We’re now solidly in the middle of summer in Chicago, though it had felt like it had already arrived earlier this year. When I open my blinds in the morning, I look out over my residential neighborhood and see the thickness and density of tree leaves as a measure of the progress of the season. The stark beauty of winter’s bare branches gave way to spring’s chartreuse buds as they gradually appeared. By the middle of May, some buildings that used to be visible from my midrise unit had become obscured by full, green leaves in this forest-like area. I love being surrounded by other living, growing, towering things that are not like me. It’s all so awe-inspiring. To me, green is synonymous with life.
I’ve also been taking advantage of the warm weather to explore still more areas and neighborhoods of Chicago in which I’ve never spent any significant amount of time. I’m not completely a lone wolf and I do enjoy the shared experience of exploring with friends, but I’m often just as happy in my own company. Going places by myself means I have no appointments or schedules to keep, and it allows for flexibility in deciding where I will let the day lead me.
I can decide in a split second if I want to pull the cord on the public bus to request the next stop if I see an interesting bakery or store along the way, and I have no one else to convince that this would be a good idea. A couple of months ago, I decided to visit the Humboldt Park neighborhood on Chicago’s west side. It’s a beautiful area with a large park and lagoon, many beautiful, historic structures, and a significant population of Puerto Rican descent.
It was on the culture-rich Paseo Boricua stretch of West Division Avenue that I saw our featured car. I was so floored to see a clean example of a Datsun 210 in traffic that I completely missed that there was a big, black Lincoln Continental Mark III parked on the street behind it until I had later examined these frames at home. The driver confirmed out of the window that his Datsun is a ’79, which is the first year for this design in the United States, sold through ’82. It would be Nissan’s last, new rear-drive compact, replaced by the FWD Sentra. Power came from a 1.4 liter four-cylinder with just 65 horsepower to motivate almost exactly one ton of curb weight. With its five-speed manual transmission, Nissan boldly advertised it as having the “HIGHEST GAS MILEAGE OF ANY CAR YOU CAN BUY!” (all-caps) in the U.S. in 1979, with EPA fuel mileage ratings of 35 mpg city and 47 highway.
Whenever I see superlatives like this, I’m immediately drawn to look up such information on the internet, as there seem to have been smaller, and perhaps lighter, vehicles for sale here at that time. I didn’t write the ad copy, but someone let it fly, so I’ll just let it ride for now. At a minimum, the ’79 210 represented green from an ecological standpoint, being very efficient with fuel. Also, during the 1979 oil crisis, this peppy-looking Datsun also meant that more green stayed in the wallets of its owners and drivers.
I also think this is good, sporty design for an economy hatchback from that time period, and I have long admired the fastback roofline and the general detailing of the 210’s clean bodysides. The profile view also demonstrates the effective trick of breaking up the rear-quarter window area and giving a more coupe-like appearance with two separate panes of glass. It’s the difference between the Renault 15 and 17, to give just one other example of what I’m talking about.
The former’s long, large, unbroken pane of rear-quarter glass, though it undoubtedly provides excellent visibility, makes the tail of the 15 look disproportionately long. Imagine if the ’79 Dodge Omni O24 and Plymouth Horizon TC3 had just one long rear-quarter window versus the different window treatments Chrysler Corporation had tried over the years. Some L-body coupe window configurations worked better than others, but all of them look better to my eyes than if there had been just one big rear side window.
Green was also the color of the money you’d save at the point of purchase. With a base price of $3,899 (which was the same for the two-door sedan or hatchback), the ’79 210 undercut the price of a new, non-Scooter Chevette by almost fifty bucks ($3,948), and the non-Pony Pinto by $40 ($3,939). Meanwhile, a same-year Toyota Corolla two-door sedan started at $4,133, and a base VW Rabbit would set one back at least $4,799. One weakness of Datsuns of this era were their propensity to rust, where in a handful of years, a pretty green finish like on our featured car would feature spots of crunchy brown like so many scattered, autumn leaves.
