(first posted 5/13/2016) It’s important, when looking at this Nissan Stanza, to consider the historical context. Nissan was embracing front-wheel-drive for its non-sporting offerings, ditching the overwrought design language that characterized its cars during the 1970s and, most jarringly, phasing out the well-known Datsun name. While not the first compact hatchback or compact front-wheel-drive car from a mainstream brand, Nissan managed to beat Toyota to the punch in North America. With a fresh, new name, thoroughly modern mechanicals, and crisp, up-to-date styling, the Stanza was ready for the 1980s. Why, then, would Nissan’s mid-range offering be a perennial also-ran?
The Stanza replaced the Datsun 510, badged as Stanza and Violet in other markets, which was a cynical attempt to cash in on the esteemed 1968 510’s reputation by affixing its name to a rather ordinary new compact.
Initially launched in 1982 with three- and five-door hatchback bodystyles, a more conventional four-door notchback sedan joined the range in 1983. That means Nissan was offering both of the Accord’s body styles plus a five-door hatchback, something Honda never introduced. The Stanza’s debut in 1982 also meant it beat the Camry to market while offering a three-door hatch, something Toyota never introduced. In fairness, however, the notchback was the best-selling Stanza variant.
The Stanza was thoroughly modern. Suspension was independent all-round with MacPherson struts and coil springs front and rear; lower control arms were used at the front, trailing arms at the rear. The antiquated recirculating ball steering was replaced with a power rack-and-pinion set-up, while there was a choice of three-speed automatic or five-speed manual transmissions.
The only engine was a carbureted 2.0 four-cylinder with 88 hp at 5,200 rpm and 112 ft-lbs at 2,800 rpm. This was punchier than the Accord’s 1.8 mill, allowing the Stanza to sprint to 60 mph a whole two seconds faster than the Honda (approximately 13 seconds). The Stanza later gained fuel-injection, yielding another 7 horses and 2 pound-feet and still keeping it in front of the Camry and Accord in performance (Honda later added a fuel-injected 1.8 in its second-generation Accord, but this commanded a hefty premium).
While the Stanza may have been more powerful than its arch rivals, its handling was no superior to the Camry and was inferior to the Accord and 626. Consumer Guide praised its “refined and responsive engine” but said there was “too much body lean and tire squealing in corners” and that it “[lost] its composure when the road got twisty”. They made similar complaints about the Camry’s handling, however, while also criticizing that car’s inferior engine performance. Unlike rivals like the Chevrolet Cavalier and Citation and Mazda 626, no sporting Stanza was offered despite the presence of more powerful, Auster-badged models in the Japanese market.
Efficient packaging meant the Stanza sat four in surprising comfort, although the fifth seat was best left for a child or small adult. The interior was well-assembled and somewhat similar to the Accord’s in design. The exterior was clean and modern, with the hatchback featuring a Cd of 0.38; the Datsun 280ZX, in comparison, had a drag coefficient of 0.36.
It was clear Nissan had a thoroughly competitive, if not perfect, compact offering that compared well against rivals from Japan and the United States. In 1982, Nissan recorded 59,152 Stanza sales, a 27% improvement over the last year of the 510. But in 1985, the penultimate year of this Stanza’s generation, sales had increased to just 64,398 units. By contrast, the 626 recorded 92,839 units, the Camry clocked 128,132 sales and the Accord sold a whopping 268,420 units. The compact Nissan was outsold by similarly-sized cars like the Subaru DL/GL, Tempo, Skylark, Reliant and Aries, as well as all of the J-Car lines except for the Firenza and Cimarron. Even more interestingly, the larger Maxima outsold the Stanza by around 30k units, and even Nissan’s SX and ZX sports cars were selling better. The Stanza, despite being a fundamentally good car, was Nissan’s under-achiever. The three-door hatch was axed for 1985 and the five-door hatch discontinued for the 1986 model year with Nissan focussing on the more successful sedan.
Nissan itself was struggling with market share. While they were still selling every car they could despite voluntary import restrictions significantly hampering their ability to expand in volume, Honda’s market share had been rising as Nissan’s fell. Of the Japanese brands in the US, Nissan had long come second to Toyota in overall sales. As the 1980s pressed on, they fell to third behind Honda.
