The Datsun DA was a small automobile produced by Nissan and sold under the
Datsun
Datsun (, ) was an automobile brand owned by Nissan. Datsun's original production run began in 1931. From 1958 to 1986, only vehicles exported by Nissan were identified as Datsun. Nissan phased out the Datsun brand in March 1986, but relaunche ...
brand as Nissan's first post-war passenger car. The DA was introduced in November 1947, a direct result of the
occupying Allied command once again allowing production of passenger cars.
As the tooling for the pre-war
Datsun Type 17
The Datsun Type 17 is a small car produced in Japan in the 1930s. It was the last in a line of Datsun small cars produced before Nissan's resources were diverted to military materials for the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Design
The Datsun 17 was al ...
was no longer available, the DA was based on the Datsun 1121 truck (which itself was based on the pre-war
17T truck); it used the 722 cc Type 7 side valve engine from the 17T as well as its floor-shifted 3-speed manual transmission and front clip, including a pressed steel grille and nearly no brightwork.
[
Datsun also offered the Deluxe Sedan (DB) with more modern ponton bodywork alongside the lower cost DA Standard Sedan. The DA had a simple pressed metal grille when first introduced; by 1949 this had been replaced by a more ornate chromed unit. The DA also received a redesigned, less boxy rear section in 1948. The DA was in production until 1950 when it was replaced by the Datsun DS Series (later also marketed as the "Thrift").
]
References
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Datsun vehicles
Cars introduced in 1947
1950s cars