The 1969 Datsun 510: GR-R-R-ROOVY!

by Murilee Martin

Published: June 14th, 2012

Yesterday, I shared a Toyota Corona ad from the February 1969 issue of Playboy. I like the Corona for personal reasons, but if the Time Machine took me back to ’69 and I didn’t have a lot to spend (or even if I did have a lot to spend), the Datsun 510 would be one of my top choices. Wouldn’t you know, there’s an ad for the 510 in the very same issue!

In response to the question from a commenter on the Corona post, Miss February 1969 was Lorrie Menconi (NSFW link here), and it’s possible that she drove a Datsun 510 herself.

For reasons I don’t understand, this car is called the “Datsun /2” in the ad, and it has those godawful non-slip bathtub flowers stuck on its rear quarter. Anyone who knows the story behind the /2 name, please fill us in. 96 horsepower and 25 MPG doesn’t look so great today, but those were decent numbers for a small car in 1969. And look: flow-thru fresh air and a stir-easy 4-speed!

#1960s #1969 #1969Datsun510 #AdventuresInMarketing #Advertising #CarAdvertising #Datsun #Datsun510 #Marketing #Nissan #OldCarAds

Murilee Martin

Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.

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2 of 27 comments

Rpn453 on Jun 14, 2012

Good NSFW link. Strange seeing such a sweet-looking girl in a Playboy magazine. One could have fantasized about having a girlfriend like that. Now, readers must fantasize about supporting some stripper's coke habit.

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CanuckinPA on Jun 16, 2012

What memories. In 1978 I bought a rough 510 and got a modified motor from a guy that raced a 510 at Mosport. My buddy and I drove that thing from Toronto to LA in 3 days. I drove it home solo in another 3 days! I couldn't believe I made it there and back without any problems.

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