By 1986, Nissan had pruned the Stanza range – excluding the puzzlingly Stanza-badged van, known as Prairie or Multi elsewhere – down to a single, well-equipped sedan. Standard equipment included power steering, mirrors, windows and locks, AM/FM stereo with cassette player and fold-down rear seats. MSRP was $9649 ($10,179 with the automatic), undercutting the similarly equipped Camry LE by a few hundred dollars. But despite a mild facelift with composite headlamps in 1985, the Stanza – like almost everything in the segment – looked old-hat next to the dashing new 1986 Accord. The new generation of compact Honda further strengthened the company’s hold on the segment.
Had the Stanza’s sales performance been impacted by the confusion of Nissan’s corporate name change? Market research conducted in 1988 showed the Datsun brand had retained equal brand recognition to the Nissan name in the minds of consumers even several years after its phasing out.
It’s hard to identify any other reason for the Stanza’s mediocre sales performance. Performance was exceptional for the class, pricing was lineball with its key rivals and dynamics and styling were similar to the Camry.
For 1987, the Stanza shifted to the new, front-wheel-drive Maxima platform. Handling was improved but the new car weighed almost 500 pounds more than its predecessor while using the same engine. Suffice it to say, performance suffered. This second-generation model didn’t really stick around long enough for anyone to remember, being replaced by a more powerful and class-competitive third-generation Stanza in 1990.
Ultimately – or rather, Altimately – it took until 2002 for Nissan to really pose a threat to the Camry and Accord in the sales race. The third-generation Altima, the Stanza’s descendant, was the right size and the right price with sleek styling and an available, powerful V6. To this day, the Altima remains a podium finisher in the mid-size sedan sales race.
Perhaps the reason Nissan took so long to get a foot-hold in this segment was because their offerings never had a truly unique sales proposition. Imagine if Nissan had realized that in 1982 instead of in 2002. Instead, the 1982 Stanza was “good enough” and “competitive enough” except in the all-important sales race.
A very special thanks to Curbside Cohort contributors Rivera Notario in Chile, for the photographs of the blue sedan, and Bill, for the beige hatchback.
Related Reading:
Curbside Classic: 1980 Chevrolet Citation
Curbside Capsule: Toyota Camry (Gen 1)
I’m really surprised by the cars that outsold the Stanza, I mean, the Subaru GL/DL….?
When these cars debuted the styling was different though not too off-putting, but what I felt did them no favors was their extremely “low rent” detailing. The early cars looked like Nissan had gone to great lengths to take the trim to the lowest possible level…and then 1 step lower. The pictures of the blue and creme colored cars here border on generic-looking, like they were purposely trying to make them anonymous.
I wonder if lackluster advertising/image building back in the 80s did these cars no favors? I remember when the Altima was introduced, it was like every other commercial on tv back then was for the Altima, a push that was repeated in 2002 with the new model.
BTW, I think what really caused the Altima to take off in 2002 was the addition of the V6 and Nissan’s push to get the Altima off to a good start with heavy promotion by the car mags.
I thought the interiors of these cars were particularly sharp, with nice fabrics on the seats and well presented dash.
I owned the predecessor of these cars (a Datsun 710) while an undergraduate in college, and really liked these midsized models. I was even a fan of the 510 that came after the 710, with the NAPS-Z engine, I got a chance to drive one while I was a transporter working for Hertz in the late 70’s, and thought they were pretty nice.
Just like the Camry (and the Accord) , the hatchbacks were an early victim of slower sales…I’m a fan of mid-sized hatchbacks, and the pickens got pretty slim when they exited the market.
Wonder why the “Stanza” name didn’t make it….they were nice cars, but they just didn’t have the sales volume for some reason (maybe because they were expensive, I heard that the 1992 Stanza was pretty pricey…but also a very nice car). Maybe people got mixed up between the Stanza and Sentra names?
I much prefer the hatchbacks, myself.
I do as well…having a 2000 Golf and before that a 1986 GTi and a 1978 Scirocco. A bit smaller than a Stanza, but who sells mid-sized hatchbacks anymore?