The absence of rust and the like-new condition of this vintage Japanese hatchback were what made it more interesting to me than any number of other cars I could have seen that day. I don’t recall having seen any of these Datsuns in this color on the street when I was a kid, so I’m guessing this is as much an aftermarket choice as were the same-period Toyota wheels (which I think look great, by the way). Green is the color of the fruit from which is extracted a cold limeade that I hope to purchase soon from a local, street-corner vendor in my own neighborhood, or of the bright, sweet pickle relish on a Chicago dog. Summer is here, and let the parade of vintage vehicles continue.
Humboldt Park, Chicago, Illinois.
Saturday, May 11, 2024.
Rich Baron presented this excellent and comprehensive overview of these cars in September of 2023.
I always like the street scenes in your photos nearly as much as the cars. I wonder what’s on the menu at Janik’s Cafe Comfort Food.
This generation of Datsun was restrained in its styling, but the period ad shows its wheels to be too small and its stance tail down, as if there’s too much shopping under that hatch. I prefer the stance of the green machine, although the wheels are too large for my taste.
Glad you’re having summer in Chicago. In North West England the rain is of biblical proportions as usual. Which means the landscape is green.
Thank you, Hummel. It often happens that whatever’s in the background of whatever I’m photographing as my main subject will come to my attention after the fact, like many restaurants, places of business, and as you mentioned, other cars.
The Lincoln would have been a fine subject car, but I’m still thrilled to have seen this Datsun, as I can’t even remember the last time I saw one in the metal in front of me. As far as the rain in NW England right now, I also tend to think of NW US as having much of the same, though I haven’t spent any time there.
I think the factory wheel size wouldn’t be quite as noticeable if today’s wheels weren’t so massive.
Love that beautiful black Lincoln Mk3 in the background of the first shot!
Amazing how petite it looks compared to the white modern vehicle parked behind it!
That Lincoln did look to be in beautiful shape when I looked at these photos at home. I wonder if it belongs to one of the business owners on this stretch of West Division. About that Corolla aft of the MK III, I think its relative size has more to do with the camera angle and distance perception than anything, though I’m sure that Lincoln has a much, much lower roofline than the compact Toyota.
Nice find Joseph! I have happy memories of a road trip in a 79 Datsun 210 2 door sedan on Vancouver Island in 1994. I thought it was a splendid little car for getting around.
That car is so Gumby green I’d be worried that mason hornet would come and encase it in bricks.
Thanks, Doug! Your reference to “mason hornet” had me searching twice for something with which I was unfamiliar. And now that I see hits under “Gumby”, which you did reference, I now have another one of my favorite kinds of obscure cultural references I like to read about at the end of the day. So, again, thank you!
I don’t love the color (and I generally like green cars!), but this was a rare find indeed. Clean-lines and shorn of excess ornamentation, this generation of 210s marked a radical and welcome departure from Datsun’s 1970s styling atrocities (B-210, F-10) described by Car and Driver magazine as “atomic cockroach”.
I do like the black Lincoln Mark III photobombing the first few pictures. It would have been worthy of its own Joe Dennis feature.
William, I agree that this was 210 was a welcomed, stylistic about-face from a decade of Datsuns and Nissans with, ahem, adventurous styling. That’s not to say that I can’t appreciate the quirks of the F-10 and 200 SX / Sylvia, but what I like about this 210 is just how normal and conventionally attractive it looks.
When I see something like this, I wish I would have paid more attention to small Japanese cars in the late 70s. Hindsight tells me there were so many great little cars available then which I completely ignored until they had all rusted into history. A little RWD Datsun would be tremendously fun, I think.
The driver certainly seemed to be having fun driving it around that day. And why wouldn’t he? Nobody for miles around had a car exactly like that, in shape that amazing.
A lovely leafy colour, like the shade that you’d be looking out for this time of year, Joseph!
Just yesterday my grandson was asking me what was my favourite colour, and before I could say anything my daughter leapt in and said “Green!” Then she added “Specifically Hunter Green, see that jumper he’s wearing?” Guilty. 🙂 Though my favourite green is actually a lighter shade, perhaps not as light as this Datsun. Hunter Green is more what’s available in the shops or what’s bought for me. I don’t like clothes shopping. Since my family have to look at me, I’m happy for them to choose.
