It's now been 50 years since the father of Datsun, the one and only Mr. K. (Yataka Katayama) introduced the 240Z, and was also responsible for Nissan to start it's own sales company in the USA ten years earlier. And the rest as they say, is history.
Mr. K lived a long and productive life of 105 years but passed away in 2005. He was inducted into the automotive hall of fame in 1998 for his lifetime of contributions and his legacy lives on.
mr-k-8 (resized).jpgThe 300zx is one of my favorite cars. The 240 has aged really well, and has climbed in price significantly.
Quoted from Rum-Z:I thought this was for Kaneda, but hey, Datsun is cool. Loved the 240Z, the 510, and their small pickups.
If I was going to do a tribute to a cartoon or cartoon character, it would probably be The Flintstones, then we could have a gay old time.
Quoted from Aurich:I have a soft spot for the old Datsun 510s. Something about the little boxy cars just feels right to me.
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Could it be the four wheel independent suspension?
Quoted from Aurich:I have a soft spot for the old Datsun 510s. Something about the little boxy cars just feels right to me.
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They were something. Quick at the drag strip and corned like it was on rails!
Trivia question...why did they change the name from Nissan to Datsun and then back to Nissan?
068B7D02-260C-4B8F-B6B9-825E6F5EEA04 (resized).jpegQuoted from LukyDuck:They were something. Quick at the drag strip and corned like it was on rails!
Trivia question...why did they change the name from Nissan to Datsun and then back to Nissan?
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I had a 71 Datsun 510 and I don’t remember a Nissan changing to Datsun. I remember they changed the name from Datsun to Nissan in the 80s.
I had a 1975 280Z for many years. What a great car. Fuel injected straight 6 that just wanted to have fun.
Back in the day we used to laugh at the dat soon joke and so did Mr. K.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-aug-23-hw-8785-story.html
Quoted from bluespin:I had a 71 Datsun 510 and I don’t remember a Nissan changing to Datsun. I remember they changed the name from Datsun to Nissan in the 80s.
I think they changed the name to sound more American . When Japanese cars gained more respect here they changed back to Nissan to capitalize on the growing interest in them .
Quoted from trilogybeer:I think they changed the name to sound more American
Real men drive Fairladys
Quoted from Rezdog:Real men drive Fairladys
....to dinner in a Datsun...
When I first met my wife, she had a 1978 B-210 with a stick. She didn't know how to drive a stick when she bought it new, but learned real fast driving it home!
I had an "86 200SX coupe which is the only new car I ever bought. Paid just a tad under 15K cash for it. It was "hot red" and had every available option. I waited seven months for that car, and eventually had my dealership trade a pickup truck to another dealership to get it for me. I never saw another one exactly like it. I really wish I had kept it. Put about 280,000 miles on it, and it still ran good. The paint was faded, and the braking system was shot, so I had it towed away. I actually shed a few tears as it was hauled away. It was a really cool ride!
Quoted from o-din:If I was going to do a tribute to a cartoon or cartoon character, it would probably be The Flintstones, then we could have a gay old time.
I LOL’d
I own a 79 280zx! The last Datsun badged Z. Went to Nissan in 80. A super cool and
Fun car to drive!!
1E1963A6-1D2E-406B-AE02-9F6527B96474 (resized).jpeg74CBF569-FEF3-44CB-8E7F-FE2EA78C938A (resized).jpegCC405BD0-0778-4BCB-8D90-66A42B28FCA3 (resized).jpegD23FAD3E-5316-4B6A-BFF0-1FE4E6F6B198 (resized).jpegA guy in my bowling league years ago bought an early Datsun Z. He was telling me about it, then he blew my mind when he said he'd let me take it out for a spin!
It's the one and only time I've ever driven a Z, and it was awwwwwsssummm (as the commercial used to say)!
My first car was a 1978 Datsun F10 Wagon. My personal challenge was to stay over 50 mph by the time I got to the top of a hill on my commute. Despite all that it was actually a decent car and not nearly as ugly as "taxicab yellow with woodgrain paneling" sounds on paper 
I do still love those early 90's 300Z's. They drive like a dream.
1978_datsun_f10-pic-16947-640x480 (resized).jpegI don’t think you are gonna see anybody posting beauty shots of their K cars.
I know that car saved Chrysler but they were always heaps.
Best or worst part is, the dude driving the Dodge van was not only an optometrist who could not see late for work speeding down our road, he was also our scoutmaster at one time. Guess who got blamed.
I had an old Datsun hatchback for my first car.
My boss told me to make him an offer on it as it hadn’t run in years.
Jokingly I pulled a 50 out of my pocket. Not even sure why I had a 50 this was back in 95.
He said sold!!!
Drove it home put new tires on and drove it for 5 years, until the tranny went at 150,000 miles.
I still miss that car. Had the 2.0 4 cylinder with 8 spark plugs. I think it was called the Z engine.
I always wanted a Z series car, but ended up loving the Mazda Rx-7s. Something about the rotary engine is so cool.
This is my 5th RX-7 and kind of my mid life crisis I guess you would say
70FB9BE0-566A-4673-A6A6-8310D70A035A (resized).jpegQuoted from Bull:I still miss that car. Had the 2.0 4 cylinder with 8 spark plugs. I think it was called the Z engine.
Yeah. My 200SX was a four cylinder, but had eight spark plugs as well. The distributor cap looked like one from an eight cylinder engine.
Yes I remember the cap looking huge for the size of the engine and if I remember the rotor looked quite odd, almost like a double decker rotor???
I payed $100 for a peeling paint lime green 1976 B210 hatchback in the mid 80s and used it as a beach cruiser. Radio had previously been stolen so I mounted one in the glovebox and never locked or even rolled up the windows.
Drove it for 2 years and never put a nickel into it other than gas, sold it for $200 when I was preparing for deployment. Of all the cars ever owned this is the only one I miss.
He's also responsible for the Datsun B210. My wife bought a 1975 model in 1981 and it was the rustiest piece of shit I've even seen. Looked like it came off the bottom of a lake. Also don't believe the car had springs. But it ran and ran and got great mileage. I had to drive it because she worked in an office and I worked in a warehouse so she took my one year old car with a/c which the Datsun didn't have.
By the time I got done that car had more Bondo than metal. We owned it a couple years then sold it and the lady who bought it drove the friggin' thing to NOLA and back. Couldn't believe it made it.
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Adrian, MI
My car but not me.