Nissan Sunny

The **Nissan Sunny** is an automobile built by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1966 to 2006. In the early 1980s, the brand changed from Datsun to Nissan in line with other models by the company. Although production of the Sunny in Japan ended in 2006, the name remains in use in the Chinese market for a rebadged version of the Nissan Latio.

In North America, the later models were known as the Nissan Sentra; in Mexico, the Sunny is known as the Nissan Tsuru, which is Japanese for the bird species "crane". The latest versions of the Sunny were larger than the early models, and may be considered compact cars. Earlier versions (through at least the B11 series) were subcompact cars. All Sunnys through the 1982 model year (except as noted below) used Nissan A engine motors. It was designed to compete with the Toyota Corolla.

The "Sunny" name has been used on other Nissan models, notably various export versions of the Nissan Pulsar model line. The Sunny has been imported and later manufactured worldwide under numerous names, and body styles, in economical, luxury and performance packages. Some configurations appear to be unique based on bodystyle appearances, but sharing a common platform. The Sunny was sold in Japan at a dedicated dealership sales channel called *Nissan Satio Store*, and rebadged versions later appeared at the other Japanese networks.

## B10 (1966–1969)

The first Datsun Sunny, exported as the Datsun 1000, was launched in September 1966 with two body styles, a two-door sedan (B10) and a van/station wagon (VB10). The Sunny was an all-new product built on a dedicated platform called the "B" series that benefited from Nissan's production of small cars since before the war and combined engineering efforts from newly acquired Aichi Manufacturing that met the goals set by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry "national car" program. These were available in both a "Standard" and "Deluxe" version, featuring drum brakes, conventional leaf springs at the rear and wishbone type independent front end. The front end used a single transverse leaf spring. In Japan the car was sold at a dealership sales channel established just for the Sunny, called *Nissan Satio Store* The Sunny was introduced in the same year that the Toyota Corolla and Subaru 1000 were introduced.

In December 1965, Nissan held a national campaign in Japan to name its newest product in a mail-in ballot, and after receiving over eight million submissions, the name Sunny was chosen after having been suggested 3,105 times and was announced on 19 February 1966 by Yoshisuke Ayukawa, Nissan Motors founder.

The car featured a four-cylinder in-line engine, the A10, with a total displacement of 988 cc and a four-speed gearbox. The 1968 model, introduced in October 1967, added to the lineup the four-door sedan (B10) in both DeLuxe and Standard form. February 1968 saw the release of the new coupé (KB10). Marketed as the "Sunny Coupé" in Japan, it was available in a wide variety of levels from "Standard", to "GL" (*Grand Luxe*). The range of factory options and accessories was by this time vast. Total horsepower in the 1968 model was claimed to be 62 hp (46 kW) at 6,000 rpm. The engine displacement was kept below 1.0-litre to keep it in the lowest Japanese road tax bracket and encourage sales.

It introduced a new approach for Nissan in the 1960s where all mainstream products shared a similar appearance, as demonstrated in the larger Nissan President and Nissan Bluebird

The only other country that seems to have received the coupé is Australia, where it was marketed as the "Datsun 1000 Coupé". It was well equipped, and was available only in the Deluxe level of trim. The Australian Deluxe model came standard with many inclusions that were available only as options in the Japanese model. The engine in the coupé had higher compression, a different Hitachi carburettor, and a dual outlet exhaust manifold. These changes increased its power

output to 66 hp (49 kW); a 4 hp, or a 6.5% increase over the lesser models. Unlike the sedans and wagons, the coupé was only ever made in right drive.

July 1969 saw the release of the slightly different (cosmetically) 1970 model year, which left the 1969 model year run at only nine months. No additional models were added, and production ceased in December 1969, cutting the 1970 model year run at only six months.

## B20

The **Datsun Sunny truck** debuted in February 1967 and was the light commercial truck variation of the B10 passenger models. It was based on the VB10 van chassis, and is a body style which is sometimes referred to as a "coupé utility", as the bed is not separate from the passenger area. The introduction of a pickup truck based on the Sunny gave *Nissan Saito Store* and *Nissan Cherry Store* Japanese dealerships the opportunity to sell a commercial vehicle that was originally only offered at *Nissan Bluebird Store*. The 520 series Datsun Truck shared its platform with the Datsun Bluebird, plus the larger Nissan Junior sharing an engine with the Nissan Cedric; Nissan decided to duplicate the success it had with a Bluebird-based pickup truck for the new Sunny platform. The Sunny was engineered by newly acquired Aichi Machine Industry Co., Ltd., and gave the new acquisition the ability to demonstrate their profitability to their new Nissan owners. The Sunny truck dimensions were in compliance with Japanese Government dimension regulations and the small displacement engines reduced the annual road tax obligation. The B20 used the same wheelbase and running gear as does the Datsun Sunny VB10 van, and shared its dimensions.