Junkyard Find: 1990 Daihatsu Rocky
Remember the Daihatsu Rocky? No? That’s OK, several vehicles of this type sank without a trace during the late 1980s and early 1990s (e.g., the Dodge Raider), and Daihatsu itself fled the United States in 1992. I see Daihatsu Charades in self-serve wrecking yards about every six months these days— including this ’89 and this ’90— and I don’t bother photographing most of them. A Rocky, on the other hand… well, let’s just say that this is the first Rocky I’ve seen anywhere in at least five years. How many are left on the street in North America? Hundreds? Dozens?
There must be at least one in the Denver area, because this junked example has been picked clean.
These little trucks came with a 1.6 liter engine and front- or four-wheel-drive.
Are project Rockies worth anything? Apparently not.
Right after I photographed this Rocky, I felt compelled to go on eBay and buy a vintage Daihatsu Racing sticker for my travel laptop. I also got a Daihatsu patch for my race suit.
I was so inspired by the sight of this Rocky that I dove down the rabbit hole of 21st century Daihatsu mini-SUV ads, and there I found some seriously frenzied Daihatsu Terios-thrashin’ stuff. Perhaps Daihatsu will return to the US soon, with a Rocky-badged Terios. All right, let’s watch some Rocky ads!
The actors in this JDM Rocky ad need to lay off the helium, is all I have to say.
In Germany, a romantic approach was used to pitch the Rocky (badged as a Feroza in Europe).
For Australia, the Rocky (Feroza) was compared to the body of Surf Iron Man Champion Guy Leech.
Another Australian (or maybe New Zealand) ad shows the Turbodiesel Rocky, which was apparently half Ferrari and half tank.
Also an excellent choice for surfers who liked to crash through sand dunes. Wouldn’t some of those impacts have set off the airbags? Oh, right— pre-airbag era, carry on!
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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ROCKY DAIHATSU FOR SALE IN MICHIGAN. I have a Rocky 1992, fairly good condition, no rust. Green color, hard top. If anyone is interested in purchasing this amazing car email me at mtennant@nmu.edu. I am a college student and need cash, super sad to have to sell such an amazing car.
I have a 1990 red se w/ 152k on it. There are at least 4 others that I have seen here in Colorado Springs. Wish I could post a picture. It looks great and gets a lot of comments everywhere I go.