If none of you have heard of the Mitsubishi Debonair, that’s okay. But look at the side mirrors on that car. What’s the deal with them? They’re so small, and situated far ahead of where the side mirrors are on the majority of vehicles. (Are they even mirrors? I may be wrong in assuming that - but I don’t see mirrors in any other spot so how could they not be? This BMW also has them.
Is there a name for these kind of mirrors? Why have they fallen out of favor?
They are mirrors. They are side-view mirrors. I believe their advantage to the mount you see nowadays (next to the windows on the doors) is that they cover your blind spots better, avoiding that nasty almost crash when you move a lane left at the same time some guy two over moves right.
They have obvious aerodynamic troubles, and I imagine they were, like many similarly mounted mirrors, likely to break off at the slightest breath. People with more familiarity will be able to mention a whole host of cars that had the same type of mirror mount.
Another advantage to having mirrors that far forward would be the driver’s visibility of the road while checking the mirrors. With the mirrors forward, your eyes would not have to stray that far from the road ahead to see what’s next to you or behind you. With mirrors right next to you on the door, you pretty much have to take your eyes completely off the road ahead to check them.
Thanks for the answers. It looks like at least one current car, the Mitsubishi Dignity, still has these style mirrors.
Somewhere, there’s a website that has a history of cars in Japan, showing pictures of old 50s and 60s Toyotas, Datsuns, Mitsubishis, Hondas, etc. Maybe someone can come up with a link…I can’t find it now.
If you look at the old pictures, they all have the hood mounted mirrors. I think I read somewhere that the vehicle code of Japan required that they be mounted there back then. It might still be the case based on that picture of the Mitsubishi Dignity.
Okay, here’s a link, but not the one I was looking for.
The different cars pictured have the hood mounted mirrors. Some are close to the windshield and some are closer to the front of the car. Also notice that there were mirrors on both sides of all of them. American cars didn’t come standard with a right side mirror until well into the 90s. Even the Japanese imports didn’t always have a right side mirror at least as late as 1982.
Wow. That is badass. Driving a restored vintage Japanese import in America would really set you apart - I never see pre-80s Toyotas or Mitsubishis, at least not around here.
What an ironic name for a car. It looks like an insectoid space alien or something.
When I was a young’un (so… 6 or so years ago…) my friend had a '93 Honda Civic with no right side mirror.
My MG has mirrors like this. I always thought the biggest advantage was that I didn’t have to turn my head as far to check the right-side mirror. From the driver’s seat, I could turn my head just a bit to check the inside rear-view mirror, then cast my eyes down a few degrees to see the side mirror. Worked like a charm.
I’ve always called it a “wing mirror” (from the British use of “wing” to refer to the front fenders), but I can’t find a cite to confirm if that’s accepted usage.
We call them “fender mounted” mirrors.
I can see that car as a Flagship if Mitsubishi ever attempts to create a Luxury Marque in the U.S.
I think they have the same problem as older Italian cars - the bodies rust fairly easily.
Mitsubishi brought out an original 1974 Lancer GSR for the Detroit Auto Show. Very impressive. Oh for the days when Porsche had to licence produce Mitsubishi balancer shafts in their engines…
For a long time I’ve wanted a restored '66 to '69 Toyota Corona sedan in that particular shade of blue they used. I’ve checked on eBay from time to time, but whenever they come up they’re always automatics. I saw one for sale a few miles from me a couple of weeks ago.
I see those mirrors frequently on classic British cars. Often the driver’s-side mirror is also mounted on the ‘wing’.
Wing. Interestingly, they list ‘prang’ as British for ‘fender bender’. I’d always thought that was American slang for damagind an aircraft.
Question about ‘wing mirrors’: How to do see? When I look at them I think they’re so far away that the image would be very small.
Best cite I can find is this, but wing mirror is acceptable.
A recent article in a performance car magazine I subscribe to mentioned that the idea there was a better view from these mirrors was untrue and they were no better than door mounted mirrors.
Nothing to add. I’ve always called it a wing mirror and still do. The front fender is indeed called a wing in the UK.
‘Bonnets’, ‘Boots’ and ‘Rocker Covers’…what did you expect 
Imported to the US by way of the Royal Air Force, which used “prang” for both purposes. (Also “bent” as in “I seem to have bent the Spit a bit, old boy.”) 
Just on general principles, I would expect the field of view to be smaller for a wing mirror compared to the same-sized door mirror, but you would be able to see them without needing to move your head, just your eyes.
It was (perhaps still is) the law in Japan that side view mirrors had to be visible through the part of the windshield cleared by the windshield wipers.
I’m in northern Japan and it seems about a quarter of the cars on the road have one of those mirrors, though they’re mounted only on the driver’s fender. Oddly, they’re much smaller than the door mounted mirrors. I wonder if they’re convex mirrors? It’s jarring seeing them on only one side of the vehicle, breaking the bilaterally symetrical styling.
These are cars generally no more than 15 years old. I’m not sure if it’s a factory or dealer installed option. I’ll make a note to see if they’re installed on any of the new cars in the dealer lots around here.
As long as we are going there, don’t forget hood (doesn’t go over your engine), swarf, gudgion pins, big end bearings, and plinths.
I have driven cars with wing mirrors. Very easy to use not at all hard to see what is in your blind spot… However to adjust you either need someone to help you, or be prepared to climb in and out of the driver’s seat about 12 times. :smack:
