The mix of very American styling and proportions with Japanese detailing and design vocabulary (that front end, the wing mirrors, those color-coordinated hubcaps) is really a fantastic combination. Also, the coupé version had the nickname Butaketsu, which translates to “fat butt,” so you have to love that, right? I mean, I can not lie.
Mine is a 91 and even then it still feels like an odd mix of American and European cars. It has a small inline 6 that redlines at 7500 RPM paired to a manual trans like you’d expect to find in some Euro sedan but cushy red velour seats that wouldn’t look out of place in a Crown vic. They even kept the pillarless hardtop style until the generation after my car came out in the mid 90s. I have a pic of it set as the banner pic for my profile on here. The Nissan Cedric/Gloria is another of my favorites of the Japanese domestic market cars that look American, especially the 230-430 generations of Cedric/Gloria. In my opinion, the 230 Cedric coupe looks miles better than any of the bigger personal luxury coupes America was putting out in the 70s http://www.oldparkedcars.com/2010/11/1979-datsun-210-woodgrain-wagon.html http://www.oldparkedcars.com/2011/04/woodgrain-wagon-1983-nissan-maxima.html I replied earlier with a couple links to Old Parked Cars dot com pages that feature wood-grain examples of those two, but that comment is apparently still stuck in moderation (because of the links? IDK.). I am curious for those have driven with the mirrors that far forward. Can you see anything with them? Are the the adjust, then drive or there some sort of control in the cabin? Of course if you have friends or children, you can get them to do the adjusting while you sit inside. I will just have Jeeves adjustment for me. 🙂
