It all started with this car, just over 30 years ago. The two top Japanese carmakers, Nissan and Toyota, were taking their never-ending duel to new heights. Nissan fired first and, at the time, it looked like they had been the better shot. And they did. But being Nissan, they fumbled the rest and let their lead go to waste. It had all started so well…
While Europe and the US were busy trying to counter the Japanese automakers’ lower-end products in the ‘80s, Japan’s economy was going through a long period of sustained growth – though deemed moderate at the time, it was still pretty healthy and the Yens were pouring in. The middle class were making money and, being Japanese, they barely spent it. Well, some did – foreign cars were starting to become a desirable commodity. The biggest domestic cars were under 3-litres and no wider than 1.65m, so Benzes and Jags looked mighty tempting. The Nissan President and the Toyota Century were not really available for purchase, but a BMW 735 was.
The Japanese authorities were ready to relax their stringent regulations. Toyota and Nissan were of course warned in advance (unlike the change of kei car regulations in 1975, which took carmakers by surprise) and started planning new models to fill this new niche. Toyota had the edge. They had been hard at work to devise an S-Class fighter for the global market – the “Flagship 1” programme, initiated in 1983, was already well advanced, though not yet called Lexus. For the JDM, Toyota planned to take the 4-litre V8 they had developed and put it in a slightly enlarged Crown. The S130 Crown was launched in September 1987, but the larger V8 version was not part of the initial line-up. Nissan knew it was coming, though, and wanted to ace out Toyota by launching their “wider-than-ever” luxury hardtop first.
The plan was to do exactly what Toyota were planning to do, i.e. take the existing top-tier car (the Cedric/Gloria Y31, to be launched in June 1987), make it a shade longer and wider, and throw everything but the kitchen sink into the mix – bar a V8 engine. The plan was delayed somewhat, but Nissan allegedly took advantage of this extra development time to tinker with the design and make it even more distinctive. When the Cedric/Gloria Cima was officially launched in January 1988, almost at the peak of the Bubble Economy, it was a sensation.
Above: 1987-91 Nissan Cedric/Gloria (Y31) Hardtop; below: 1988-91 Nissan Cedric/Gloria Cima (FPY31)
Finally, the JDM had a car that could rival the foreign makers size-wise. The Cedric/Gloria Cima sat on the standard Y31 wheelbase (273.5cm), but was otherwise different in all measurements. The standard Cedric/Gloria Y31’s length / width / height was 469 / 169.5 / 140 cm, while the Cima’s length / width / height was 489 / 177 /138 cm. It’s also worth noting that the Cima was about 250kg heavier, which is substantial. I guess 20cm extra in length and 7.5cm more width does affect the weight.
Four trim levels were on offer: the Type I, the Type II, the Type II-S and the top-of-the-line Type II Limited. The engine inside these last two wundercars was the turbocharged VG30DET, a 3-litre DOHC V6 providing 255 PS. The non-turbo cars made do with just 200 PS. The sole transmission choice was a 4-speed auto driving the rear wheels. Only the Type II Limited got the air suspension; the others were sprung by conventional coils.
In its first year, the Cima sold 36,400 units and by the time this first generation was replaced in 1991, Nissan had shifted close to 130,000. This was above and beyond Nissan’s expectations. The term “Cima phenomenon” was coined by industry observers to describe the Japanese public’s newfound appetite for high-end domestic saloons. The Bubble Economy came crashing down in 1991-92, but the Japanese carmakers were now on a roll and would no longer be bound by the tight restrictions of yore (although they still were and are to this day, of course).
I’m not exactly sure whether our feature car is a Type II or a Type II Limited. It’s difficult to tell those two apart without checking the engine for a turbocharger. The Type I had a two-spoke steering wheel and the Type II-S had sportier alloys, a different interior and lacked the amaranth leaf hood ornament. Our feature car’s door-mounted electric seat switches look like they came straight out of the contemporary Mercedes. It seems Daimler-Benz noticed and told Nissan as much, so they were moved someplace else after the first year of production. In early 1990, the Cima was given a slightly different grille and a few other minor changes, but things remained quite stable – no need to fix what was obviously not broken.
