Digestible Collectible: 1988 Nissan Pulsar NX SE
Various companies and trade groups have discovered that focusing marketing effort on a short period of time can generate significant buzz, and thus potential increased sales. Discovery Channel has “Shark Week.” Restaurants in various cities have Local Dining weeks. New York hookers have Fleet Week.
TTAC, in the same clickbaity manner, has “Sorta Obscure Twentyish-Year-Old Japanese Hatchback Week.” I’m not sure if I can repeat this next year, but this week has brought very rough examples of oddball Isuzu and Mazda hatches. Today, however, I have a personal favorite that isn’t one busted balljoint from the scrapyard.
It’s no secret that I’m a Datsun/Nissan fanatic. When counting only cars that actually ran while in my possession, I’ve owned more Nissans than any other make. This distinction is important due to the many non-running Civics and Miatas I’ve parted out. If I had the spare time and cash, I’d be tempted to fly to British Columbia and bring this 1988 Nissan Pulsar NX SE back home.
The “SE” is the special bit. While most Pulsars carried an anemic single-cam four cylinder, the SE had a 130 horsepower twin-cam CA18DE under the hood. In today’s world, that doesn’t sound like much, but that was impressive in the late ’80s. I haven’t seen production figures, but it seems that very few were imported. Personally, I’ve only encountered two of them in my life, one of which was in a junkyard.
The vinyl graphics on the flanks are a bit hokey, but appropriate for the times. The interior is impressively spotless, though the hard-wearing tweed looks less than plush. My kids wouldn’t be comfortable in that rear seat/shelf for more than the two miles to school, but that’s why I have a minivan.
I don’t know if I could bring myself to spend $6,500 on this, plus the costs involved in bringing it 2,500 miles to Ohio. I’ve always wanted to fly-and-drive-back-home a new-to-me car, but the border crossing concerns me.
Plus, I’d have to find a Sportbak.
[Photo credit: By Tx3 (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons]
Some enthusiasts say they were born with gasoline in their veins. Chris Tonn, on the other hand, had rust flakes in his eyes nearly since birth. Living in salty Ohio and being hopelessly addicted to vintage British and Japanese steel will do that to you. His work has appeared in eBay Motors, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars, Reader's Digest, AutoGuide, Family Handyman, and Jalopnik. He is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association, and he's currently looking for the safety glasses he just set down somewhere.
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I'm in CA and have this car. Been garaged for years now. Willing to sell.
I have a Sportback accessory that we need to move on. My first car was a 1988 Nissan Pulsar. We bought the Sportbak from the dealer. Does anyone know if there is an interest for this?