Hatch Heaven

Datsun is back, but only in India (at first) with more vehicles and markets planned in Indonesia, Russia and South Africa by the end of next year. The first vehicle is this butt-ugly GO five door hatchback that will sell for under $6,700.

Datsun asked the public to name this vehicle and “Sunny” was chosen out of 8.5 million entries. It was launched in April of 1966 and had 56 horsepower. (image source: Nissan)

The 1978 Datsun 510 hatchback was sporty and compact and had rare features like side-window defoggers. It was equipped with MacPherson strut front suspension for a nimble ride, a 5-speed stick for agile performance and achieved 35mpg on the highway and 25mpg in the city.

This 1973 Datsun Cherry 120A Coupe (hatchback) has got to have the best “car ass” ever. The rear vent (which I have to assume is fake) looks like the ones people now buy at the K-Mart auto parts section and stick them on their cars, often in triplicate. (image source: John Lloyd)

For as attractive as I find this 1973 Datsun Cherry Estate, there is nothing “estate” about it. It’s just a very cool hatch that looks very much like the original Honda Civics. (image source: John Lloyd)

Offcially, this 1976 Datsun Cherry F-II was called a coupe, but as you can clearly see, the rear opens like a hatch, which makes it a hatchback in my book. The 1977 Datsun Cherry FII Hatchback looked very different, but I like them both. (image source: John Lloyd)

The 1976 Datsun B210 Hatchback got 41 mpg highway and 29 city. It had a 1400cc high cam engine, matched to a durable 4-speed manual transmission, with an optional 3-speed automatic also available. It had standard fully reclining bucket seats and power assist front disc brakes.

The 1977 Datsun B210 hatchback achieved 50 mpg. It’s value included features like a 5-speed, steel belted radials, sporty stripes, fully reclining bucket seats, carpeting, tinted glass, electric rear window defogger and power-assist front disc brakes. All included in the B-210 “Plus”.

The 1977 Datsun Cherry FII Hatchback was part of a lineup that included a coupe, an estate, a two door or four door saloon and two hatchbacks. Both hatchbacks had a fold down seat. There were front wheel drive with a transverse 1171cc engine (988cc for the other models). They came with power-assisted dual circuit brakes. This car helped make Datsun one of Britain’s leading car importer for three years.