These are the cars that helped launch Nissan in Canada

Nissan Canada launched on Jan. 21, 1965 with just six employees and 84 dealerships.

*The Datsun 510 was one of Nissan’s most popular cars in Canada in the late ’60s. – Nissan photo*

As Nissan Canada celebrates its 60th anniversary, we thought it would be fun to take a look at a pair of cars that helped establish the company in its infancy.

Here’s just a bit of a history lesson: Nissan Canada, which at the time was called Nissan Automobile Company (Canada) Ltd., launched on Jan. 21, 1965 with just six employees.

It was originally headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., but opened a new headquarters in Mississauga, Ont., in 1989, where its HQ remains.

While the company had just six employees in the beginning, it launched with a network of 84 dealers (independent retailers) who sold 1,200 Datsun vehicles in the first year.

Nissan Canada wasn’t able to identify the first vehicles that were available in Canada, but highlighted a pair of models that were popular in the early years. These include the Datsun 510 and Datsun 1200.

Datsun 510

The Datsun 510 launched in 1968 and quickly become one of the company’s most popular vehicles in Canada, Nissan Canada said.

The sedan featured a boxy, Italian-designed body, which set the design standard for future Nissan sports sedans. The 510 was available in several body styles.

The Datsun 510 became a winner on race tracks and was a popular alternative to European sports sedans in America, according to Nissan, while Road & Track called it “one of the most important cars of the 20th century.”

The car featured rear-wheel drive and its 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine produced 96 hp.

Datsun 1200

The Datsun 1200 coupe was a popular car for frugal buyers and was built to compete with the Toyota Corolla, Nissan said. At the time of its release in 1971, it was the most fuel-efficient car available in Canada with a fuel economy rating of 38 mpg (6.2L/100 km).

The car weighed just 1,640 pounds and its 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine produced 69 hp.

*The 1984 Nissan 300ZX was the first car available in Canada with the Nissan name. Until then, all Nissans destined for export were called Datsuns. – Nissan photo*

Brief Nissan/Datsun history

The Nissan USA website has a deeper dive into the history of the Nissan/Datsun name, but we’ll provide the Coles notes here. The company’s origins date back to 1911, and it produced its first car in 1914, called DAT, the acronym of the initial investors’ surnames.

The Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. became listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1933. The company used the Datsun brand name for vehicles it exported, while the Nissan name was used in the Japan home market. In the mid-1980s, the company dropped the Datsun name in export markets.

The 300ZX, which launched in late 1983 as a 1984 model year car, was the first car in Canada to carry the Nissan brand name. The Datsun name was discontinued by 1986.