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Is Nissan reviving its Datsun brand for a low-cost return in 2014?

Japan's Nikkei news service is reporting that Nissan is dusting the cobwebs off its Datsun brand, dropped back in 1986, and preparing it for a return in 2014. Loyalists will be disappointed to learn that the "new" Datsun badge won't be riveted to the nose of any upcoming Fairlady Z in the near future – it probably isn't even coming to North America. Instead, the report indicates that

Video
Nissan Juke takes to the dirt against the Eyesore Racing Datsun 510

Forty years, countless miles, a corporate name change and untold heaps of abuse separate Dave Coleman's 1971 Eyesore Racing Datsun 510 from the 2011 Nissan Juke. But that didn't stop the guys from Inside Line from pitting the two distant cousins against each other in a gravel there-and-back race over a little more than a mile. The beater 510 has plenty of rally class wins under its belt an

Report
Nissan moves on plans to revive Datsun nameplate as budget sub-brand

Plans are reportedly progressing to bring back Datsun. Wait, what? Wasn't Datsun just the name of Nissan before it became Nissan? Why yes, yes it was. But the Japanese automaker is – as we initially reported back in July – planning on dipping back into its own history to launch a budget brand for developing markets.

Report
Nissan bringing back Datsun name for emerging markets?

Word on the web is that Nissan is mulling the notion of bringing back the Datsun name. According to The Truth About Cars, reports are emerging that the Japanese automaker will employ its old moniker in emerging markets for new, inexpensive models. Specifically, the cars are slated to cost no more than $5,000. That kind of coin likely won't fetch buyers much more than an engine and a couple of doo

NASCAR robots, Datsun Bumblebee spied during filming of Transformers 3

Transformers 3 is filming in Chicago right now, luring all camera-toting film buffs to the Windy City's streets like moths to a bug zapper. In addition to snagging the three NASCAR Transformers and Optimus Prime's trailer, there's the matter of a 1972 Datsun 510 painted much like Bumblebee and dangling a "BEE-OTCH" air freshener from its rear view mirror.

VIDEO: Datsun history 101 - The Woz and Black Gold

Awesome. Yeah, that's a good word to describe the Datsun 280ZX. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was busy in 1982 when he made this commercial for the Z car. Not only did he have time to organize the US Festival, he was shilling cars, too. Then there was that other thing he did, involving microprocessors, but that was in flux waiting on the flop of Steve Jobs' Lisa. That wasn't so awesome. The Datsun 280ZX, on

RR of the Day: 1977 Datsun 280Z

We figured that we had a good thing going, so why mess with success? Following up yesterday's lightly modified '76 Z-car is reader JWeller710's 1977 280Z. This one, however, is different in that it is "99.9% original." Our man JW, you see, is the car's one and only owner, and from the looks of things, he's been a very good parent to the Datsun. Other than replacing normal wear-and-tear items, he's had the car repainted once, which accounts for the .01% self-imposed originality deduction.

RR of the Day: 1976 Datsun 280Z

A couple of years ago, Flickr user "devnulled" grew tired of the project he was working on, a race conversion of a 1994 Eagle Talon. Like many of us do, he was online browsing eBay Motors one day when he stumbled across a car that caught his eye: a blue '76 Datsun 280 Z. He wound up bidding on the car, which did not meet reserve and never wound up being sold. He stayed in touch with the owner, however, and eventually convinced him to sell the car to him.

RR of the Day: 1972 Datsun 510 2-Door

Sometimes we look at the Flickr pool and our choice for RR of the day is blatantly obvious. This is one of those times. Flickr user "ZQPM1056" acquired this '72 Datsun 510 2-door four years ago and it's been a project car for him ever since. Sporting its original butterscotch brown paint, it channels Peter Brock with an aggressive, vintage BRE air dam, and features nifty bits like headlights from an E30 BMW M3. We'll assume that

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