Let’s celebrate the one of the most iconic Japanese cars ever built, the Nissan Bluebird 510. SSS stands for Super Sports Sedan, but perhaps one of those S could be sleeper, especially if you option it out in grandpa spec with pea green paint and vinyl roof. No one will ever suspect a thing. Happy 510 Day from JNC!
It’s such a pity that Nissan has nothing in it’s current US lineup that is as good, or as cool as the original 510.
At this time, there is no market for a car like that, and Nissan doesn’t have the money to even develop something like that. The money is in SUVs right now, it’s remarkable they even came out with the new Z.
When I was in college in the 70s, one of my roommates in the dorm was a Vietnamese guy named Phan Ke Chau. Chau’s family was rather important (his Dad was chief of the national police force in Vietnam). So, he bought him a red Datsun (as it was sold over here) 510. Nice little car. We drove all the way from I-U in Indiana to my home in NJ for Easter break. I couldn’t drive a stick at the time (something that HAS been rectified) so, Chau did all the driving, even a side trip to Baltimore to see his brother. My first experience with a Japanese car? Positive! It was frugal on gas, fairly peppy and, neat in red and black. I had always liked little cars and, it was a good experience. Chau was so tired from all the driving, he was pretty hard to wake up the next day … even with Black Sabbath screaming into his ears at 10am! Trip was faster back and, I enjoyed the ride.
That appears to be a Datsun 411 alongside the 510.
Always been a little jealous of the 510, at the time (1970) my dad bought a RT80 Corona, and of course Bob Sharp was racing the 510, and no one was racing a Corona, at least that I know of at the time.
Nissan did have some success with the Maxima 4DSC, but then the Altima got bigger and pretty much killed off the Maxima.