Curbside Classic: 1987 Volkswagen Santana Xi5 Autobahn DOHC – Nissan’s Quantum Entanglement

Whether you know this car as the Santana, the Quantum, the Corsar, the Carat or the Passat, you know it was made by the good people at Volkswagen. Sometimes in Brazil, for a very long time in China (made by the SAIC-VW joint-venture) and, of course, in what was then West Germany, the VW badge on this saloon left no doubt as to its manufacturer. Except this one. Like all the Japanese-market Santanas, it was actually made by Nissan.

Sometimes, when researching certain JDM-centric subjects, there is little material to be found online. But not in this case. The strange, convoluted and ultimately unsuccessful Nissan-VW experiment is copiously documented and discussed (at least, on Japanese-language sites), so I’ll focus on that, rather than the Santana/Quantum/etc. we are all presumably somewhat familiar with, thanks at least in part to several in-depth CC posts (like this one) on the matter.

So how did Nissan come to manufacture a large Volkswagen saloon in the mid-to-late ‘80s? It was all in the interest of easing what the Japanese Ministry for International Trade and Industry termed as “trade friction.” Throughout the ‘70s, Japanese automakers’ exports had grown exponentially, while foreign car sales in Japan did not. Some imports did trickle in, but it was nothing compared to the ever-increasing amounts of Japanese cars being sold overseas. This trade imbalance was seen, even from the Japanese perspective, as a potential problem, especially when it came to the European market.

To continue increasing their market share in Europe while minimizing political fallout, Japanese automakers employed several tactics. One was modern products (especially FWD hatchbacks), which were in the pipeline. Another was local assembly lines, the first of which were being set-up by Honda and Nissan in the UK. Tie-ups with European makers (Honda and BL, Nissan and Alfa, Mazda and Ford) were also explored – Japanese investment in Europe quadrupled between 1981 and 1987. The final component, and by far the thorniest, was to figure out a way to give European cars a little more market share in Japan. What was needed, in a way, was a reverse Triumph Acclaim.

In December 1980, Nissan issued a statement that they and Volkswagen were in talks to “establish a general cooperative relationship with the aim of contributing to the resolution of international trade problems.” The first order of business was to ascertain what VW product Nissan could produce and sell on the JDM. The new Passat, to be launched in 1981, was to include notchback variant that seemed to be an ideal candidate: comparable Nissans at the time (Bluebird, Skyline, Laurel, etc.) were RWD, so the Santana would be a decent enough alternative.

At the 1981 Tokyo Motor Show, just after the Santana’s launch in Frankfurt, Nissan issued a statement that they would start production of the new VW saloon by 1983. They were tabling on 60k units per annum, aiming at 120k by 1988, if everything went according to plan. Exports to RHD Southeast Asian markets were also on the cards. Twenty-five years after the last Japanese-built Austins had left their factories, Nissan were back in the licensing game.

A few adaptations would be needed, such as flatter side trim and slightly narrower bumpers to keep the car within the all-important “mid-size” tax band measurements, a right-hand drive dash, a revised hood pressing to fit reversed RHD wipers, wing-mounted turn signal repeaters and a JDM-specific (but very close to EU-spec) headlight and grille combo. Aside from that (and the Nissan-branded chassis identification plate), what was internally known as the M30 was pure VW. The engines – the 1588cc turbo-Diesel, the 1780cc straight-4 and the 1994cc 5-cyl. – were imported straight from the Bundesrepublik, as were transmissions (5-speed manual or 3-speed auto) and the ZF steering assembly, but everything else (about 70% of the car) was made at Nissan’s plant in Zama, just south of Tokyo.

There were a number of issues from the get-go. The German way of assembling a car and the Japanese methods were apparently quite different. The Japanese philosophy was to improve efficiency by adapting the methods and, to an extent, the blueprint. The German mentality was to train the workforce to manufacture the product exactly as specified. The 1983 launch date turned out to be a little optimistic – the Santana’s Japanese launch took place in February 1984.

