Daichi DM1

The **Daichi DM1** is a compact car built by Daichi from 1946 to 1989. It was the first car built by Daichi, a 2 door hatchback, 5 seats and various engine configurations from '46 to '89. The car was extremely succesful, thanks to the extreme reliability, good build quality, very low price (the price was 474 dollars in 1946), and very good practicality. The enormous success made it last until 1989, when it was removed from the line-up, after being one of the longest produced automobiles ever.

## **DM1 F**

The **Daichi DM1 F** was the first model of the DM1, with 2 doors, 5 seats and a front mounted 400cc 4 stroke Inline 3 with 12 horsepower, powering the rear wheels. It was extremely slow, not even being able to reach 100kmh/60mph, but it had very good MPG for the era, and it was EXTREMELY reliable, being able to suffer tons of abuse without destroying itself. It was so reliable that there are records of cars abandoned for 30 years and still starting up at the turn of a key. The car was extremely succesful because of the extremely cheap price, superb reliability, and there not being much more on the market. More than 350.000 units of the DM1 F were produced, and the compatibility with spare parts from other DM1s meant that most if not all of the DM1 Fs are still running strong today. The Daichi DM1 F has no side indicators, and no trim badging

## **DM1 SF**

The **Daichi DM1 SF** was a more advanced variant of the DM1, retaining most of the same characteristics, but featuring a different engine, a 550cc 4 stroke Inline 3 with 23 horsepower, finally allowing it to reach 100kmh/60mph, albeit in 44 seconds. The car also featured side indicators, a different grille, different rims, and trim badging on the side and on the rear. This was an even bigger sales success, now that it had decent performance for longer commutes, and more than 1.140.000 units of the SF were sold, making it one of the best sellers of the DM1 lineup. The DM1 SF started production in 1950, 4 years later than the DM1 F, and it was retired in 1969, after 19 years of success. The SF was also the first DM1 that was exported to Europe, and that contributed in part to the success that Daichi would have in Europe. They tried exporting it in the USA, but it didn't sell well at all, it was the right car at the wrong time, no one needed a small engine in the 1950s US.

## **DM1 PF**

The **Daichi DM1 PF** is THE best seller of the DM1 lineup, with around **10 MILLION** examples sold worldwide. The car was powered by a bigger, 750cc Inline 3 cylinder engine, putting out 36 horsepower, and giving the small hatchback a top speed of 145 kmh, as well as making it go 0-100 kmh in 22 seconds, half of the time taken by the DM1 SF to reach the same speed. This was a very good seller thanks to an amazing marketing campaign, the price, similar to the SF and to the less powerful rivals, and the stellar reliability that Daichi was known for. This car, because of the massive success, outsold its rivals in Asia and South America, but couldn't really breach in a lot of european markets. It had low success in the whole of europe, but especially in Italy and Germany, where the low priced Fiat Cinquecento, Volkswagen Beetle and Trabant 601 in east germany still dominated, but in the rest of europe it managed to be a pretty decent seller. The car was also famous in 70s america, because of the oil crisis, but not extremely successful compared to other models. Still, 10 million units is one hell of a feat. It had better interior, different trim badges, rims and grille to the SF. It also featured Direct Acting OHC instead of Pushrods.