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A Reading of Datsun History for a Wintry Day
By Daniel Banks
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Well, here we are in late January
(article originally written during winter 2002 for ZCCNV,
updated) finally seeing some snow in Northern Virginia.
Many of us have put our Z’s up in the garage. Thoughts
arise of settling into the old easy chair with a cup of
hot cocoa as the snow flies outside and reading about Z
cars. Certainly a wealth of good books devoted to the Z
exists. Most authors provide a bit of history on Datsun
and its parent company, Nissan Motor Company, Ltd. Those
interested in Datsun history wishing to remain centered
on the Z car, to learn a bit of the ZCCA’s history,
and especially the story of Mr. K., can find it in the ZCCA’s
1998 publication: “Mr. K. A Man Who Realized a Dream
in America.”
If the Z.C.C.A. book piques your curiosity, as it did mine,
one can enjoy a truly epic century-long romp through the
auto industry that reads like a novel. This book, entitled
“The Reckoning,” William Morrow and Sons, by
Pulitzer Prize winning author David Halberstam, simultaneously
tracks Ford and Nissan from their beginnings to its 1986
date of publication. Finally, and also available in the
used book markets, is the topic of my article today: John
Bell Rae’s 1982 book “NISSAN/DATSUN; A History
of Nissan Motor Corporation in the U.S.A., 1960 –
1980” McGraw Hill 1982. For those interested in a
well written, United States-centered account of Datsun and
its parent Nissan, Rae’s book presents a definitive
history.
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At the
time he researched and wrote NISSAN/DATSUN, John Rae was considered
one of our preeminent automotive historians. Nissan gave Rae
wide access during the book’s preparation. The writing
of it represented a unique opportunity for an academic historian
to record what had been the outstanding first two decades
of a foreign company making few if any mistakes in America.
Mr. K himself figures prominently among 33 Nissan Motor Corporation
in the USA (NMC-USA) employees interviewed by Rae for the
book. More than several enlightening quotes from Mr. K. are
found throughout revealing what it took to build Datsun’s
presence in America from scratch. Couple such insight with
a cover jacket that includes the right car, namely a silver
280ZX Turbo, and Rae’s account becomes a “must
read” for Z enthusiasts wishing to learn a bit about
the greater automotive industry. Looking back from late 2004,
Rae’s book is relevant in understanding the roots of
Nissan’s present high standing. So… an especially
nice way to spend a few snowy afternoons during the remainder
of this winter.
There is something special to share
with those determined to find a copy of Rae’s book.
As mentioned, NMC-USA supported Rae’s efforts to historically
document their first 20 years in America and were pleased
with the result. A small number of these books can still
be found with a special piece of vintage NMC-USA corporate
memorabilia inside. These copies contain a letter dated
November 1981 from the Office of the President, NMC-USA.
Above the blue ink autopen signature of then NMC-USA President
Tetsuo Arakawa appear a few paragraphs where Arakawa presents
these copies to his fellow employees. The authentic letterhead
has an embossed Datsun logo. I have several of these presentation
books with the Arakawa letter in my personal collection.
I purchased my second copy of NISSAN/DATSUN because it was
advertised having John Rae’s autograph and the Arakawa
letter. When it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find
that the book actually contains inscriptions of importance
beyond either and why that is so appears a bit later in
this article.
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Like
any good work of history, one is unexpectedly delighted by
interesting tidbits. For
instance, we are all familiar with what a “window sticker”
is. How many recall, as Rae details, that window stickers
were originally called “Monroney” labels? In the
introduction of his book, Rae tracks one of the 2.3 million
cars Nissan would build in 1976. This one was brought to America
from Nissan’s Oppama Plant, itself built in 1962 in
Yokosuka. It was a cocoa brown Datsun 210 Hatchback, serial
number HLB210-167304, and its final destination was Arapahoe
Datsun in Littleton, Colorado. One of the final steps after
Arapahoe accepted the car was when the Vehicle Distributor
for the Denver Region of NMC-USA computer printed the window
sticker, then called a “Monroney Label” on account
of United States Senator from Oklahoma “Mike”
Monroney. It was Senator Monroney who sponsored the Automotive
Information Disclosure Act of 1958. Monroney’s bill
mandated that a list price appear on the vehicle. HLB210-167304
had the significance of being the 2 millionth Datsun vehicle
sold in the U. S., to the best of Rae’s ability to determine
that. Rae maintains that Datsun’s accomplishment from
a standing start to selling 2 million vehicles in the U. S.
in a mere 17 years represents an unprecedented story in automotive
history.