I forgot that I’d rented a Stanza sedan on a business trip to Everett in 1987. Interestingly I recall a co-worker rented a Chevy Corsica, it was the first time I ever saw one. It was a 2 week trip and over the weekend I went to Mt. Rainier in the Stanza. On the way back, I was trying to save so I went on a secondary road which turned out to be a logging road, by the time I realized what I was doing I couldn’t turn around. I got through, but it was really dumb to risk taking a rental on such a road…in the end it probably took much longer than simply taking the same road back that I’d come on.
This car, specially the sedan, is so generic that I thought it was a J-Car when I saw the picture.
The sedan is remarkably J car like. I bet if there was an Isuzu badged J, it would be a twin of this.
There was an Isuzu badged J the Aska it sold in NZ as a Camira they were crap with awful handling.
They are not quite the twin I would have thought. They have black grills on all the images I saw.
To me, those black grilles and bumpers are what made the Stanza look so cheap.
Back in the 80s, the lowest rung of cars had black bumpers. The Civic had them until about 1990, while the Chevy Cavalier had them into the mid 90s….IIRC.
I loved my stanza gxe it was fully loaded new beige in color. I painted the bumpers it had painted saw blades wheels and a rear wing. With 60 series tires the 8 spark plug 4 cylinder looked and sounded sporty. Most people didn’t know what kind of car it was but they liked it.
G M wouldn’t permit petrol Askas to be sold in Ireland, but the diesel Aska was legendary because it had the best diesel engine ever seen. Eventually Opel started using Isuzu engines instead of their own ( inferior) diesel engine.
Even in the USA the poor reputation of GM diesels did not carry over into the Isuzu 1.8 diesel offered in the Chevette.
Hmm, the design or reliability of the Isuzu diesel may have been appreciated by those in the know, but believe me, as a car, the diesel Chevette was even lower on the perception ladder than an diesel Olds.
I’m assuming this was the same diesel engine used in the T-car Isuzu I-Mark (Gemini)? Those diesels seem to be indestructible, if rust doesn’t devour the car in which they are mounted.
The Japanese compacts were pressing up against a size barrier in the mid eighties. They all had pleasant 2.0 liter engines that would have required a massive reengineering to grow as balance shafts were then necessary. This left the 87 Stanza and the 87 Camry with new larger bodies on carryover engines and chassis. That left them marginal with automatics. The buff books did not tell you that as they only test manual versions.
I would have liked to see the Stanza stay the same size as this generation. With short Japanese production cycles, it would have been interesting to see how their J car developed.
This was my first car. My dad bought it new in 82, he was a traveling salesman, and I got the car in 85 with 117k miles on the clock. The car was extremely comfortable, got great gas mileage, even had a sunroof. It had a 5 speed tranny & the car was pretty peppy. I drove the car till 89 when I purchased a 90 Honda Civic Ex sedan with auto which I hated because it was slow & its seats were hard. I missed the Stanza, it was a great car, sold it with 250k on the clock.
The failure of the Stanza is somewhat odd, considering the successes of is competitors, and that it wasn’t really an inferior or less appealing car in any way. As you said, maybe it had something to do with the Datsun->Nissan transition.
At least personally, if I were a prospective consumer in the mid-1980s, it would be the Stanza’s styling that would’ve put it near the bottom of my list. True it did look similar to the Accord, Camry, and others, but at least the 4-door sedan comes across as somewhat frumpier and less cohesive. It looks an awful lot like the Hyundai Stellar.
Anyway, thanks Will for this very great article! This oft forgotten generation Stanza was needing a more accurate and comprehensive write-up.
It is interesting the different paths that Nissan and Toyota/Honda took in the US market. Toyota’s first attempt to enter the US market was the Toyopet, but they did not really find success until the Land Cruiser and the Corona. While Nissan did not really find lasting success until Renault took 43% ownership in 1999.
http://corporatenews.pressroom.toyota.com/corporate/company+history/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1627671.stm
To me, what’s really interesting is that Nissan didn’t do any better in Japan than they did in the U.S. The smaller Honda moved past Nissan in the early 90s and the situation hasn’t really changed since.
I remember that when my brother went car shopping for a compact sedan in 1984, he did not even bother to consider the Stanza. Though it was no doubt a competent product, he thought the Stanza was dumpy looking, and the Datsun/Nissan transition was confusing. Too many hurdles to overcome given how good many of the competitors were at the time.
