My Daihatsu Rocky

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See the interior and the sound system

Daihatsu, or Daihatsu Motors, is a Japanese manufacturer of small and compact sedan. The company traces back its history to the Hatsudoki Seizo Co., Ltd. which was founded in 1907. The company was originally known as a manufacturer of internal combustion engine. Its first vehicular products include trucks, three-wheeled vehicles and a four-wheeled car introduced in 1937. The company was renamed Daihatsu in 1951 and became dedicated in manufacturing small and compact sedans ever since. It started to export cars internationally, beginning in Britain, and in 1967 entered into a partnership with Toyota Motor Corporation. It finally became a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation in 1999.

Daihatsu Motors have created a number of popular small and compact cars sold internationally, including the Charade and Rocky to name a few. Their cars have been widely praised for craftsmanship and fuel economy. Today, they have a large number of cars being manufactured and sold. The list of their vehicle line-up includes the Charade, Copen, Sirion, Terios, Huet and Extol. Although they export these cars internationally, their car markets are few and limited.

Click on the pictures below to see them in more detail.

My Rocky is a 1990 SX model. I purchased it from its 2nd owner in January of 2002. He promised me it was very well kept by him as well as the first owner. I've got great records all the way back to it's childhood days. It's a very reliable car and it's sad that Daihatsu had to pull out of the States back in 1994.	People aren't the only ones who climb rocks in Yosemite. I wish I would have remembered to take a picture of the inclinometer while I was on this rock. It was dang steep. The trees in the background should prove that I wasn't tilting the camera. Click Here for a different angle of this picture.
Look what I found in an old mining town.	I haven't made any Major Modifications except for the the audio system. It came with the stock 'pull out' stereo and 4 speakers. If you know anything about how speakers were made back in the 90s you can imagine how bad these must have sounded to someone who enjoys quality music as much as I do. I've done extensive interior work fitting what I wanted in there, and it was WELL worth it: Sony AM FM CD Changer Controller Head Unit. Kenwood 12 band graphic equalizer with 2 parametric EQ bands plus subwoofer controller. 2, 12" Boston Acoustic Pro Series Subwoofers. 2, MB Quartz 5 1/4" Midrange Drivers. 2, MB Quartz 1" tweeters. 2, Boston Acoustic Pro series 5 1/4" Midrange Drivers. 2, Boston Acoustic Pro series 1" tweeters. 200 watt Soundstream amplifier for the Boston speakers. 400 watt 4 channel Precision Power amplifier for the MB Quartz. 1000 watt Crossfire amplifier running mono for the Boston Subs. 1.0 farad Capacitor for the Crossfire Amplifier It's a Very VERY clean sounding system!
I did add power door locks to the 2 front doors controlled by the alarm system. So now I guess you could say that I have keyless-entry.
Cruise Control was a necessity for me as I do travel all the time and it works great. It took me about 6 hours to install it the first time but I don't think it would take an hour-and-a-half if I had to install one again on a Rocky.	Fun in the snow.
One thing performance-wise that I changed is the air intake system. I couldn't believe how many feet of tubing I took out of that engine bay when replacing it with a high-flow system. The difference in power was noticeable when I first drove it but of course, now I want more.
What a country we live in. Get out and see it. Click Here for a different angle of this picture.
More Pictures: For those who have never seen The Mighty Yosemite, you might like these. My Rocky takes me up there regularly: The view when you enter the Yosemite Valley from the South Entrance. The rare Ribbon Falls in Yosemite only flow a couple months a year. View from Glacier Point, 3200ft. (960m) above the valley floor is Half Dome (4800ft. (1463m) above the valley floor) with Vernal and Nevada Falls on the right. See a close up of Vernal and Nevada Falls. Also from Glacier Point is the 4th highest water fall in the world, Yosemite Falls (2700ft., 810m). Occasionally during the year you can see people Hang Glide off the rock on the left in this picture. Rocky versus The Caterpillar.

Rocky says, "Ya, I can climb that!"		Yosemite National Park.
The Red Rocks of St. George Utah		Los Angeles California.
Azusa Canyon, Los Angeles I need bigger tires!		Azusa Canyon, Los Angeles