“Añejo” the Spanish word for ‘the old one‘ or ‘the aged one,’ most generally used to denote fine aged liquors. Is this nicely preserved Datsun 411 such a case? Has it aged like good wine? Let’s delve some and see what our tasting buds think, as it conveniently sits by a hard liquor shop in the hot and rural town of San Vicente.
Known abroad as the Datsun Bluebird 410 (’64-’65), and 411 (’66-’67), the model follows Nissan’s penchant for curiously inspired names, with Maurice Maeterlinck’s homonymous children’s play serving as inspiration. Because that’s what one thinks of when cars are mentioned: early 20th century Belgian playwrights. Actually, Nissan did bother to explain their ‘Bluebird’ is meant to be synonymous with ‘joy,’ just as it did on the play. A claim I won’t contest, as this aged Bluebird’s sight indeed brings me joy.
So, by the early ’60s Nissan was top dog in the Japanese market. Its 310 Bluebird had been number one in its segment (covered previously by Tatra87) for a number of years, and with its BMC-derived bits refined for sturdy reliability, Nissan had started to expand into foreign markets. In Japan the model sold over 200,000 units, marking a new record. Abroad the numbers are equally promising with 32,000 units sold. The 310 Bluebird had left Toyota in the dust, which had gone bust twice with the competing T10 and T20 Coronas. But the challenging up comer was hungry, and it showed. Better not rest in your laurels little Bluebird, for your joy may be short lived.
A new Bluebird is not an everyday event, and what better way to launch the renewed ‘Bird than along Tokyo’s 1964 Olympics? A rising unstoppable Nissan and a resurging Japan; both taking center stage for the world to see. And the Bluebird was truly an international effort, with Nissan taking a page from its British legacy and taking their example of…
… handing the styling to the Italians. Not Michelotti though. The 410’s lines were actually penned by Pininfarina, and it had more than a passing resemblance to other Italians of the period, most notably the Lancia Fulvia. The three box styling was very sixties European, looking rather au currant, and with a reasonably spacious cabin in spite of the model’s small dimensions. The decision to take the 410 to the Italians probably rubbed Nissan’s stylists the wrong way, but their efforts up ’til then had a rather tinker-toy quality, especially to foreign eyes. With the 410 Bluebird, Nissan had a model that looked truly international.
And the new Bluebird played those international cards well. Here it appears briefly on Walk Don’t Run, a Cary Grant vehicle with the ’64 Tokyo Olympics as backdrop. The Bluebird -in white- zips by against a bunch of Toyotas in taxi livery. Incidentally, taxis and corporate fleets comprised most of Japan’s automotive market at the time, as brief ‘local traffic’ shots on the film make rather clear.
Improving economic conditions were quickly changing that landscape though, and Nissan aimed the 410 to please Japan’s rising middle class; providing nicely appointed options that made buyers feel uppity and posh. Meanwhile, the model was to attend corporate and taxi fleet needs as well; with robust suspensions that could withstand Japan’s less than ideal rural roads. These latter qualities would prove essential as the brand expanded into developing nations.
Cute looks aren’t enough though, as more than one Italian car owner can tell you. And by the time the 410 appeared, Nissan had improved their trusty little cars with better performance and assembly. Cabin dimensions had increased, while headroom remained ample in spite of the car’s lower height, this thanks to newly adopted unibody construction. Thanks to revised tuning the Bluebird’s inline 4 had better responsiveness in the low and mid ranges, and came in either 1,000cc or 1,200cc capacities. General assembly was commended on in contemporary reviews.
Granted, the new Bluebird wasn’t going to steal away large swaths of Catalina owners in spite of the updates; but Nissan’s offering did put a dent on lesser European exports, quickly becoming ‘the fastest rising import’ in the much coveted US market.
Talking about the US, much of Nissan’s early American successes were attributed to none other than Yutaka Katayama, alias Mr. K.
From Nissan to Sony, Japanese salesmen were sent abroad to face the ire of US and European customers beta testing the not-quite-refined products. It was Katayama’s duty to provide headquarters with the harsh feedback Nissan’s products got during their early US foray. Probably not the best way to ingratiate yourself to your superiors, much less to those engineers tasked with meeting foreign expectations.
