Do you ever step out of a store, stumble into the parking lot, and absentmindedly head for a car that you owned in the past? Even twenty five years ago? It looks so familiar, you can practically feel the Nissan key in your pocket. And you know exactly how it’s going to feel, as you slide in on that mouse-fur upholstery, and slam the seat back as far as it will go. Start the little 1.6 L four, slip it into gear, and head for…oops; that’s where the imagination, memory and reality collide.
Back then, every perpetually sunny early morning I’d head for downtown Beverly Hills, and drive past the still-closed jewelers and boutiques on Rodeo Drive. A Sentra on Rodeo Drive? A fish out of water indeed. But I was headed for Coldwater Canyon Road, for a little early morning fun on the way to work in Glendale. And the Sentra did its best to supply some of that, despite its modest provenance. In the early morning, I fit right in with all the cleaning ladies and other domestic workers heading to work in the mansions up in the hills.
But i did take a different route home in the evening; did the Sentra’s K-Mart image have something to do with that? I can’t remember for sure, but like most early thirty-year-olds, I was a bit image conscious. Especially on Rodeo Drive.
No, I’m not in Beverly Hills anymore, by a long shot, and quite thankfully. And I’d better stop standing there gazing at this Sentra before someone gets suspicious. My motivation in shooting an old Sentra is a bit harder to explain to folks than a vintage Cadillac.
Our collective memories tend to congeal around certain cars in the past that stand out as the best in class. The Honda Civic clearly dominates its category, during its glory decades. But the all-new for 1982 Nissan Sentra was a surprisingly strong competitor, and a huge sales success. After dawdling too long with its venerable rwd 210/Sunny (CC here), Nissan unleashed a little giant killer with its new Sentra. Of course, the timing was perfect, coming in the midst of the 1981-1982 gas price run-up.
The Sentra posted some best in-class EPA numbers, which sent the masses running into its embrace. Or is that vice versa? But it wasn’t just killer economy that made the the Sentra’s appeal. It knew how to scoot right along, thanks to a brand new OHC hemi four (E-Series) that felt like it had more than the 67 or 69 horsepower rating it carried.
My memory banks has this little nugget stored away under the Sentra file: in a car magazine test I read at the time, I seem to remember them gushing over the Sentra’s zip, noting that it was the first car in its class they had ever tested that managed to break the ten second barrier in the 0 – 60 test. Did I dream that? I don’t think so, and that would still be a credible number today, for a low end econobox. Of course, testing standards and driving techniques vary, but the fact that the Sentra was a significantly brisker economy car than average is pretty undisputable.
And its handling was decidedly better than average too. Admittedly, the number of mornings on my commute when I could push the Sentra to its limits wasn’t exactly very often, although going against the main commuter flow meant that Coldwater Canyon was remarkably lightly trafficked, and there weren’t Prii then hypermiling downhill through the switchbacks.
The Sentra’s upholstery was just as grippy as its skinny little tires, if not more. And the visibility out of these cars was just superb; better to see the the smog forming over the Valley as I crested the mountain and crossed Mulholland Drive.
The Sentra quickly soared in the sales charts, and was the number one import in 1982 (well, that’s what wiki says). And I believe it, given how common they became. And after Nissan’s Smyrna, Tennessee plant came on line, an almost unbroken gusher of Sentras flowed from its portals for decades. A highly efficient plant, Nissan has been able to constantly keep the volume going by keeping prices very competitive, regardless of the price of gas.
The B11 platform was replaced by the slightly longer B12 and B13 Sentras, and although I’m not an expert on them, I suspect that other than an increase in wheelbase, these successors weren’t all that different otherwise, except for the constant improvements in safety and other details. And the B13 is still rolling off the lines in Mexico, as the beloved Tsuru, as well as in certain other countries. A classic platform indeed.
I didn’t own this Sentra; it was an extended-term rental, my “company car” for a few months after I left my former employer to help start up a new tv station which was located on the grounds of the former Glendale Airport. The fact that I had to turn in my ’83 T-Bird Turbo Coupe when I left made leaving a bit harder. And it would be some months yet before the new station was solid enough that I would risk my job by signing a company lease on a brand new W124 300E. So in between, there was the Sentra. Thanks god it was a manual, back when rental fleets still (barely) had them. For some reason that is now lost on me, the rental company made me turn in the Sentra in exchange for a Dodge Reliant. Now that sure killed the fun. I started taking other routes to work.