Count me as another buyer who didn’t seriously consider Nissan products back then. I can’t give any rational reason besides a vague (& probably unjustified) perception of lower durability. It’s been Honda vs. Toyota for us ever since.
Now my BIL had a B12 Sentra & while I don’t recall his reporting any trouble with it, he replaced it with an Accord.
I also really think it came down to the styling. Even if we don’t take it all the way out to ’86 (therefore excluding the near-revolutionary 3rd gen Accord), let’s look at the Japanese competition for ’84. 2nd-gen Accord, 1st-gen Camry, 2nd-gen 626, 2nd-gen Subaru DL/GL. I think you’ll get widespread agreement that the Accord, Camry, and 626 were simply more attractive. Subaru was on the last year of the older DL/GL body, and the Stanza looked modern next to it, but Subaru offered the most body styles–2-door hardtop coupe, 4-door sedan, 3-door hatch, wagon, and even a pickup if you count the BRAT.
Frumpy only sells when you have strong brand loyalty (not yet) or when it’s underpinned by engineering excellence (this was good but not excellent).
Parents had a ’85 Stanza 4 door sedan with 5 speed they bought new. I believe it was a GL, had power windows and locks, decent stereo with cassette, alloy wheels, AC and a nice cloth (bordello red) interior. The fuel injected engine was pretty peppy for the times, and it got high 30’s on the highway. It was in the family for about 8 years, and had about 150k miles on it when it was sold. I enjoyed driving it, looked good in it’s maroon paint job.
It was totaled by a motorcycle when Mom ran a stop sign, luckily the 2 people on the bike escaped with only a broken ankle between them. Mom got a bashed up knee cap from the dashboard as the car spun around after the left front t bone. Insurance repaired the car, but after it was repaired the car had an oil leak. The head had been cracked in the impact, but since the car had already been repaired the head was replaced, it would have been totaled had this been discovered in the original estimate.
Really an under rated car, surprised by the low sales numbers. Gave them no mechanical trouble and was quite comfortable. Good car. I drove it from SoCal to Portland and was quite impressed with it.
Very nice write-up of a wall-flower car.
This generation Stanza was quite a good car, if not quite as sharp handling as the Accord. But Nissan really struggled in the US for a very long time. It was a reflection of their management, which was just never as focused and consistent as Honda or Toyota. Their styling was all over the place starting in the early 70s. The name change just fed the perception that this was a company that had an identity and consistency issue.
That’s not to say they didn’t make plenty of perfectly good cars during his long dark era. It just meant that they weren’t able to capture the emotions of buyers (and the magazine reviewers) like Honda and Toyota. Nissan just couldn’t ignite the right kind of spark, especially with the Stanza, which was of course smack in the middle of the most competitive segment of the market.
Nissan did better where it had less intense competition. The Sentra could always be sold for a few bucks less than the competition, because of Nissan’s very efficient US plant, and the Maxima was something in a class of its own, as was the Z car. But the Stanza just got lost in the crowd.
And the successor to this generation was profoundly dull in terms of its styling. That really killed it.
Great article on a forgotten car. There was a LOT of competition back then. Remember, people were still purchasing small American cars in droves back then, giving the American car companies one last chance at redemption. Possibly the rather boring name or even the styling never gave the Stanza a chance. People certainly noticed the Maxima and other Nissans in the 80’s. The Stanza never took off because it was mediocre looking IMO. It may have had great driving dynamics and was reliable as all NIssans were back then but it got lost in the many available options people had. The Sentra sold well and then so did the Maxima. So yes people bought Nissans. Not just the Stanza model. Kinda reminds me of Jan Brady from The Brady Bunch. Middle sister syndrome. She was nice and cute, but everyone noticed Marcia and the younger little sister Cindy. Jan got lost in the shuffle. Same thing with the Stanza. It was the Jan Brady of the Nissan line-up. Even the following generations were BORING.
And then in 1993 Nissan introduces the Stanza Altima – an Infiniti-esque looking car that sold like crazy. It had great build quality, a beautiful interior and looked expensive for what it actually cost. Now it had Cindy Crawford looks! The preceding Stanzas never sold well because Nissan needed that nicer styling to woo people over from the Hondas and Toyotas. I was selling Nissans/Altimas in 1995 and 1996, and I remember the main reason people bought them was for the styling and then value for their buck.