Regardless of whatever emotions said feedback elicited, Japanese makes knew their products were lacking and placed great effort on improving. Thanks to said feedback, Nissan put together the most compelling lineup from Japan, even offering a ‘lusty’ roadster. Skeptics started to take notice.
Japanese brands quickly displaced small Europeans in the US and developing markets, with Nissan being the most successful early on.
Burt Reynold’s 1973 ‘White Lighting’ shows Nissans and Toyotas casually interspersed around Arkansas’ traffic in quite a few shots (a 410 appears in red in the background). California may get the fame -or blame- for ‘setting’ the nationwide trend towards imports, but the Arkansas shots prove Japanese brands had spread all over by the early ’70s. A trickle and then a tide; probably riding on the coattails of TD and Hillman owners in the lookout for something less trouble prone.
A bunch of variants started under the 310 were carried over on the 410; a pickup and sport ute proved popular in Asia, while sedans and station wagons made it to foreign markets as well. In Japan, the Fancy Deluxe was offered, a 310 carryover unabashedly catered to the ladies.
The Bluebird’s run-of-the-mill suspension, with double wishbones and coil springs up front, and semi-elliptical leaf springs at the rear, excelled in non-developed nations just as it had in Japan’s rural roads. With proven and easy to maintain nuts and bolts, the model established a faithful clientele in Mexico and Central America.
Our little Bluebird is a ’66-’67, with the slim tail lights serving as guide. One of few minor exterior updates during the model’s life. Up close inspection shows this ‘Bird isn’t exactly Peeble Beach pristine, but rather, well-loved and kept in daily use.
The 410-411’s assembly may have been commended on by reviewers, but closer shots show Nissan kept cards close to the chest on that department. Italian styling aside, both trunk and engine bay possess rather basic lids, no fancy clam shell hood, nor any other risky creative impulses that might test Nissan’s assembly capabilities.
The gas lid also occupies a rather peculiar area, which seems to say more about assembly requirements than any ‘styling’ pretenses. Also on this shot, the rugged condition of the rear glass seal confirms there are bits of this ‘aged one’ more fermented than others.
As I took pictures away, the liquor shop’s owner came out. He seemed a bit unsettled by my interest on the car. Slim and lanky, he followed me with his gaze through his thick glasses. “Are you the owner?” I said, trying to break the ice. He nodded, just when a couple of patrons arrived and entered, quite ready to get plastered. A rather normal occurrence in these rural towns, even though it was barely noon. Now busy, I wasn’t able to question him any further on the vehicle.
The lying by the roadside drunkard in utter stupor is sort of a Latin cliché, but each Salvadorian town has at least half a dozen; and this Bluebird’s owner has made quite a living out of them. Or so the condition of the vehicle suggests. Said condition also suggests he himself is not a consumer of heavy spirits, for the car is just too ‘clean and straight.’ An uncle of mine -by mother’s side,- was indeed a heavy drinker and his very nice Chevy II convertible barely lasted weeks in ‘clean and straight’ condition.
The town of San Vicente is hot and humid, laying at the shade of a large dormant volcano which blocks the sea breeze and turns the area into a sweltering cauldron. Such weather makes this Bluebird’s blackened windows almost a necessity. The car’s boxy greenhouse provides reasonable protection from sunlight, though ventilation probably wasn’t great on the 411. Nor have I seen anywhere that A/C was an option.
On that note, heat and humidity in the tropics were the Achilles’ heel of more than one European make, and San Vicente is the kind of place where the Bluebird shows it was ready to withstand the heat, literally. Leaving Peugeot, Fiat and VW aside, most British and French cars had a very fleeting presence in this region; meanwhile Japanese makes managed to succeed and perform smoothly from early on. How did they do it? They didn’t even have colonies… Just how long are those hot Tokyo summers?
Lacking a way to properly shoot this ‘Bird’s interior, here are some brochure images. Even if the 410-411 showed improvements in styling, the interior still showed a curious mélange of influences.
Seats could be buckets or bench, and shifting was available by lever either on the steering column or floor. The speedo has an odd mix of American and European thinking, while the dash has a peculiar ‘cabinet furniture’ feel. The boxy cabin must have had rather good visibility though. In all, it feels like an upscale and better appointed Beetle or Fiat 500, which is where models like the Bluebird and Corolla would start gnawing sales away.