Initial reviews were positive: the car was deemed very competent and well-equipped (A/C was standard, for instance, unlike any domestic car except the most luxurious models), with excellent passenger space and roadholding. There were a few niggles, of course: the ride and seats were deemed a little on the hard side, the interior felt a bit stark and the options list looked extremely limited, especially for this segment.

Priced between ¥1.9m-2.7m, the Santana was pretty expensive for its size, especially for a car that lacked a 6-cyl. engine. Compared to genuine imports however, it was a bargain, costing less than a Jetta, or even a Golf GTI. Surely the high-quality image of German cars would help this Bluebird-sized but Gloria-priced machine win the hearts, minds and wallets of the Japanese enthusiasts?

Alas, the Santana’s sales only beat expectations in its inital weeks. Before the end of 1984, monthly numbers hovered between 1000 and 2000 units, well below expectations. In January 1987, the Santana was given a mild facelift and the highest-spec 2000 Xi5 Autobahn received an updated engine, now featuring two overhead cams and 140hp, up from 110hp with the SOHC engine. The slow-selling turbo-Diesel was dropped and the 1.8 litre, pared down to just one trim level, became the base model.

Our feature car is one of those top-of-the-line models. We can also see here that the distribution of the Santana was undertaken by the Nissan Sunny stores, one of the carmaker’s four dealer networks at the time. Santanas, being badged as Volkswagens, were also available at the Yanase network, alongside imported VWs. From Yanase’s point of view, this competition from within Japan was causing a significant amount of damage to their imported VW sales, which in turn soured the importer’s relationship with Wolfsburg.

In a further stroke of bad luck, the Santana’s hitherto impeccable technical characteristics came under scrutiny when issues came to light about the car’s idle speed control system, manufactured by German company VDO. There were a number of cases when Santanas fitted with automatic gearboxes suddenly accelerated on their own. VW had replaced the system at least twice, in 1985 and 1987, but had not issued a fleet-wide recall as such. This issue was publicly discussed at the Japanese Diet in September 1987, when a member, with explicit reference to the VW Santana, asked the Ministry of Transport to investigate these uncontrolled acceleration incidents.

After such publicity, Santana sales in Japan cratered. Production carried on until late 1989 at a reduced rate, but the inventory was such that sales lasted until the summer of 1990. All in all, Nissan had built just shy of 50,000 Volkswagens between 1984 and 1989 – an underwhelming result considering the car-buying frenzy that the country was going through at the time. Naturally, resale values was also adversely affected by all this, so survivor cars are now very rare.

VW, who were a little dubious about the whole affair from the beginning, managed to preserve their image thanks to their smaller cars, but they had burned their bridges with their local importer and were forced to set up their own distribution network in Japan. The Nissan tie-up also went nowhere: the partnership was dissolved and, by 1991, VW had worked out a joint-venture with Toyota instead.

For their part, Nissan engineers and production managers claimed that the experience was a useful one for them, as it provided them with a lot of practical knowledge about German automotive know-how. This was apparently used immediately in the Primera, which debuted in 1990. On the whole though, the Santana saga is one that was not remembered fondly by anyone involved. Unlike elsewhere around the globe, in Japan, the Quantum just didn’t compute.

 

Related posts:

 

Curbside Classic: Volkswagen Quantum – The Bad Old Days, by Perry Shoar

Curbside Classic: 1985 VW Quantum (Passat B2) – Quantum Mechanics, by PN

Curbside Recycling: 1987 Volkswagen Quantum GL5 Syncro Wagon – Feeling Blue, by Jim Klein

Vintage R&T Review: 1983 VW Quantum GL5 and Turbo-Diesel – VW Goes Upmarket, by PN

Cars Of A Lifetime: 1987 VW Quantum Wagon – An Audi of Solace, by JunkHarvester