Here’s a Mitsuoka Galue-II, seen at a car market in Beijing in 2025. It looked fantastic in dark black, with its shiny bumpers and white-wall tires. The car was slightly modified, with a lower ride height, bigger wheels, and a cool flag pole.
About Mitsuoka
Mitsuoka is a crazy Japanese car company, founded in 1968 and based in Toyama. It customizes existing production cars with retro bodywork, mimicking European and American design from the 1960s and 1970s.
The Mitsuoka Galue-II
The Galue-II is a 4-door sedan, launched in 1998 and produced until 2005. It was based on the Y34 Nissan Cedric, Gloria/Infiniti M. Mitsuoka completely changed the styling, as it always does. It added wide front fenders with large round headlights, a new hood, a gigantic bling-bling grille, and big shiny bumpers. The result is quite impressive; a retro-classic bling machine in a sort of 1970s gangster vibe.
The red lights with a chrome surround look fantastic, creating a contrast with the black bodywork.
Details
Junction Produce is an automotive modification brand originating from Osaka, Japan. In the early 2000s, it was super popular in China. They had several shops in Beijing and Shanghai, but there were many fake Junction Produce products on the market, too.
The white wall tires and the shiny wheels are not original Mitsuoka, but they look very good under the Galue-II sedan.
The extra indicator lights atop the front fender. Note the exposed screw! Mitsuoka is not a company that cares too much about a perfect fit & finish.
That’s a faker – the Galue II was not available with a V8.
The interior of the Mitsuoke Galue-II
Mitsuoka is famous for its exterior modifications. However, the company usually leaves the interior as it is. That is also the case here. It only added wood panels on the doors and center tunnel, Mitsuoke logos on the seat rests, and Mitsuoke changed the gear lever’s top into a shiny ball.
The dashboard of the Galue-II comes from the Infiniti M-series. Mitsuoka didn’t even change the steering wheel! They just slapped a new logo over the Infiniti badge. The steering wheel cover is an aftermarket accessory.
The rear bench didn’t see a lot of use, and the black leather looks as new.
Mitsuoka in China
At the time of the Galue-II, Mitsuoka was not officially represented in China. However, some cars arrived via the gray market and other misty channels. The car in the photos has Chongqing license plates.
Mitsuoka did officially begin to sell cars in China in the early 2010s. They had a shop in Beijing, not far from where I lived at the time. They always had several cars on display, inside the showroom and out on the parking lot, but I never saw many buyers.
Misuka offered 3 cars in China: the Galue Convertible, the Himiko, and the crazy Orochi supercar. Sadly, sales were disappointing, and the shop closed after only a year or so. It sold a few Himikos and at least one Orochi. I will try to dig up some old photos.
Specifications
Mitsuoka offered two Nissan V6 engines for the Galue-II:
- VQ25DD. 2.5 liter. 210 hp/270 Nm. 4-speed automatic. Rear-wheel drive.
- VQ30DD 3.0 liter. 240 hp/309 Nm. 4-speed automatic. Rear-wheel drive.
Mitsuoka never published a top-speed figure. In Japan, the top speed was limited to 180 km/h, but the limiter was removed for the export models.
Maintaining a car like the Galue-II in China is not easy. Nissan didn’t sell the Y34 on the Chinese market, and Mitsuoka’s specific body parts will be even harder to get. Happily, the engines are less of a problem; both have been produced locally for China-spec Dongfeng-Nissan sedans. Well, I hope the owner drove back to Chongqing very carefully…