Nissan Stanza
|
|
The Nissan Stanza was a car introduced by Nissan in 1977 and was a twin to the A10 Nissan Auster and Nissan Violet. They were built in Hiratsuka, Japan and Oppama, Japan. A front-wheel-drive model for the 1982 model year was launched in 1981.
It had some minor styling differences to the Auster and Violet. Initially, in Australia, the Datsun Stanza was a rebadged Nissan Violet. The original Stanza was sold in the United States as the Datsun 510, recalling a more famous model, until 1981.
After 1982, Nissan tried to standardize the Stanza name in its export markets. In the US, the Stanza replaced the 510 for the 1982 model year. The Nissan Prairie was sold as part of the range, as the Stanza Wagon.
The Stanza line was not seen in most export markets after 1986. The growth of the Sunny and Pulsar models from below meant there was little room for it.
Nissan renewed the Auster and Stanza lines in 1986, introducing squared-off styling—very much at odds with the trend then to rounded shapes. Japan and the US received this model. Europe received a version of the Nissan Auster from 1988 as a Bluebird replacement. These were built in Sunderland, in the UK, and badged as the Nissan Bluebird. The station wagon was the only "real" Bluebird in this range, imported from Japan. They were known for their reliability, though their squared-off styling was not to everyone's tastes.
For 1989 the American Stanza was replaced by a version of the Nissan Bluebird, wearing Stanza badges. It was discontinued after 1992 and replaced by the Altima, also Bluebird-based. The last US-made Stanza rolled off the assembly line on March 27, 1992.
In Japan and elsewhere, the Auster and Stanza ranges were effectively replaced by the Nissan Primera for the 1990 model year.