Year of Mitsuoka Galue-I

The Mitsuoka Galue is a name used on two series of cars, which are based on more conventional Japanese and American cars. Both series are available as of February 2008.

The first series consists of three generations of medium-to-large cars: the Galue-I, the Galue-II and the Galue-III.

Galue-I

The Galue-I was based on the Nissan Crew, and shared its RB20E 2-litre engine and other mechanical parts with the Crew. The styling of the front and rear was changed to give a more classical appearance; specifically, the chrome grille resembled that found on Bentley models such as the R-type. The interior was fitted with leather seats and wood trim. Additions such as chrome on the door handles and wire wheels were also available. The Galue-I was made from 1996 to 1999 as the Galue, then when the Galue-II was introduced the name was changed to Galue-I and production continued until 2001.

Galue-II

The Galue-II was based on the Nissan Cedric Y34 and Gloria Y34 hardtops. (The Cedric and Gloria were very similar in styling and mechanicals.) Once again the front and rear styling was modified, and the interior fittings upgraded. The Galue-II's styling was more extrovert than that of the Galue-I, including spoked alloy wheels instead of the disc wheels or wire wheels found on the Galue-I; this may well have been necessary to harmonise with the styling of the Cedric hardtop. The mechanicals were taken from the Cedric; 2.5-litre and 3-litre V6 VQ-series petrol engines were offered. Production ran from 1999 to 2005, when the Cedric and Gloria were replaced by the Fuga; Mitsuoka then replaced the Galue-II with the Galue-III.

Galue-III

The Galue-III was based on the Nissan Fuga, with styling once again modified to suit the new lines. The bumpers were noticeably slimmer than they had been on the Galue-II and the grille surround was thicker, making a considerable difference to the appearance of the front of the car. The interior was upgraded, though since the standard Nissan now had a comparatively luxurious interior the effect of Mitsuoka's modification was less easy to see. 2.5-litre and 3.5-litre VQ-series engines from the Fuga were used. The model was produced from 2005, at first as the Galue and from February 2008 as the Galue-III.

Mitsuoka also offered a Galue convertible from 2007. Despite the shared name, the only similarity between the Galue-III saloon and the convertible is the front and rear styling. The rest of the car is based on the Ford Mustang, including the Mustang's 4-litre V6 and 4.6-litre V8 engines. The convertible is routinely made in left-hand-drive, and seems to be intended for (re-?)export.

The second Galue, called the Galue 204, is a smaller model, based on the Toyota Corolla Axio. Like the larger Galues it uses the same mechanicals (including 1.5-litre or 1.8-litre engines) and has modified styling and interior fittings. Although the grille is similar to the Galue-III's, it now has wire mesh instead of chrome slats, and thus is rather reminiscent of the Bentley Eight. The frontal styling includes circular chrome grilles beneath the headlamps, which are reminiscent of the grilles found on such cars as the Bentley R-type and the Jaguar Mark 2 behind which electric horns were concealed. The Galue 204 is intended to capitalise on the trend towards more economical cars by allowing people to buy a smaller car which is still luxurious and has some elements of classic styling. The 204 in the new model's name is Mitsuoka's internal code for the design: the 2 refers to the class of car while the 04 is the generation of the design.