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1970 Datsun 510 Station Wagon
Detroit, 12:49 AM
Sun Dec 6
8 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip your editors:
Editor-in-Chief:
Ray Wert | | AIM
Road Test Editor:
Wes Siler |
Weekend Editor:
Murilee Martin |
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Associate Editor - Detroit:
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Contributors:
John Krewson |
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1970 Datsun 510 Station Wagon |
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
12/17/08
I've never seen one of these in New Hampshire. Hell, a pre-Bush-Senior Corolla is a notable sight up here.
12/17/08
But the 510 has one enormous, undeniable advantage over the 2002, and we see it right here: A wagon version. (No, the 2000 touring doesn't count.) Seriously, if you're looking for a classic wagon, where else are you gonna go? Old American wagons are awesome, but they're awfully big and unwieldy when you're not cruising down a big, straight highway, and they're not exactly economical either. Old Mercedes wagon? Too heavy, and too often Diesel-powered, to be sporty. Peugeot 404 or 504 wagon? Well, they're about 30 feet long, and you should remember that the French word for "wagon" is "break." Hillman Husky? Excellent choice, but good luck finding one that wasn't turned into a gasser. Citroen ID21 Safari? Bonus points for Jalopness, but unless you're VWminispeedster you'll find it hard to keep it working.
What we have here, then, is the only game in town when you're looking for an economical, sporty classic station wagon. I love it, even in beige, and as Murilee is my witness, someday I'll have one. It will also be beige, but it will have a highly-tuned 2-liter motor. I will use it to pick up my children at school, and when I start the engine their classmates will pee themselves with fear.
12/17/08
12/17/08
But seriously, these were tremendous cars. Did their job, couldn't kill them, and ridiculously easy to service and keep on the road. Too bad the US was making Pintos and Vegas in response.
12/17/08
Great times were had in that car, driving to uncrowded beaches, boogie boarding, surfing, hanging on the beach getting massive sunburns...
It's about to snow in Seattle and I'm warm, happy, and can hear the waves crashing 30 years ago.
Thanks Murilee, you're a saucy memory minx today.
12/17/08
It does look completely different on big tires. I thought it was another VW wagon at first glance.
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12/17/08
I'm not quite sure what the picture of trash cans and leaves is supposed to represent, but what's missing is a shot of the interior.
12/17/08
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12/17/08
Shit, I saw old Datsuns rusting apart but still driving around in Iowa. They're tough little bastards. Especially the truck. There was a 4x4 whose body was so thoroughly rusted away that the bed wasn't so much an enclosure as it was netting.
12/17/08
Still waiting for a 70s Subaru wagon, Murilee! Or coupe will do.
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12/17/08
I'm with my fellow countryman here.
It's a wanked out old Datsun.
It's historical significance is mostly negative i.e. harbinger of the destruction of the UK car industry. (Our fault for not responding properly, agreed.)
Of itself, well, I can't be excited by a tired, nondescript estate car.
Sorry.
12/18/08