

mc32

a month ago

Nice concept but stateside? Not with how we eat over here. That dog won't hunt.

chews

a month ago

I've been in New Zealand for the last few weeks (actually posting this from a beachside campground) and holy smokes is the Delica a cool vehicle (previous model years... there isn't a 2020's mini here) I will say there there are a TON of cool small campers from japanese automakers I've seen on this trip. Protectionist measures like the chickentax really make it obvious that the US is propping up a bunch of terrible auto manufacturers and if it really allowed capitalism (actual competition) the US automotive industry would be fully cooked.

thot_experiment

a month ago

The original Delica had an artificial horizon, if this one doesn't what even is the point?

bell-cot

a month ago

Obvious market: Americans / Australians / Canadians / Kiwis / etc. who can no longer afford both housing and transportation.

/s?

msuniverse2026

a month ago

We have cars like the Suzuki Jimny here in Australia but they kinda shit themselves on the highway because for some reason Suzuki just didn't feel like adding an extra gear in. They tend to sit around 3-4k revs on the highway in top gear which is a bit much. Love the form factor though. They really excel around super old suburbs close the cities with small cramped streets and a lot of hills like west of Brisbane.

bell-cot

a month ago

> for some reason

Maybe Suzuki doesn't want to eat into sales of more-profitable vehicles? Or the regulatory/taxation treatment of "higher speed" vehicles is unfavorable?