“…He portrayed the relaunch as much as a life’s mission as a business strategy, with the goal of providing poorer populations a greater chance at car ownership…”
Very admirable – poor folks deserve a large carbon footprint also.
“…What is more, in the quest to make a profit despite charging rock-bottom prices, Nissan officials say they will have to take a bare-bones approach to comfort and safety, tailoring to societies less coddled than developed markets. For example, the cars will only offer manual transmissions and their exhaust systems will be noisier and vibrate more, much as they did before the addition of silencers and stabilizers, according to people familiar with Nissan’s plans. Datsun’s team is also peeling back the now-typical multilayered approach to safety for markets that care less about it than the U.S. “If an accelerator pedal sticks, they tend to overlook it rather than obsess,” says Datsun team senior adviser Tokuichiro Hosaka, referring to emerging-market buyers…”
Used Datsun b210’s were the most common car among my fellow students in high school.
(I had a bus pass, no car unfortunately).
And a good friend (at the time) had a Datsun pick-up that was indestructible well into the early 90’s when I lost touch with her. She’d bought it new in 81. For all I know, it’s still running.
I’m glad they’re bringing the brand back. Ghosn is a CEO willing to take risks (look at his push for EVs like the Leaf.)
I love it,
We in the US are obsessed with reducing “carbon footprint”, trying to convince the next Generation they need to live in congested cities and ride a bike to work LOL.
Hint, “IT WON’T WORK”
I just got back from China, they have their foot firmly on the gas pedal building roads/freeways and American style suburbs. Providing more parking in the cities like Shanghai (BECAUSE THE PEOPLE ARE DEMANDING IT).
LOL Oh LOL.
They Want to live like us!!!, maybe we had it right.
Yet … the crowded areas are crowded because they’re desirable. After they become crowded, public transport and biking (interesting things are close enough to bike to) become practical.
Goes for North County coast, Pacific Beach, San Francisco, and Manhattan just the same. If the younger generation wanted to live in suburban subdivisions, they’d do so. Most Americans don’t move to the cities and coastal areas for ecological reasons, but because living there is fun and interesting.
If the Chinese were smart, they’d build their infrastructure from scratch to be comfortable AND green. Hydrogen and electric cars, powered via nuclear and renewables, for one thing.
Living in congested cities gets old after a while,
It is a lot more convenient really to hit the garage door opener, hop in the car and head to the big box store a few miles away then to walk down a few blocks try to grab a bus etc… then try to hold all your stuff and etc…
There is a lot of brain washing going on right now IMO.
Really Bar hopping gets old after maybe 25 too.
If your Bar hopping after 25 maybe you need to think about your life’s direction etc..
People have lived in Manhattan, Cambridge MA, and coastal CA long before the “brainwashing” became fashionable. Speaking for myself, grocery stores deliver, and a lot of other stuff is available within walking distance. No bus or subway required.
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