By the end of 1964, the Bluebird was Japan’s fastest rising export and comprised 80% of that nation’s automotive sales abroad (Noncommercial). With sales upticking, a confident Nissan started assembly in Australia and Mexico in 1966.
Meanwhile in the US, Katayama’s team paid special attention to Nissan’s emerging dealer network, setting headquarters in Gardena, California, in 1960. An early computer network was created with assistance from IBM, speeding part deliveries and keeping close track of inventories across dealers, all in the relentless pursuit of maintaining high customer satisfaction.
Wait, did I say relentless pursuit?
Real life not being a children’s play, the Bluebird’s happiness was about to fade, as Toyota finally hit the nail in the head with the launched in ’65 T40 Corona. After the market failures of the T10 and T20 Coronas, Toyota took to heart the drubbing it got and developed a ‘dealer feedback’ network to assess what Japanese customers were in the lookout for. Whatever they researched, they did well; for the American influenced styling of the T40, with its optional 1,600cc engine, rose quickly and took the lead in the Japanese marketplace.
Nissan responded to the shifting realities begrudgingly. Wounded corporate pride claimed the Bluebird’s lower displacement engines ‘performed’ better than Toyota’s, but with Corona sales accruing, the ‘Bird eventually got optional 1,300cc and 1,600cc engines. The latter being part of the ‘hot’ SSS package.
With Toyota displacing Nissan in the charts, the bruised company took on the relentless pursuit of knuckleheaded corporate thinking, engaging in practices that have followers of the brand scratching their heads ever since.
Not long after the Corona’s sales ascendance, Nissan merged with the smaller but more prestigious Prince Motors in ’66, probably in hopes of leapfrogging Toyota once and for all. On the plus side, Nissan was about to take advantage of Prince’s highly skilled engineers, considered amongst the best in all of Japan. On top of that, additional assembly facilities were being acquired.
On the questionable side, Nissan also inherited a bunch of Prince model lines that occupied brackets for which the brand already had offerings for. Amazingly, they were to be kept around. Maybe it was the relentless pursuit to stick to the business of corporate-taxi fleet sales. Meanwhile Toyota made moves to complement its lineup further down market, investing in the mini-size Publica and launching the compact Corolla. It also acquired options in kei-player Daihatsu, getting a foothold on that market. Although some of these investments proved slow at first, they were to be rather profitable down the line.
The Bluebird didn’t keep still in the meantime, though. While work was being done on the upcoming 510, the old 411 body got a cleaner revised front end and was launched in ’68 as the 521 pickup/delivery van. The model kept much of the 411 drivetrain and chassis, although offering an optional 1,600cc engine derived from Prince Motors, and which itself seems to have some Mercedes Benz ancestry.
The end was coming for our Olympic ‘Bird. In Latin America the 411 got a deserving and rather fitting sendoff, with a sample from Nissan’s Cuernavaca assembly line being signed on by each member of Japan’s Olympic team, celebrating both the Bluebird’s final days and Mexico’s ’68 Olympics.
Nissan’s 410-411 was witness to a rather tumultuous time for its maker and Japan’s fortunes. In spite of losing the lead to Toyota in its home market, it announced to the world that Nissan’s international aspirations were not to be taken lightly. This 411 is testament to those.
So, has this particular model aged as well as good wine? That’s a matter of preference I suppose… but I wouldn’t mind taking a sip or two to find out.
More on the Bluebird:
Curbside Classic: 1962 Bluebird (312) 1200 Deluxe – Still Looking Chirpy
What a superb find, Rich!
I’ve come close to unearthing one of these beauties in their home turf here, but never quite managed it. Glad someone else did: this was a glaring gap in thec CCannon. Saw a wagon a week or two ago, even. Very well-proportioned, compared to the dowdy 310. The PF styling helped a great deal…
Actually I’ve been expecting since forever a post of yours on the 410. It will happen eventually, I suppose; curious to see the ‘dispatch from Japan’ take on these.
There are still a few 410s around here, and saw one in the FB marketplace in average condition for 3K. If I had anymore garage space, I would be the proud owner of one already.