I’m not overly keen on Nissans in general, but this 1st generation Cima is rather good-looking for its time. In my opinion, it’s a better design than its main rival, the Toyota Crown (S130) V8 Royal Saloon G. The hardtop really makes it work – and the tastefulness of the rear balances out the somewhat overworked front end. I don’t think I’ll be getting too much pushback from the CCommentariat by saying that it is also a much better-looking car than the 1990-96 Infiniti Q45, but that’s faint praise indeed.
Nissan Infiniti Q45 (JDM version)
For Infiniti was just beginning, in those days. In parallel and in marked contrast to the Cima success story, the new brand’s US launch in 1990 had been rather catastrophic. The Infiniti Q45, based on the Nissan President, was roughly the same size as the Cima but it had the requisite V8 engine. Unfortunately, it was hamstrung by its off-putting styling, as well as a bizarre PR campaign. As a result, Acura and Lexus were laughing all the way to the bank, while Infiniti was stuck in a loop of disappointment. On the JDM (and in several other markets, such as Australia), it was called Nissan Infiniti Q45 and it bombed just as badly as it did everywhere else.
Above: 1991-96 Nissan Cima (Y32); below: 1996-2001 Nissan Cima (Y33)
The subsequent Cima Y32 (they dropped the Cedric/Gloria name by then) arrived in August 1991 and had a slightly smaller version of the Q45’s V8. The economic downturn hurt sales, but Toyota’s Crown Majesta fared even worse. In 1996, the Q45 was nixed from the JDM lineup and the Cima regained its top dog status within the Nissan range; eventually, the new generation Infiniti Q45 just became a rebadged Cima Y33, plain and simple.
With hindsight, Nissan could have saved themselves a lot of needless aggravation by rebadging the original Cima as Infiniti back in 1990. Sure, this one only had a 3-litre V6 to combat the Lexus’ 4-litre V8, but at least it had a grille and a better interior than the original Q45. I imagine the lack of B-pillar made that option impossible at the time, but I don’t know whether Nissan ever even thought of the idea.
On the JDM, the 1st generation Cima’s outstanding popularity was never equaled by its successors – not even close. The nameplate had a bit of an eclipse when Nissan nixed it and the President in 2010 in favour of the Fuga, but it reappeared as the Fuga’s LWB hybrid (a.k.a Infiniti Q70L) in 2012. The Infiniti version has just been axed from the lineup and it looks like 2020 might be the Cima’s final model year in Japan. Will a new generation take over? We will have to wait and see.
Related post:
Curbside Classic: 1990 Nissan Gloria (Y31) Gran Turismo SV – In Excelsis Deo, by T87
Great piece. I’ve seen the odd one over here as grey imports but had no idea of its backstory, as so cogently told by T87.
I agree that this is a very handsome car from a period when cars were generally speaking not so much ugly as just plain meh. Despite this context of aesthetic mediocrity, Nissan also gave us the very handsome R32 Skylines (sedan just as handsome as the coupe) and the very, very, very handsome Cue-X (which translated so poorly into the Q45). Add in the Y31 Cima and you have a set of sedan shapes more handsome than those of any other maker from any continent at the time (IMhO).
All agreed, and nice Fiat 130 Coupe rear on this Cima too.
Agreed also that the Cue-x was quite superb.
Feels strange agreeing with your taste. Be sure it doesn’t happen again.
Maybe it just me, but the first and second photos remind you of a mid 90’s Buick LeSabre?
The slight flair in the hood behind the headlights and the curve of the trunk over the taillights.
I was actually thinking it looked like a Buick Century, but I can see the resemblance to the LeSabre as well. And Someone else below says it looks like a Park Avenue. I think it’s safe to say it looks like an early 1990s Buick.
I guess I’m the outlier in that I think the first iteration of the Q45 (before they tacked the grille on) looks great, distinctive, and had I been in that market at the time preferred its looks to those of the Lexus LS400 which I found bland.