Moving back in time, Rae carefully details major events of
the late 1950s in Datsun history leading to their decision
to export to America. Of course the 1958 Mobilgas 10,000-mile
Australian Trial where Mr. K, then Nissan’s Advertising
Manager, led a pair of one-liter Datsun sedans to victory,
figures prominently. And in 1958 there were also the trial
runs at American car shows. Two Datsun “L-210s,”
and a truck, all called “Datsun 1000s” were shown
at The Imported Motor Car Show in Los Angeles during early
1958. One of the cars appeared again at the Texas State Fair
Automobile Show in Dallas, October 1958, and again in November
1958 at the Los Angeles International Auto Show.
All this exposure was to pique the interest of automotive
media in Datsun, and the result was very positive. The October
1958 issue of Motor Trend did a fine job of reviewing the
Datsun 1000, at the time the favorite taxi in Japan. Later
in the year the December 1958 issue of Road and Track ran
a 2-page story carefully analyzing the Datsun 1000. Rae writes
about this coverage in his book. It is probable that these
1958 issues of Motor Trend and Road and Track magazine represent
the first ever U.S. auto media coverage of a specific Datsun
vehicle destined for import to the United States. Indeed,
Datsun sold 83 of these cars in America during 1958. Motor
Trend observed that the apparently indestructible Datsun 1000
could be counted on to run mountain roads found outside the
big cities in Japan all day. They wrote: “The Datsun
was built to survive this tooth-jarring, spring-breaking travel
that reduces an ordinary car to shambles in six months.”
Road and Track also found much to like in the Datsun 1000,
a car they saw clearly based on Datsun’s successful
1950s tie-ups with British Austin. However, they did offer
criticism. They found the car had an unexpectedly smooth steering-post
mounted shift lever, yet it was rigged in a pattern exactly
opposite from standard for America. And the emergency brake
lever was located to the left of the driver’s seat,
fouling egress. Mr. K, arriving in 1960, would have found
a copy of the December 1958 Road and Track. If he also found
such faults lingering, one can almost see him translating
the complaints into Japanese and sending it back home to Japan
with a big note saying: “Correct These Shortcomings
Right Now!” Promoting hundreds of little corrections
and improvements was to become much the persona of Mr. K and
those who built Datsun in America with him. They worked hard
and tried to make few mistakes.
Back to 1958, what about the Australians? Well, both the August
1958 and the October 1958 issues of Wheels, one of Australia’s
preeminent automobile magazines, covered the Datsun 1000.
They traveled to Japan for the August edition and photographed
the Datsun 1000s slated for the upcoming MobilGas Australian
10,000-mile endurance run. Of the estimated 12,000 taxis in
Tokyo fully half were Datsun 1000s. In the October 1958 issue
of Wheels, Mr. K.’s Datsun 1000s have made their journey
to Australia. Wheels magazine was allowed to test-drive Mr.
K.’s cars before the big race. The Datsun 1000 received
rave reviews from these Australians, who clearly loved the
cars. In short, the flurry of articles on the 1958 Datsun
1000 made this Datsun car historically significant as originating
a long history of media coverage.
Once Datsun got its start, Rae’s book also details some
of the ways entrepreneurial Americans first hired by Datsun
contributed to the effort of selling them in America. One
such man was William Cushing, who has an interesting story.
Remembering that NMC-USA was incorporated on September 28,
1960, Cushing was one of the first hired in 1961 by Datsun’s
Western Sales Manager Ray Hoen to be Sales Manager of the
San Francisco Region. According to Rae, all Hoen’s new
hires were experienced in automobiles and sales. They were
given some autonomy to figure out what worked best in their
effort to find reliable dealers for the new Datsuns. Some
Sales Managers went to American Big Three dealers to see if
they would add the Datsun line. Rae records that Cushing refused
to do that. He did not want to dilute the Datsun brand within
the large number of offerings found at a Ford or General Motors
dealer. Instead, Cushing chose Volvo dealers. Volvo had no
pickup truck whatsoever, and Datsun could provide that. Volvo
sedans were higher priced so the less expensive Datsun seemed
a good fit. This is all Rae states about William Cushing but
I do know he hung in there with Datsun for the next 20 years.