These Datsuns weren’t as popular here as their predecessor. While objectively they may have been a better car, the styling was heavy-handed and squared off without being quite square. It’s like they saw the direction styling was going but didn’t quite know how far to go in that direction. The side window treatment is a case in point. My eye wants to visually connect the bottom lines of the two rear side panes, but they look like they don’t quite line up. Then there’s that clunky grille, the over-heavy taillight frames, the super-3D wheel covers (fixed here!) the….. you get the idea. It lacked that deftness of line of the comparable European designs. Or its predecessor. Or even the Toyota Corolla.
There are so many little details my fingers itched to correct. While I might have bought a B210, I wouldn’t have bought this. Too clunky.
Peter, I also love green (and that isn’t a reference to money, though money’s great, too). I also used to have green shirts to wear, but thinking about what’s in my closet right now, I don’t think I have much green in there in 2024 – for no particular reason I can think of.
I think we finally have differing opinions on styling, but it took long enough! Haha I agree that in keeping with the general trend I’ve observed, the corresponding Toyota’s styling (the Corolla’s) was way more conventional, though I do think the SR-5 fasthatch is a genuinely great looking car.
I love the taillamps and side window detail on this 210, and find there’s just enough flair to provide some genuine interest. The only part of the car’s look that falls flat to me is the grille area, which is a bit too busy and nondescript. With a better face, and maybe a slightly longer hood area, the styling would be near the top of its class.
For mine, this car’s somewhere between you both. Sure, it’s a bit of a labyrinthine overcook, both in details and otherwise, but it works out quite reasonably, say I.
Anyway, sure as shiny shite off a shovel, it’s one great leap for man who owned a B210 coupe and wanted to trade!
I went for a dog walk this afternoon and just a few blocks from home our only local 210 zipped past me. I only see it 3 or 4 times a year so it did qualify for a CC Effect to see it the same day as your post, though to be honest it is the previous generation B210. A car I thought absolutely hideous 50 years ago, but is a refreshing sight in 2024. The next gen that you captured is probably better styled, objectively, but also looks more generic. I was reminded by your post that I once had a rental 210 of that vintage, but blue and a 2 door notchback. In Seattle.
I remember liking the quirky styling of the (preceding) B-210. That was one import car that had seemed to be more present on the streets of Flint when I was growing up, and I liked the novelty of the “Honey Bee” variant. Speaking of, I’m trying to imagine a Honey Bee version of this 210, and I just don’t think it would have worked with the more modern, conventional styling.
Wow very rare car here now, I used to see a wagon regularly somebody carted their dog to a nearby dog park with one but its gone too the rust mites got most of them and boy racers killed the rest.
Without looking it up, I can’t even remember what the wagon looks like! Apparently that’s how long it has been since I’ve seen one of those. (Google, here I come…)
The original B210 coupe was so comically, impossibly-ly ugly and ornate, and so resembled a Baroque cornice ornamentation made automotive, that it couldn’t otherwise be that anything subsequent was a bit less hilarious, and indeed, these weren’t. In the slightly-overcooked style of the times, these were ok, really. Good cars? My lord, of course they weren’t, but they were utterly reliable, and had buyers.
I wonder if this one’s startling greenery, as it were, has been a factor in its survival?
Justy, thanks for making me chuckle. I’m pretty sure this green is not a factory color. It just seems so straightforward “bright green”, though I do like it. If this car’s condition was the result of skilled bodywork by folks who know how to do it, that also has my respect.
The B210, in both hatchback and trunk-back form, is so overdone stylistically that it seems almost a caricature, and I almost love it for that.
I had a 1979 brown 210 sedan given to me by my father in 1988. Took $8 dollars fill that tank And it ran like a top! Besides rusting away another Major problem was that vehicle was birth control,,,,, You ain’t getting laid in 1988 driving around in a 1979 Datsun 210 sad-dan!!
Hahaha!! Excellent.
Awesome find. My 8th grade history teacher had one. Since you were in Humboldt Park, did you have some mofongo de churrasco?
Matt, I did not! But I plan to spend more time in that area and enjoy the cuisine. Last summer, a great Puerto Rican restaurant opened up in Uptown not far from the CTA Red Line stop at Wilson, and that place gave me a taste for more of it.