Concur that the Stanza’s (and Nissan USA’s) lack of success at the time was puzzling. Their cars were pretty good; maybe as others have mentioned, but didn’t really stand out.
Maybe management had something to do with it, as Nissan’s fortunes (not just in North America) began to turn around with the Carlos Ghosn era.
I drove one of these new on hire in the UK. 1600cc here. About as much fun as driving an ironing board with a grim grey interior and uncomfortable drivers seat. No one loved them much and certainly not as good as the contemporary Vauxhall Cavalier (GM) or Sierra (Ford).
It’s nowhere to be found on Youtube, but the sound of jingle singers enthusiastically reminding us that “You Can Cross Your Legs in a Nissan Stanza!” has been stuck in my head for 30+ years.
We Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre Driven!
I think I remember the first few stanzas of that song…..LOL
I found this old thread because something recently reminded me of the “You can cross your legs in a Nissan Stanza!” commercial which has also been rattling around in my head for 36 years. I did a search and among the list of results was this thread and the commercial itself. I remember it got my attention at the time because the ability to cross your legs in a car seemed like a strange thing upon which to build an ad campaign and, more important to my (at the time) early 20’s self, the overly enthusiastic blonde (“I can cross my legs!”) in the back seat always got my attention.
I do remember the first few Stanzas but that they looked dull and smaller-cheaper made than the competing Honda and Toyota and even the Mitsubishis. That unimposing, unstylish appearance is probably what did them in.
By the way, you’ve probably noticed that Nissan has taken a large interest in Mitsubishi Motors.
One of the local radio stations had a “teaser” about 2 car companies merging….but I never heard who the 2 companies where. I figured Mitsubishi had to be one of the 2, as the company (seems to be) in a death spiral. I can’t imagine why Nissan/Renault would want them but it may be one of those mergers “strongly encouraged” by the Japanese government. Or maybe Nissan thinks it needs Mitsubishi’s small car expertise?
I’ve been stuck with a Nissan Versa as a rental car this week while traveling for work. If that Versa is any indication Nissan really could use *someone*’s small car help, as it’s one of the more joyless vehicles I’ve ever driven.
My parents had an ’86 Stanza with an automatic, which served as our primary family car for a number of years. From what I remember, it ticked all the right boxes, well-equipped, comfortable, reasonably responsive engine, a decent ride/handling tradeoff, and very reliable. It just didn’t have anything about it that made it likeable. Honda’s at the time had an engine note that said “let’s play,” while Toyota’s still had some quirky but endearing traits. The Stanza…totally forgettable. It’s really telling that my parents replaced the Stanza with an A-body Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, which turned out to be a MORE interesting car.
A neighbor had a white 2 door Stanza hatch like one pictured, but was 10 years old. One cold spell had the steering wheel trim warped and caused the horn to beep continuously. But, since the battery was old, the sound died down and then was not moved for a month, covered in snow. Was gone for good after that.
Another issue was the last years of Stanza, there was an ad campaign where Nissan gave buyers $100 if they test drove one, but bought a Toyota/Honda instead. Looks like many took them up.
I owned a Nissan Violet in Japan in the early 80’s. It wasn’t a bad car, but as a car following aToyota, I felt at the time that the Nissan was more a ‘GM’ engineered car than a ‘Japanese’ engineered car. Perhaps it was the indifferent feel when I drove it, or my impression that money had been saved here and there, or maybe it was replacing a leaky radiator that left the impression, but I didn’t consider it the equivalent of a Honda or a Toyota, and I didn’t miss it a bit when it was gone.
This 82-86 shape was the only generation sold as a “Stanza” in the UK, and they all seemed to vanish from sight after a very short time. I always assumed there had been some major corrosion issue. Datsun Violets lasted for years, as did Bluebirds, but the Stanza seemed to be a “blink and you’ve missed it” car.
Yeah, I noticed that in my A-Z Cars of the 1980s book… You guys had the Stanza at the same time as the RWD Bluebird – not too unusual – but then the FWD Bluebird was launched in 1984. While Japan may love its tweener models, effectively Nissan then had a rival for the Escort (Sunny) and a rival for the Sierra (Bluebird). No further need for the Stanza, then, which sold poorly anyway…
In Japan, the Stanza/Violet continued in this size class for at least another generation, so the later U.S. Stanza was a quite different car from the JDM product of the same name.