My special copy of NISSAN/DATSUN contains two inscriptions.
The first reads: “To Bill Cushing with thanks for his
help. John Rae. 12/4/81.” A second inscription appears
below that: “Bill, Many thanks for your loyalty and
support over the years. Robert O. Link.” At the time
Robert Link had risen to Senior Vice President of NMC-USA.
My special thanks to Fred Jordan, the General Manager of Ray
Lemke’s first Datsun dealership, for gaining Mr. Link’s
signature in 2003!
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Above we see the Title Page with
the signatures of author John Bell Rae and Senior Vice President
of NMC-USA Robert O. Link. This copy was originally given
to William Cushing and has been dated 12/4/1981.
Mr. K signed the rare copy of Rae’s
NISSAN/DATSUN on 6/15/2002 at Z.C.C.A. Chairman “Mad
Mike’s” Barbecue in Dallas, Texas just before
the 15th Annual Z.C.C.A. Convention in San Antonio!
Robert
O. Link signed his photograph at his home in San Diego on
November 11, 2003, over 20 years after its original presentation
to Cushing.
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As the 1960s progressed
Rae details how the American Big Three manufacturers again
and again dismissed the threat of foreign competition. General
Motors stated the answer to cheap transportation or a good
second car was to buy a used GM. There was chronic underestimation
of demand for economical, well-built smaller cars. Time and
again, Rae details how initial denial yielded to promotion
of overseas subsidiaries as the Big Three pushed their “captive”
European makes in the American market. Always behind the curve,
cars such as Ford’s Falcon, General Motor’s Corvair,
and Chrysler’s Plymouth Valiant would eventually appear.
Rae observed that these offerings tended to quickly grow in
size and option out of the small economy car class. Perhaps
an ultimate example of this appears in an April 1968 Motor
Trend story billed as a review of developments in performance-oriented
compact cars. What really attracted American buyers were “compact”
cars like the Chevy II Nova SS, Dodge Dart GTS, Ford Falcon
Futura, and Rambler American Rogue. These “compact”
cars, admittedly performance leaders, all came with V-8 engines
ranging from 200 to 325 horsepower. These beasts were fun,
and remain valuable collector cars today. At the time, however,
Mr. K. steadfastly observed that Americans would simply never
be able to build good economical small cars.
Another interesting aspect of Rae’s book is his chronicle
of how NMC-USA dealt with the 1960s and 1970s era of safety
and emissions standards. Ralph Nader’s 1965 “Unsafe
At Any Speed” skewered GM’s earlier Corvairs.
The ubiquitous VW Beetle was attracting bad press because
of safety claims against its front mounted fuel tank, solid
steering shaft, rigid transaxle shafts that were prone to
jacking, and flat plate in-your-face windshield. Early 60’s
Beetles were singularly ill suited to protect occupants as
road speeds increased on Interstates, though an accusation
they were extraordinarily worse than other same-year equivalent
cars may be difficult to support. Ralph Nader’s Center
for Auto Safety published a widely read 200-page pamphlet
in 1971 entitled: “The Volkswagen: An Assessment of
Distinctive Hazards.” This rhetorically powerful, yet
flawed document had a major impact on public awareness of
safety issues. Most of Nader’s claims against the Beetle
and the VW Microbus rested on a manipulative and partial presentation
of results from several prominent research institutes. See
for instance John Tomerlin’s article “Ralph Nader
vs. Volkswagen” appearing on pages 25 through 33 of
the April 1972 issue of Road and Track for instructive debunking.
In his book, Rae details how the National Highway Transportation
and Safety Administration enacted early laws requiring padded
and recessed instrument panels, impact absorbing, collapsible
steering columns, 4-way flashers, dual brake systems, and
uniform tire specifications. During the period 1969 through
1972 Nissan spent $8 million on Experimental Safety Vehicles
and another $60.8 million on safety research and development.
Nissan employed 2000 engineers devoted to safety issues alone,
in part because Japan adopted American legal safety standards
at the time. Nissan’s results were so good, according
to Rae, that even Ralph Nader commended NMC-USA.
Space to further review Rae’s book being at a premium,
let’s finish by noting that Chapter 14, “RACING,
RALLIES, AND SPORTS CARS” contains a wealth of information,
especially on the Z car from its introduction through 1980.
I think we would enjoy reading here, in its entirety, the
statement then NMC-USA President Yutaka Katayama made upon
the release of the brand new 240Z for the American market.
