Welcome to the Vancouver Lexicon. Its purpose is to pin down the patois of the City of Vancouver by recording its toponyms, nicknames, slang terms, personalities, places, and other Van-centric things. Full A-Z here.
Delica | automobile | A series of right-hand drive vans made in Japan by Mitsubishi from 1968 to the present through five model iterations. The boxy, alien-looking imports have become hugely popular in British Columbia over the last decade, especially the 4X4 Turbo Diesel Star Wagon versions, and particularly on Vancouver Island (where there are a dealership or two that specialise in them).
The Delica is sometimes colloquially dubbed the “Poor Man’s Westy” due to its affordability ($8k-$20+K) as an off-road camper in comparison to the astronomically-priced Volkswagen Westfalia ($15K-$80+K). The vans are typically seen with several stickers on the rear frames advertising the surfer/outdoorsy nature of its owners (eg. “Tofitian”, “Sitka”, etc.).
Usage: “I was actually honestly thinking about getting a Delica until I realised I’d have to learn how to drive and parallel park all over again…”
BC allows right hand drive vehicles, many places don’t or require them to be converted to left hand drive which cranks up the cost. Also Japan taxes older vehicles at higher and higher rates, thus making the owners buy a new car………somehow that’s just wrong but it the Japanese way…
So many end up in BC, popular among the kids from the right hand drive countries visiting BC for a few years, lots in Whistler…