I’ve a 310 waiting in the wings to be posted, and yes, it looks rather toy like. It’s endearing in a ‘lost puppy’ kind of way, but doesn’t inspire much desire for ownership.
I remember both Datsun and Toyota beginning to make inroads in the midwestern US by 1967-68, but that would have been after the 411’s demise. I am sure that observant coastal readers (especially in California) saw these, and I can understand how they made inroads into several foreign markets.
With the way you describe some of the customers, it is kind of amazing that this car has stayed as nice as it is parked right out front. The battered cars of heavy drinkers don’t get battered by hitting themselves. But then maybe people are mostly sober when they arrive at the liquor store, saving the deteriorated driving skills until later in the day.
Rather than Lancia my first thoughts on the styling were Peugeot, but that’s Pininfarina too, of course. The unusal filler flap location seems to relate back to the BMC connection as it was in the same position on the Austin A40/A50/A55 and even the later A60 Farinas.
Terrific find and writeup – it’s remarkable to see one of these cars so well preserved.
That’s a great question as to why most European cars had a minimal presence in Latin America. My guess is that those companies which succeeded realized early that Latin America had an enormous pent-up demand for vehicles, and I believe that during the 1960s-70s the region’s vehicle demand increased steadily (not even dipping much for worldwide economic downturns). Companies like VW (and I suppose Nissan) who prioritized the region early were rewarded later on with both customer loyalty and the ability to set up local manufacturing plants. That’s just a guess, but it’s an interesting topic – I’m interested in hearing others’ views on this. Also, I believe during this era that Nissan operated its own shipping fleet, so that may have expanded its global reach beyond what many other corporations were willing to undertake.
Thanks for this great look at an interesting car!
Great find and writeup, Rich. Particularly given the vehicles you’ve noted in other weeks (last week’s thoroughly pounded Rogue stands out), the condition of this Nissan is truly outstanding. I think early Nissans like this are pretty little cars…much more so than their contemporary Toyotas and Hondas…and your article highlights the European influences that likely lie behind that. Very nice.
Aside from overall condition, the thing that I notice the most on that Bluebird is the wacky LED foglight (?) on the front. It certainly does seem that even in a well-preserved-in-original-condition car like this, the addition of odd aftermarket accessories is something that owners down there can’t resist. I can’t imagine that that light does much of anything beyond the stock (or at least stock-looking) additional lights.
Excellent write-up on a long-neglected topic here. I actually shot on in a storage lot maybe nine years ago or so, but just never got around to it.
Yes, Nissan/Datsun was on a roll in the early-mid 60s, and these were pretty common in the US, most of all in the West Coast. The key to the Corona’s rise was that it was a bit larger and had a significantly bigger engine (1.9L) which really made it more suitable to US conditions and buyers. The 410/411 is pretty petite; tiny by today’s standards.
I was curious about those White Lightning location shots. The info I found was all of them were in Arkansas, not Nebraska, but same difference; by 1973, when the film was shot, Datsun and Toyotas were not uncommon anywhere in the US, but a 411 would have been so. An early adopter or a crew member’s car?
You’re right sir! I got my states mixed up, White Lighting was shot in Arkansas. It’s fixed now.
A crew member? That’s one answer that didn’t occur to me. It could be. There were a few really odd Japanese cars, a Subaru and a Florian (I think). Too bad Burt is not around anymore to ask him the story behind those.
Although I’m not much of an Asian car fan, I do like the older (60’s and 70’s) Japanese cars. They had an interesting look. I really like that dark colored one above with the white top.
The 410/411’s where popular starting in the mid sixties here in the island’s. Unfortunately
the salty air enviroment took it’s toll on these.
This model Bluebird sold in NZ in small numbers there are still a few of them around but there were plenty of British offerings this size with good reps to compete with and Made in Japan meant dubious quality in that era, but the cars were quite well made though mechanically they were knockoffs of BMC engines but built on new tooling rather than the war worn stuff BMC was still using Datsuns and their ilk were often better cars.
The 411 was quite common around Vancouver when I was a child in the 1960s. I looked down on it at the time as we had just bought a new 1968 Datsun 1600 (https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-kids-2-1968-datsun-1600-510/) which looked more modern – but in retrospect I do like the design.