Rae includes Mr. K’s statement as it originally appeared
on page 3 of the October-November 1969 issue of Datsun News.
From your perspective reading these lines almost 35 years
later, see if you do not agree on Mr. K.’s prescience
at what the Z car was really destined to become. Here is the
quote in its entirety from Mr. K that appears on page 262
and 263 of Rae’s book:
“With the introduction of the
Datsun 240-Z, Nissan will have enjoyed the accomplishment
of covering the American market from the Pickup to the Personal
Sports Car.
We are proud to have been able to cover all purposes of motor
car use, and for our Datsun dealer network, the new 240-Z
affords an opportunity to create an exciting new image.
240-Z represents the imaginative spirit of Nissan, and was
designed to please a demanding taste that is strictly American.
It meets all the requirements of sports minded drivers, fulfilling
their desire for superb styling, power, and safety and providing
them with the most thrilling and enjoyable ride available
in any car.
Our new product reflects the rapid advancement of our company,
and its development will be unique in automobile history.
We have studied the memorable artistry of European coachmakers
and engine builders and combined our knowledge with Japanese
craftsmanship. The result is an exotic, high performance car
exclusively for America. It will be the beginning of a new
romance for true car lovers who believe that motoring is more
than just a commute.
We adopt this new 240-Z as an aggressive innovation in automobile
building and take pride in having been totally responsible
for its concept.
Nissan offers this spirited car with affection – its
heart is Japan and its soul is America.”
Soon after its 1970 introduction, and
with the 1958 automobile magazines originating coverage of
the Datsun automobile only 12 years earlier, the Datsun 240-Z
became a media favorite.
Road and Track magazine, in 1971, named the Datsun 240Z one
of the 10 Best Cars In The World, and the Best Sports/GT,
$3500 - $4000. The following paragraph appears by a photo
of the Datsun 240Z on page 35 of the August 1971 issue of
Road and Track:
“The DATSUN 240Z is such a remarkable
car relative to its price that it has become nearly mythical.
Yes, it really is a handsome, exciting, 2-seater GT coupe
with a single-overhead-cam 6-cyl engine of 150 horsepower,
a nice 4-speed gearbox, independent suspension all around,
good finish, good brakes, an impressive list of standard equipment
and a list price of under $3600. We are aware it is not a
perfect car. All things considered, with its fine combination
of performance, comfort and sportiness it must be considered
one of the most significant automobiles in the history of
sports motoring.”
When Rae’s book went to print
in 1981 over 500,000 Z cars had been built, shipped, and sold
in America. As Rae noted, a 1976 Datsun B-210 became the 2
millionth vehicle sold in the United States over a 17-year
period that began from a standing start in 1960. Here is another
17-year statistic Nissan can be proud of. On October 30, 1980
Nissan announced that they would build their first American
factory in Smyrna, Tennessee as a sister to their Zama plant
in Japan. Groundbreaking took place on February 3, 1981, and
the first vehicle, a compact pick up truck, rolled off the
line at Smyrna on June 16, 1983. Smyrna was formally dedicated
on October 21, 1983. 17 years later, on November 27, 2000,
a yellow 2001 Nissan SuperCharged Frontier 4X4 Crew Cab rolled
off the line at Smyrna. This Crew Cab was the 5 millionth
vehicle Smyrna had manufactured in the United States. In 2003
Nissan’s 2.6 million square foot plant in Canton, Mississippi
opened and at that time the combined United States’
capacity of Smyrna, Nissan’s Decherd, Tennessee engine
plant, and the Canton, Mississippi plant will be 1,000,000
vehicles per year.
Again, I will have copies of these classic 1958 magazine articles
from the very start of Datsun in America for everyone at our
February (2002) ZCCNV meeting so come on out and attend!
Finally, my Z saw its shadow the same day as some rodent in
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania named “Phil.” (Those
creatures bite, you know…) My interpretation, however,
is that springtime Z car driving weather is due to arrive
any day now. Let the groundhog wait another 6 weeks…
I ain’t!
Dan Banks can be reached at the following email address. Please
share your comments!
dlbanks54@comcast.net
Dan Banks
Z.C.C.A. Historian
Z Car Club of Northern Virginia, Secretary
1990 300ZX Twin Turbo, Z.C.C.A. Gold Medallion #15
1971 240Z HLS30-22151 (2/71)
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