Detroit, 12:15 PM
Wed Dec 9
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1975 Datsun 710 |
Put Your Money In The Bank, Not In The Tank: 1979 Datsun 210 Hatchback |
1971 Datsun 1200 |
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Jalopnik 
11/08/09
11/08/09
It does have racing pedigree. Sort of. #1975
11/08/09
Datsun's early-malaise "luxury" ride, this was.
I was a Datsun freak around this time because I had the 1976 color brochure from when my mom bought a 2-door B210. Dark blue w/matching dark blue interior. The Z-car was the coolest set of pictures when I was a kid.
I vividly remember my folks towing the '72 Vega with a cracked head, to near the dealership, then driving it like a block to trade it in. Clever...and now I see where installing a shift-kit in the V-8 Grand Cherokee, to hide a badly flaring 2-3 shift, trade-in idea originated.
Sidebar: The GC did drive quite nicely afterward, and the salesman even commented on how nicely the transmission felt, even though I had a trailer hitch on it. My jaw almost hit the floor. The Suzuki Grand Vitara JLX+ I bought to replace it was just as big a heap-o-junk, but without the luxury or off-road prowess.
Given what else was available in the marketplace, from US manufacturers, this car was pretty appealing. You had, in the same size category, Gremlin, Vega, Pinto, Maverick...kinda..., and Aspen...bad...just bad. #1975
11/09/09
My grandparents went to Datsunfor a few years for the same reason. The American choices were terrible and their traditional choice, VW, was no longer cheap enough to put up with the quirks.
They later went back to Ford after a nasty customer service fail by Nissan. #1975
11/08/09
On a serious note, it looks quite good until you get to that grille treatment... what's up with that? It makes my own Violet (that's the 244DL's name) look attractive, and that says something. #1975
11/08/09
The Datsun 710 deserves a special award for being the only car sold in the US (at least that I can think of) that has ever attempted a "sagging shoulder" character line.
Hmmm. Perhaps it hasn't been tried before or since because it just doesn't look very good. #1975
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That's what I like to believe, at least. #1975
11/08/09
Or the also 1984 Ford LTD LX? #1975
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TLAs?
Yea, Old Grimey, your plate combo is even more suggestive than EFU since SFU stands for "S%&t $&#@ed up." #1975
11/09/09
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Odd then, odd now. #1975
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The 710 was the replacement for the beloved 510, and there were a lot of people (including the enthusiast magazines) who were not happy about that. The 510's IRS was gone on the 710, along with much of the rest of the sportiness. The styling for mid-70s Datsuns became busy, dumpy, and overcooked, and the 710 was probably the dumpiest of them all.
This particular car is the plain two-door sedan. Datsun offered a "sportier" hardtop coupe - I'm not sure it was an improvement, though (click on the picture to see it).
11/08/09
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08/30/09
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08/31/09
08/30/09
But we've determined that 0-60 is the single most important stat in a car review, and we pay for it at the pump.
(bitches a guy who drives a car that does between 4.5 and 4.9 0-60...)
08/30/09
Of course, the 240 was not a pioneer of aerodynamics.