The Monarchmobile!
On paper, this seemed like it would be a great car, when I decided it was time to ditch my TransAm (my 25 year old dream car that I actually bought), so I test drove one of the first in the area. A HUGE disappointment, compared to the ’82 Accord. In the end, I bought a new ’82 Civic. Oddly, after the demise of the original 510, I always considered this size Nissan to be an also-ran in a lineup of decent smaller cars, Z’s/ZX’s, and later Maximas and SX’s. So the appearance of the Altima so high up on the sales charts, always surprises me even after 10+ years of success.
That series of ads shows the transition from Datsun to Nissan. The first one has “At Your Datsun Dealer” in fairly prominent type, along with the “Datsun/We Are Driven” slogan. The next one still directs you to your Datsun dealer, but in smaller type and there is no other use of the Datsun name. By the third ad in the series the Datsun name is finally gone.
Years ago, in South Carolina, I saw a Stanza with the vanity plate “POETRY.” This was in pre-smartphone time so I had no camera with me, dagnabbit.
Where was the picture of the white 5-door taken? I live in the East Bay CA and the location looks very familiar.
An illustrative write-up on a car that I haven’t seen in many years. Of course it’s possible that they’re still around and the blandness just blends into traffic, but one would think they’d be visible on account of age. And I don’t recall seeing a single one in many, many years. In fact I’d forgotten the 3-door hatch version even existed.
This is in stark contrast to the “Stanza Wagon” aka Multi/Prarie. Those are still around in some number, their unabashed boxiness easily noticed in traffic. A fellow at my workplace still daily drives one of these proto-mpvs, in fantastic condition except for a few small spots of rust repair.
I bought a used 85 in 85 with 6800 miles on it. I was working at local Ford dealership and I knew the lady who traded it in. I had a $97 payment for 48 months. I loved this little car in 145000 miles I bought 1 battery about $70 a radiator hose $17 and 4 tires plus tax mounting and balancing total $153 at western auto.It was a great economy car for its time.
I recently watched a video on youtube of someone exploring an abandoned house with a 3 door Stanza in the garage, wasn’t even sure what it was at first.
They just were not as durable as the Accord and Camry/Corona of the era. “Frumpy” and forgettable, they ‘vanished’ by the time of its 93-97 Altima replacement. Those lasted a lot longer in the 4 seasons of Chicagoland.
Neighbor had one in the early 90’s and was crusty. One cold night, the horn was stuck on, long beep for hours, which gradually diminished as the battery died. The howling winds drowned it out, too. Car was gone after this incident.
For all the discussion of the Stanza’s frumpy styling, it must be said that the first gen Camry certainly wasn’t a looker.
It may be splitting hairs, but I think the Stanza’s overall styling (frumpy or not) contributed to perception that it was a car that was a size smaller than the contemporary Accord, Camry, or 626. They all had a much longer look to them.
Taking a chance of being excoriated,,, However, I rather liked the Generation of Stanza which was replaced by the Altima. Maybe it was the fact i am attracted to low and linear, Maybe it was due to the fact it looked like a full cribbing of the Audi 4000, which I owned. I considered trading in my Audi for such a car. Didn’t. Though the Altima was a better car, the styling was not my cup of tea. Kept the 86 Audi 4000 until 96. Traded for a new Thunderbird… Liked the looks, wanted a 2 door, the MN12 platform was a proven. Ford of North Scottsdale had deals, and I was deep into Thunderbirds. then owning a series of mid 60s Flairbirds (64 to 66)
The first gen Stanza went by the internal series code T11, which insiders called Trouble 11 as the build quality was really sub-par.
In the branding switch from Datsun to Nissan, the corporate bean counters got their say and a multitude of cheapeners made it to the final assembly process. What resulted were myriad rattle and squeals from the interior bits with a few months service.
In many Asian markets, market surveys showed that people looked to the Datsun name with favour while Nissan was quite despised.
Also, the CA16 engine (the most popular choice in Asia) could never be made to idle properly without hetrodyning and cabin shake when the factory AC was in use, accelerating the cabin trim maladies.
Furthermore, the shovel nosed frontage never took off in the more conservative homeland market or many others in Asia, resulting in a hasty facelift that had a squared off visage coming in 1983.