The Cima you found is quite a find and one that I have less than a passing familiarity with. I knew of it, of course, but nothing about it, so thank you for filling my blank page.
However I’m not wild about its looks. I see several other cars in it which may just be familiarity – From the dead front it’s very Jaguar XJ40 and from the side and rear-ish I see a lot of 1991 Buick Park Avenue – although it should obviously be the other way around, now I see where that inspiration perhaps came from as it was so different from the prior model.
That first Cima’s front and sides are close to what the ’91 Caprice should have looked like. The rear is a shamelessly ver-damn-batim copy of the E30 BMW, which doesn’t look bad, but it’s not original work.
If Chevrolet had designed the Caprice to look more like this and less like a melted blob, I think they would have had a real winner. As strange as the 91-96 Caprice looks, I still like them for no other reason than the fact they are some of the last V8 RWD Classic American sedans. I’d be over the moon for them if they were shaped more like this.
+1. I like the Chev B-whales, but this Cima is a better version of that approximate shape and language.
A fascinating car on many levels. I find it attractive, but then I tend to like conservatively styled 4 door hardtops. Then again, had the Q-45 had a traditional front end, it may have done better. I always found the rest of it pretty good looking.
Theres quite a few up scale Nissans here all used imports of course, the Cima badge and the 3.0 engine migrated to other platforms too, Cima must mean de Luxe or something similar in Nissan speak, Certain Cefiros wear it and the 3.0 engine, Interesting backstory to cars I see quite a lot.
I liked it then and I like it now, except for the slightly too-long front overhang (unavoidable given the wheelbase is unchanged from the smaller Cedric/Gloria)
I’d forgotten about these. yeah; pretty bland. And I’m with Jim in having liked that first Q45, quite a lot, actually. But clearly I was in the minority.
I’ll take the cars on either side of it. 🙂
What’s weird is the way the rear end of the rear door bumps up into the C pillar. I wonder why?
My guess is to full retract the hardtop glass, the little kick up allows the whole pane to be concealed. No exposed glass edge when retracted (as many other cars just allow the glass to stick out). This is only a guess looking at the shape of the glass and how it would slide downward…
These had the typical “VIP” style windows where the glass would tilt forward as it dropped. The cutout was something of a remnant of the c-pillar window in the hardtop Cedric/Gloria.
https://www.boostcruising.com/galleries/rides/2138210-1988-Nissan-Laurel.html
Other Japanese frameless-window sedans of that era had a similar treatment: Nissan’s Bluebird and Laurel hardtops, the S130 and S140 Toyota Crowns and X80 Chaser/Mark II, the Lexus ES250, etc.
Yes, isn’t that odd ? As odd as the seemingly unusable forward-fender mirrors common on Japanese makes in years long past—the result of a regulation requiring that rear-view mirrors had to be visible though the (wiped) windshield ?
Well, Gloria be, I can’t help liking this old Square. In fact, it’s kinda cool (well, to another Square, and to it, I say “Hello!”)
Fiat 130/Rolls Camargue rear end, Maserati Quattoporte 3/Lancia Gamma Coupe front, skinny pillars, all a bit rounded off, it’s all rather decent.
I can see the dullard Buick connection, but as ever with these things, the details of proportion and minutiae make all the difference.
By which such measures, and at this considerable age, it means this Beta Infiniti is an infinitely better beater, which, being a better Infiniti, a beater beater it had better be.
You don’t often say “good looking late 1980s/early 1990s Nissan” but you can here . that 1988 FPY31 hardtop is pretty elegant, even with the odd door shutline, with a bit of Lancia around the front end to seal the deal.
I just LOVE pillarless hardtop sedans! That is my favourite body-style, well, perhaps along with 4-door convertibles and hardtop station wagons. I am one of the few people my age who feel this way, I think. I am a sprightly 51 living in Canada. I drool over these hardtops from the late Eighties, from another country. Not fair!