The Nissan name was first used in 1933, but the company's history goes back much further. Originally known as Kwaishinsha Motorcar Works, the company produced its first automobile, the DAT, in 1914. DAT later became Datsun (son of DAT) in 1931 and Datsuns went on to become the first mass-produced vehicles in Japan. Americans got their first look at the Datsun in 1958 - the 1200 Sedan. The Datsun 240Z was released as a 1970 model and it became the best selling sports car in the world, selling 500,000 units in less than 10 years.
Over the years there has been a few things I haven’t got my head around. Simple things, odd things or stupid things. They have been like a nagging voice in the back of my head. So I decided to put them all in one article on here. Now the tone is definitely tongue in cheek, I know most answers to these questions are cost-related, but that’s boring. So enjoy!
1. Why are the Americans not stuck in the fifties?
Not too long ago (but in a galaxy far, far away) I wrote about the deals you can get on unpopular new cars that have brand new replacements waiting in the wings.
Today we’ll examine what happens when those vehicles fall off the depreciation cliff. Again.
GM added more capacity to its Chinese Baojun brand by opening a factory in Liuzhou, southern China. Plant and brand are part of the SAIC GM Wuling joint venture, where GM holds 44 percent, SAIC 50 percent, with 6 percent held by Wuling.
Baojun started with the Baojun 630, a compact sedan based on an older Buick Excelle/Daewoo Lancetti platform, later the Le Chi was added, a rebadged Chevrolet Spark. By 2015, Baojun wants to have a total of five models, Reuters says.
Baojun is one of China’s joint venture brands, which we at TTAC like to call “fake Chinese brands.” Read More >
Now back to China. You can discover the Top 280 best-selling locally produced models below the jump and you will see that the impact of the island diplomatic row between China and Japan is extremely hard on the model ranking in China…
Our preliminary shortlist for the Ten Worst Automobiles Today award ended up garnering even more nominations, and some questions about the process. In the interest of transparency, we’ll tackle some of those below, as well as post an updated list.
Confession time: the motorized vehicle photograph that adorned my high school locker didn’t have four wheels. It had two. I have always had an interest in bikes, one which has slowly grown from drooling over the 2002 Yamaha R6 (which stayed in my locker through all four years of high school) to buying motorcycle magazines to spending more time reading about bikes than cars. But I’ve yet to buy one for the same reason that kept me from buying a car for so long; insurance.
Almost as soon as ASMC declared its intentions for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Suzuki Canada, Inc. sent out the following statement:
“Suzuki’s customers can confidently continue to purchase new vehicles, obtain service, parts and accessories and take full advantage of Suzuki Canada’s warranty program,” said Bill Porter, Senior Vice President, Automobile Sales & Marketing, Suzuki Canada. “Suzuki Canada, including its Automotive Division, remains fully open for business in Canada, and will be honouring all customer commitments.”
“While Suzuki Canada will continue to monitor market conditions in light of the U.S. filing, we have no current plans to change Suzuki Canada’s operations as a result of the events in the U.S.,” Mr. Porter said. “Suzuki Canada remains proud of the upcoming 2013 model year for new automobiles, which will continue uninterrupted as planned”.
The battered European new car market continues its drive into the netherworld, but the speed of descent has lowered a little. According to data compiled and released by the European manufacturers association ACEA, 959,412 passenger vehicles were registered in October, 4.8% less than in October last year. It looks like the year will end with some 12 million cars sold, a level the EU 27 hasn’t seen since it existed. Read More >
Today, I had a chance to do what I was never able to achieve in my meandering career in the automotive business: I could drive a concept car. In the past, I was able to drive pre-production models, mules, even prototypes (the latter very carefully, they are obscenely expensive to replace.) But I never drove a concept car. Concept cars usually are built to go on display at car shows, and “go” can be taken literally: Many don’t even have an engine. The concept car I will be driving is Nissan’s “New Mobility Concept”, something Nissan calls an “ultracompact” car. Read More >
The junkyards of Colorado don’t have quite the selection of the ones I grew up crawling around in California, but they do have more Subarus than I ever imagined possible. I’ve been a fan of the Subaru XT since it was new— in fact, I’m half-assedly shopping for one now— and so it’s reassuring to findthem during my junkyard visits and know that I’ll be able to get parts. Today’s find is a rare turbocharged four-wheel-drive version from the XT’s first model year. Read More >
Nissan appears to be preparing for another go at Germany’s Nürburgring. The time around the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the northern loop of the iconic Nürburgring racecourse is widely regarded as benchmark for speed and handling of a sports car. Nissan is emboldened by the performance of the new GT-R sports car, which its Chief Engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno showed TTAC last weekend on a track behind a Nissan factory in Oppama, Japan. Read More >
After I 
The junkyards of Colorado don’t have quite the selection of the ones I grew up crawling around in California, but they do have 
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