I always kind of liked these. Unfortunately, 1985 was in my 2 years as a yuppie phase (between a 77 New Yorker and a 66 Fury III) when I bought a black 85 GTI because I couldn’t afford the BMW 325. So the Sentra just was not on my radar. Too bad, too, because it would have been a mighty pleasant car to drive from your description.
Actually, there was something in the lines of the 2 doors that was reminiscent of the BMW 320. I really miss these easy-revving lightweight tossable little cars.
I bought a used ’82 B11 wagon in 1988 with 58K on it. Like most used cars it did not come with an owner’s manual and it was the first Japanese car I had bought. I put 97K on it in 2 years and then found out all about timing belts and ‘negative interference’ the hard way(junked it). 155K on the original(presumed) belt! The only repair was a new clutch at 90K. What a workhorse. We still fondly remember that car.
I recently lost my mind. I traded an Xterra (my 3rd Nissan consecutively) for a CTS and already calculating when I can trade it without taking a bath. (A little buyers remorse going on…perhaps I should give it more time.)
Should have went with the M37 which was also on my list, but a recent pleasant experience with the Cadillac swayed me. Now, not so much.
It’s “sport” suspension feels as though the tires are under-inflated and a prior Maxima was tighter.
My point, Nissans are good value but seem to play second fiddle to Toyonda’s. They have great 6 cyl engines and among the best steering I’ve experienced at that price point..
Live and learn.
I bought a new 94 Sentra Limited 4 dr with 5 speed stick back in the day and it sure was a nice driving car. The interior was so much richer than the Corolla of the day that I couldn’t resist showing it to a Toyota salesman. I had it 4 years and 90,000 miles and then traded it on a 92 Nissan long bed pickup that only had 25,000 miles on it. I loved the truck just as much as the Sentra.
I see you got the rose tints on Paul These nissan Pulsars werent a bad little bomb certainly a huge improvement over trhe Sunny but not as good as the Mazda 323 of the same era With a Holden badge fitted it became an Astra and with a Alfa motor became the truly awful Arna the joining of the worst features from both companies.The poor handling merican cars of the time may have made this seem good but having punted one of these on Tassie Targa roads I was underwhelmed by its roadholding, understeer is no longer considered a safety feature.
There’s a reason I called the 323 “Truly The Greatest Little Car Of Its Time” :http://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-asian/curbside-classic-1981-mazda-glc323-truly-the-greatest-little-car-of-its-time/
I remember the CC and the cars the Nissans werent too bad but the 323 was a great little car
I had one of the B12s, an ’88 with a four speed manual. It was the first car I ever actually bought and I’d be hard pressed not to buy another if one in decent condition crossed my path. Loved that car, had some great times in it. Its only discernible fault was a habit of croaking the alternator every 50,000 miles. Perhaps I’ll attempt a CC of my own on it someday.
My sister’s 2nd car was a purple ’96 Sentra GXE, the first year of that really humpty body style with that soda straw of a tailpipe sticking out back there. Nissan was really decontenting and cheapening their cars back then. Remember the howls about the beam axle in the ’95 Maxima?
Her ’96 Sentra looked cheap, and truth be told it felt VERY cheap, but at least the cheap bits were glued together well. She beat that car through 2 years of high school and 4 years of college and it survived, though just barely. Only thing we had to fix is when I put a clutch in it at about 130k.
And although it was what I consider to be underpowered, it was smooth, and you could rev the piss out of it and it felt *just* strong enough to feel perky.
Maybe it didn’t feel so cheap after all…
I haven’t been in a B11 Sentra, but the B13 is very much an evolution of the B12. I had a ’91 (B13) SE-R, which my roommate was impressed enough with that his next car was a used B12. Sitting behind the wheel of his car, I felt right at home – all the guages and controls were laid out exactly the same, right down to the stick shift being in *exactly* the right place when you dropped your right hand from the wheel.
The picture of the B11 dash doesn’t look all that much different.
Wow, that brought back memories…! A mate had a 1984 Sunny (as they were badged here in NZ) back in 1991. Identical to the silver one in the photos above except for much smaller NZ/Japan-spec bumpers. We decided to do a top speed run on it one day on a steep downhill straight. It did 160ish km/h (100mph) at the redline in 5th gear. And then, like all teenagers, we switched the engine off (!) to see if it’d go any faster… It had reached 185km/h coasting down towards the end of the straight, when we suddenly realised the power brakes wouldn’t work properly with the engine off…I don’t think I’ve ever re-started a car so quickly! We drove home very very slowly after that. I can’t believe how insane that was – and no, I’ve never done anything so stupid again!
