Junkyard Find: 1981 Datsun 810 Maxima by Nissan
The 1980s were confusing times for figuring out badges on U.S.-market Japanese cars.
You had the Toyota Corolla Tercel (which wasn’t related to the Corolla). You had the ever-shifting miasma of various Mitsubishi-based Chryslers. You had the Nissan Stanza Wagon (which was a non-Stanza Prairie at home). And you had all the brand bewilderment of the Datsun-to-Nissan changeover of the early part of the decade (to be fair, Detroit was doing the same sort of badging sleight-of-hand, e.g., front- and rear-wheel-drive Cutlasses in the same showroom).
The Datsun 810 became the Nissan Maxima during the 1981-1984 period, but it didn’t happen like flipping a switch; here’s a Datsun 810 with “by Nissan” and Maxima badging that I spotted in a Northern California wrecking yard a few months ago.
It’s still a Datsun, but just barely.
Not even 100,000 miles on the odometer. Did it sit forgotten in a garage for decades?
The interior is in decent shape, so the car probably didn’t spend 34 years fading in the California sun.
The 810/Maxima was similar to its Z-car cousin under the skin, though it got the 2.4-liter six instead of the 2.8-liter engine that went in the ’81 280ZX.
Did I grab the Voice Warning System box, which used a tiny phonograph record? Damn right!
The presence of this car’s keys in the junkyard means that it didn’t get grabbed against the owner’s will, but was most likely a trade-in or insurance total.
This is the first car that speaks to you!
In Japan, this car was the Bluebird 910, and it had class.
It was much cooler as a Bluebird SSS Turbo.
In Australia, it was sold as a luxury car that could deal with bumpy dirt roads.
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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I had an '82. it was great, little rust, totally reliable, kept it for a very long time because it just wouldn't die. Loved the talking car bit too- your door is ajar... and its small compared to the '95. I think the successor is the 1-series.
"This is the first car that speaks to you!" Yawr Dawr is AH-jar. Yawr Dawr is AH-jar. To which, the wit he says, NO IT'S NOT, IT'S A DOOR!