The Nissan Civilian (

kana The term may refer to a number of syllabaries used to write Japanese phonological units, morae. Such syllabaries include (1) the original kana, or , which were Chinese characters (kanji) used phonetically to transcribe Japanese, the most p ...

: 日産・シビリアン, Shibirian) is a single-decker

minibus A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, ...

built by

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese automaker

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

since 1971. It is primarily available as a

public bus Public transport bus services are generally based on regular operation of transit buses along a route calling at agreed bus stops according to a published public transport timetable. History of buses Origins While there are indications ...

and an intercity bus. In

, it was exclusive to '' Nissan Store'' locations, and replaced the Nissan Echo, which was introduced in 1958. The Echo's chassis code (GC140, GC240) continued to be used on the Civilian (GC340), reflecting their shared underpinnings with the

Nissan Caball The Nissan Caball is a light commercial truck manufactured by Nissan Motors from December 1957 until December 1981. The Caball was mainly sold in Japan, Hong Kong, South East Asian countries, Australia, New Zealand, and few European countries and ...

(C140/240/340). In the

Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

markets, its principal competitors are the

Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa The Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa (kana: 三菱ふそう・ローザ) is a Japanese minibus based on the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter manufactured by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation. The Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa was launched in 1960 and is now in its fif ...

Isuzu Journey The Isuzu Journey (kana:いすゞ・ジャーニー) is a minibus produced by the Japanese manufacturer Isuzu since 1970, and in 1973 in its current somewhat larger format. The range was primarily available as a city bus and a tourist coach. ...

Mazda Parkway The Mazda Parkway is a minibus that was based on the Mazda Titan platform, and was manufactured at the Hiroshima Factory exclusively for the Japanese market. In 1974, the Parkway was installed with the 13B rotary engine and well as a 2000cc gaso ...

and

Toyota Coaster The is a single-decker minibus produced by Toyota Motor Corporation. It was introduced in 1969, with the second generation introduced in 1982, followed by the third generation in 1993 and the fourth generation in late 2016. In Japan, the Coa ...

. In

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, the Civilian is marketed by

Dongfeng Dongfeng is the romanization of several Chinese names of which most notably "East Wind" (); it may refer to: People's Republic of China * Dongfeng (missile) (), series of ballistic missiles of the People's Liberation Army * Chinese series of dies ...

as the Dongfeng Green Lotus, but has Nissan logos.

Design

General information

The Nissan Civilian is sold under the Civilian and W41 or W 41 names. It is sold as the Civilian in Japan and several Central and South American countries. Its normal

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

is 26 passengers. Its main competitors are the

, and

, which significantly outnumber it in some countries.

Engines

* TB45E: 4.5L Gasoline * TD42: 4.2L Diesel *TD42T: 4.2L Diesel Turbo *RD28T: 2.8L Diesel Turbo *ED33: 3.3 Diesel *ED33T 3.3 Diesel Turbo *ED35: 3.5L D * ZD30DDTi: 3.0l Diesel Turbo direct injection * Mitsubishi Fuso 4M50: 4.9l Diesel Turbo

Chassis codes

Earlier models

Originally introduced in 1958, the KC42 was a special-order vehicle built using B40 (

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

) and C40 ( Caball) truck underpinnings. They were sold as the Nissan Junior Microbus and Caball Microbus respectively. In June 1960, reflecting model changes for the Junior and Caball (now B140 and C140), the Caball and Junior Microbuses were also updated and the GC140 Caball Microbus became a regularly available model. In 1961 the GC140 was renamed Caball Echo; the Junior-based buses seem to have been discontinued around this time. In 1962 the engine was changed to the 1.9-liter

H engine An H engine is a piston engine comprising two separate flat engines (complete with separate crankshafts), most often geared to a common output shaft. The name "H engine" is due to the engine blocks resembling a letter "H" when viewed from the fr ...

and the name shortened to just "Echo." The chassis number was changed to GC141. In 1963 there was a light facelift, with higher mounted headlights and round rather than rectangular indicators. A long wheelbase model (GHC141) was also introduced. In January 1964 the SD22 diesel engine (GQC/GHQC141) joined the lineup. In November 1964 and October 1965 there were another two light facelifts; the second one also brought changes to the cooling system and the chassis code switched to 142.

GC240: Echo/Civilian, 1966-1976

In August 1966 the all-new GC240 replaced the earlier models, with more modern design with larger glass areas. Some visible parts were shared with the Caball, such as the headlight bezels. In October 1968 there were modifications inside and out, including a padded dashboard and large combination taillights. In April 1969 a twin rear-tire model was added, and a 1970 facelift brought headlights integrated with the grille and headrests for all seats. After a series of high publicity accidents involving failing propshafts, followed by a hearing in the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

, Nissan developed a two-piece propshaft. Nonetheless, the "Echo" name had received bad connotations and in September 1971 the C240 Echo was renamed "Civilian." Engines remained the 2-liter H20 petrol unit and the SD22 diesel. In January 1973 the 3-litre ED30 diesel engine became available, in order to better handle the added power needs of air conditioning.

GC340: 1976-1982

This took over from the GC240 Nissan Civilian in May 1976. The Prince Light Coach model (a competing line which had been sold through Prince retail stores) was discontinued and folded into the Civilian line. The GC340's chassis is closely related to the C340 Caball. In August 1978 the emissions controls were updated to meet new regulations; the chassis codes were accordingly changed to "341." In June 1980 a more powerful yet diesel option was introduced, the 3.3-liter ED33 with .

W40: 1982-1999

*M-UW40: 1982-1988 *N-MGW40/MW40: 1982-1990 *P-FGW40/FW40/VUSW40: 1984-1988 *U-RGW40/RYW40: 1988- *U-BGW40/BW40: 1990- *U-RAW40: 1993- **Models vary from Roof Style, A/C Option, and Wheelbase File:Nissan Civilian 201.JPG, Nissan Civilian (W40; first facelift, Japan) File:Nissan Civilian 204.JPG, Nissan Civilian (W40, Japan)

W41: 1999-2021

*KK-BCW41/BHW41/BJW41/BVW41: 1999-2004 *PA-ACW41/AHW41/AJW41/AVW41: 2004-2007 *PA-DCW41/DHW41/DJW41/DVW41: 2004- **Models vary from Suspension, Engine, and Wheelbase File:Nissan Civilian SV DHW41 rear.jpg, Nissan Civilian SV (DHW41; second facelift, Japan) File:Nissan Civilian SV DHW41 interior.jpg, Interior File:Thanyaburi Transport 381.jpg, Nissan Civilian SV (DHW41, Thailand)

Famous users

Ousted Panama dictator

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator, politician and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. An authoritaria ...

, in his reign, had at least one Nissan Civilian as his personal transport. It was a luxury, fully furnished version with amenities such as TV, restroom and kitchenette. This Civilian is now said to be owned by a Panamanian national who obtained it in very bad condition and restored it.

References

External links

{{commons category, Nissan Civilian
Nissan Civilian Official Homepage
Buses of Japan Minibuses Police vehicles Cab over vehicles

Civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

Vehicles introduced in 1971