Down the Pohuehue viaduct hill used to be the place to wind cars up when I was a Kid, full out then shift into Maori overdrive many an old bomb went past its designed top speed there. But one of the local hoons in a 3.3 Vauxhall was the first to go up the viaduct at better than 100mph.
My fiance (now wife) and bought a new sentra in 1985, red two door with the grey vinyl upholstery, manual tranny, no AC, roll up windows. I guess in retrospect it was a stripper but at the time on our lowly incomes it was a real step into adulthood. It was peppy but in the DC summers that interior was hot as hell. I had to take our (her) cat cross town through DC traffic to the vet one summer day and by the time I got there the cat was nearly comatose from overheating, had to be put on a block of ice to cool down before the vet would do anything. Needless to say the vet was very unhappy with me but what could i do, it was a stripper Sentra?
I always thought these were tin cans – even a former co-worker who bought a two-door uttered that phrase. From someone who drove K-Cars, I wonder which one was more “tinny”? Turns out, the co-worker had a 100-mile R/T commute like I’m about to have. I think I remember his Sentra did just fine.
I had only grudging respect for Japanese cars at the time, but always looked carefully at fuel economy and had loads of respect for that!
Yes, the gas price run-up from 1979 – 1982, plus a nasty recession that began in 1981 I’m sure, put these in a new light – and at the right time, too!
Rodeo Drive? Coldwater Canyon road? Yes and yes – many times, and probably again in September.
My old man bought an ’84 that looked just like this but for the headlights and a sunroof. His was badged Datsun on one side of the trunk and Nissan on the other. He traded in his 1979 Mustang.
It was a perfect little car for our family of four.
A few years later we picked up a 1988 1/2 B12. It had vinyl in place of mouse fur but it was similar. I learned to drive on it and it was remarkably quick.
I do remember these cars as having somewhat delicate clutches and a nasty tendency for the engines to grenade at 100K. That aside, that first little ’84 turned my parents into life-long Nissan buyers.
We had these as company cars in the mid 80′s. I was a courier for my company and we drove the crap out of these, drove them like rental cars, they were very strudy fun cars to drive in So. Cal.
Great little car with lots of memories. I was in grade school during the 80′s, and I grew up in this car. My father bought it brand new as an ’85and1/2 ( I think the 1/2 added composite headlamps and contempo plastic wheel covers) to replace our 76 Subaru DL sedan( talk about rust) -My father appreciated the value in quirky Asian sedans.
The Sentra was driven as our econo family sedan until 1994, at which point it had accumulated 187k miles. Silver inside and out, great modern-looking instrument cluster, and a stereo with orange digital readout(that impressed me as a 2nd grader). The aluminum controls(gentle spring-loaded push knobs that had great tactile feel) on the stereo worked flawlessly and looked great. My father added a trunk-mounted luggage rack for our numerous camping trips during the summer. I remember we packed that Sentra to the max, but it took it all in stride. Luckily, we lived in Toledo, where the roads are as flat as they come. Rust-belt winters were harsh, but he had it undercoated which helped immensely. And the summers in that car were HOT. My father skimped on the AC, which he said was an expensive option and power hungry for that little 1.6 4cl. He did opt for the 3 sp auto. We took it across the eastern US on several family vacations, and it never once left us on the roadside. We did all the regular maintenance ourselves, even the timing-chain was replaced by my father, not an easy job…
The car was easy to drive, with great brakes, steering and seat comfort. I passed my driving test at 16 in that little Sentra with flying colors.
Thanks for posting this entry CC. Lots of fond memories of this little car!
I have had a long-runnning love affair with these 1980′s Sentras since I bought a 1984 Sentra XE hatchback coupe new in ’84. It was a replacement for my B210, which was stolen. That car was a devoted friend, daily driver, gas sipper and tough little road warrior until retired in the late 1990s, when I bought a 1985 Sentra SE sport coupe silver and black hatchback. I had all sorts of adventures with this one, including pulling a race car on a trailer all the way from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. It was crazy, and I’d never do it again, but the Sentra performed and survived. I still have “Rathacar” today, and at 250,000+ miles, she is my husband’s commuter, running 180 miles per day, delivering 36 mpg and standing up to all sorts of abuse (I love my hubby, but he can be murder on cars, and this was the only one he couldn’t kill.)
I am actually going to buy another 1985 Sentra SE, an identical car, as a backup for him and to get mine back long enough to cherry her up a bit. Sometimes the only substitute for a tough old Sentra is another tough old Sentra.
See Rathacar : http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3008836/1984-nissan-sentra