Curbside Classic Outtake: Nissan's Datsun Rabbit/Golf Imitation
Despite being pretty rare nowadays, I can’t quite summon the inspiration to pound out a proper CC for this 1978 Datsun 310GX (Cherry/Pulsar). Seeing as it appeared three years after the first Golf, the general resemblance is not coincidental, especially the front grill, a virtual dead ringer. It has some historical significance, since it marked the light at the end of Nissan’s tunnel of bizarre styling. This 310 replaced the F-10, which we titled as “The Ugliest Car Ever?” Although this hatchback looked fairly conventional, the coupe still had vestiges of F-10 ness in its rear quarters.
It’s not visible in these shots, but this car came out in the middle of the great re-naming, a multi-year project to change the Datsun brand to Nissan. For a number of years, the cars all had “Datsun by Nissan” badges on them. Given the difficulty of the undertaking, it went off reasonably well, although it coincided with one of Nissan’s troubled periods.
These cars were also badged as Nissan Pulsars in some countries, and as the Datsun Cherry, mainly in Europe. Nissan was having an identity crisis in these days. My father in-law had one of these exact cars in the same color, the first time I met him. I can still see him behind the wheel of it. That was in 1978, so he must have had a first year version. Exciting stuff, eh? I told you this car wasn’t exactly inspiring. Nuff said.
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When I was 19 and living in Dallas, my parents bought one of these brand new-- but it was in NEW JERSEY. I don't recall why, but I guess it was a heck of a deal. They paid for me to fly there and drive it home. I did. It was black. It had no AC. It had no radio. I was alone. You can imagine how boring and hot that drive was. About five miles from home in Dallas I got pulled over by a cop. I was more than ready to be home and had not done anything wrong, so I was annoyed. He pulled me over because the paper temporary tag had blown off. I showed him what papers I had in the car and quite rudely dismissed his misplaced diligence about the missing tag, more than insinuating that he was wasting his time and mine. While my point was correct, it is fair to say that I erred in its delivery. My approach employed something less than the preferred demeanor for a long-haired 19 year old punk like me to take with the Dallas Police at that time in our nation's history. I was promptly thrown up against the car and almost handcuffed. I grudgingly but quickly apologized. I got a ticket. I went to court full of righteous anger, ready for MY day in court. The judge asked me if the car had plates. Yes, your honor. Dismissed. My mom drove that car for about 15 years, and all of us kids drove it when visiting her from college or elsewhere during that span, and I don't believe anything ever went wrong with it during its 200k+ life. Everyone still remembers it fondly, even though it was only ever what it was-- not much, but certainly enough.
I am looking for my old 1978 Blue Datsun 310gx. Last seen in Miami. Pics here: https://plus.google.com/photos/114440920718490276001/albums/6024213347931964369?banner=pwa