It has always perplexed me why Nissan never sought to gain a foothold in the Kei segment, either by following suit in acquiring a stake in an existing domestic marque like Toyota did with Daihatsu or by maintaining links with BMC that would have ultimately benefited both companies.
Though the story is patchy, the gist is that Issigonis was at one time involved with an Italian-only Mini-Mini project for Innocenti from the mid-1960s of similar size as the Honda N360/N600 (& 1st gen Honda Life) that eventually evolved into the Innocenti 750 and 9X projects respectively before becoming into the Bertone rebodied Innocenti Mini.
The Mini-Mini project was said to be aimed at the Fiat 500, however BMC canned it based on the car’s limited prospects and profitability potential for what was a unique Italian market special with little relevant outside the country.
Innocenti prior or concurrent to the Mini-Mini were said to have worked on a small van project powered by a 28 hp 500cc twin with the same internal layout as the 750 4-cylinder in the Innocenti 750. The 9X engine was a modular 750-1500cc 4/6-cylinder design with the 998 version putting out about 60 hp per litre, it should be pretty apparent how the above projects are linked (see Metro 9X article to further extrapolate the 9X’s output potential in other forms).
https://metro.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/ego-quoque/
Logically a 500-rivalling Mini-Mini would have featured the same or similar displacement, whereas the Innocenti 750 would have been aimed more at the Fiat 600 later Autobianchi A112. On top of that 750cc divided by two equates to 375cc or 15cc above the 360cc Kei class at the time.
It likely would not have taken much to reduce it down to 360cc and thus be compliant with Kei car regulations at the time had a company like Nissan been involved to front some of the costs and give the Mini-Mini a larger potential market than just Italy by itself. Especially as the newer tooling Nissan had would have likely allowed it to match the tight tolerances the 9X engine required in order to reach production.
Nissan has something that would in turn have been a benefit to BMC in retrospect for the North American market, a suitable anti-pollution system (also fitted to the Austin-descended A12 and A14 engines) that could have been adapted to make its A-Series, E-Series and B/O-Series engines compliant with US emissions standards instead of becoming strangled and dreadfully underpowered as was the case with the 54.5 hp 1.3 mk3 MG Midget and 62.5 hp 1.8 MGB.
http://datsun1200.com/modules/mediawiki/index.php?title=NAPS
References
– Issigonis by Gillian Bardsley
– Sandro Colombo’s Le auto della Innocenti book
A superb find, and a superb article too.
You really took me back to my childhood, when this Bluebird took over from the 310 which was never that common in Australia. Japanese cars were just starting to take off here in the early sixties. I hadn’t realized this was Nissan’s first unitary Bluebird. Even as a kid I ‘knew’ separate chassis construction wasn’t used for small cars.
I remember thinking at the time it was a nice looking little car compared to the craggy Austins, Hillmans and British Fords I saw daily. Nissan certainly got their money’s worth from Pininfarina. Interestingly he didn’t seem to pass lightly-revised versions of this design off to other companies.
Interesting that you commented on the stereotypical heavy drinkers, Rich. I couldn’t help thinking how these days that kind of thing from a non-Salvadoran would be sure to trigger cries of “Racist!”, maybe not here but in some forums certainly. Australians have the reputation of heavy drinkers, and I’ve known a few over the years who seemed to live in that state permanently, and seen the deterioration in their cars after incidents involving hard objects. Which makes it all the more amazing that the liquor shop owner’s car is immaculate. I guess he has the smarts not to drive after sampling his own wares. 🙂
Never noticed before the unusual location for the fuel filler lid.
A fifties Austin carryover, with the tank behind the seat.
In the very early 80’s, I was given a ’66 PL411 from a family friend that ran a towing service. Got it running, and as we had some property here, my 15 year old carcass used it as a mud wheeling toy. 1300 engine was really hard to kill, despite being basically a 3 main bearing farm implement engine.
Neat find and in vastly better shape than the relatively new 411’s I saw in Guatemala in the mid 1970’s, all were wrinkly from collisions but all seemed to run well and were thought good cars by their owners at that time .
-Nate