Spotted on the streets of greater Tokyo, a Nissan Figaro. It’s got big chrome bumpers, two perfectly round saucer headlights, and an awesomely two-tone paint job that matches an off-white roof with a body slathered in hospital-hallway green. But in spite of all that retro goodness, the car isn’t a nostalgic; it’s just really really cool.
Long before there was a PT Cruiser, VW’s New Beetle, or a BMW-built Mini, there were the Nissan boutique cars. The fun started in 1987 when Nissan teamed up with Pike Factory to produce the Be-1, followed by the Pao, S-Cargo, and finally the Figaro, which capped off the series in 1991 with a run of 20,000 units.
All four cars looked old, but were actually based on the then-modern March compact, permitting ample hi-fi jamming via CD while enjoying a nice cold blast of a/c in your face, which, undoubtedly, would be sporting a grin the size of Katie Couric’s. I mean, how could you not, when the car you’re sitting in happens to have a cream-colored interior and – get this – a peel-back canvas top!
