About 20 years later, the "mirror on the front fenders" craze
hit Japan - if you look at pictures of cars sold in Japan in the 70s and
early 80s, you'll see the same odd
placement.
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The Japanese government had a rule that mirrors be visible from the swept
area of the front windsheild, hence the appearance of mirrors out at the end
of the fender at that time.
Similar thinking could also be part of the logic behind placement
farther up the fender on Imps, but I'm just speculating. The
curved glass could make them useless as stated earlier, so be
careful The closer the mirror is to you, the wider the field of
vision, so I'd root for a placement on the door for practical
purposes.
-Kenyon