Datsun and the subculture of an almost forgotten manufacturer

Perhaps the US is not an example to follow as a country, but I think the car culture they have there, treated as a form of play, reaching the level of a hobby, is enviable. It is not only about new cars, Fast and Furious and oversized pick-ups; a whole subculture devoted to classic cars has grown into a full lifestyle for many people.

One of the brands most valued by the recent wave of customization of classic Japanese vehicles is Datsun. The brand, forgotten for years and now Nissan trying to make a comeback, was never known for spectacular saloons and coupés; quite the opposite. In its day, these were the “little Japanese cars” that began to compete head-to-head with Detroit’s creations. And we all know how that turned out: today the Japanese have dominated the American market, while Detroit, once considered the world capital of the automobile, is slowly bleeding out amid bailouts and loans from Obama.

The Datsun 240Z and the Datsun 510 have been the models that have most captivated American fans of the brand, and if you dig a little online you will find countless builds of them. From mid-mounted V8 engines to restorations costing many thousands of dollars, for cars that were not even regarded as future classics in the early 1970s.

A certain Allan Anderson seems to be one of the standard-bearers of the trend of restoring and preparing this type of car. As you can see in the video, his garage is full to bursting with several 240Zs and a couple of impeccably restored 510s, down to the last bolt, all of them fitted with engines prepared for trackdays.

They may not be the fastest cars on Earth, but who said that driving only fast, new cars is all there is? You can also have a blast with one of these, and maybe more so, than with a modern vehicle.