The all-new Nissan Navara pickup is set for launch by the revitalized Nissan Philippines today, and the company is aiming for no less than third place in the pickup wars. Behind the Navara is a rich 80-year history of Nissan producing compact pickups.
Nissan was the automaker that practically invented the compact truck, selling over 14 million pickup trucks for over eight decades in 180 countries. Known for its robustness and reliability, the Datsun/Nissan compact truck began life as a pickup variant from its Datsun 13 compact sedan in the mid-1930s and slowly evolved into what is the Nissan Navara / Frontier pickup truck of today. Production started in Japan but by the 1950s it was being exported in huge numbers across the globe.
Datsun Truck Series – the first generation
Known initially in the US and other major markets as the Datsun brand, Nissan was the pioneer in small trucks that started with the Datsun 13T (T for truck) model, based from its Datsun 13 sedan model. Production began on April 1934, with a total length of 2,710mm, it introduced the first compact pick up truck that had a 747cc 12 horsepower side valve engine and a 3-speed floor shift transmission. By 1935, it introduced the Datsun 14T model with a new Datsun Type 7 engine that features a slightly more powerful 15 horsepower 722cc engine that is capable of doing a top speed of 80kph, which was considered fast during those times. By 1936, the newer Datsun 15T model was introduced. With a new body style, the engine remained mechanically similar but power was upgraded slightly to 16 horsepower. Overall length was increased to 3,187mm. By 1938, its last iteration, the Datsun 17T was introduced. Using the same engine as the 15T, body styling varied slightly and had lesser chrome trims due to the scarcity of raw materials due to the Second World War and this model remained in production until January 1944.
Post war truck models
Due to scarcity of materials, the Datsun 2225 had less chrome trim
After production resumed after a 3 year hiatus after WW-II broke out, production of a new series resumed in 1946. Using the same chassis and Datsun Type 7 engine, the new post-war model was called the Datsun 1121 and was less ornate due to the scarcity of materials. The elaborate grille was replaced with sheet metal and cut holes while the bumper had a very simple formed steel design. This was followed by the Datsun 2124 (from 1947 to 1949), it had chrome hubcaps and more curves in its sheetmetal body as Nissan’s new metal presses began to be operational by this time.
By 1949, Nissan introduced the Datsun 3135 and followed by the Datsun 4146 the following year. With the Japanese economy slowly recovering, it had more resources now and its engine was upgraded to 20 horsepower. In 1951, it introduced the Datsun 5147, which had more styling changes like horizontal slits along the hood. Its last iteration was the Datsun 6147 introduced in 1953. It came with a bigger and more modern D-10 860cc engine, producing 25 horsepower. This was Nissan’s first new post-war engine. Production ended in 1955 to give way to the new 120 series
Datsun 120, 220 series
Nissan introduced the Datsun 220 to the American market in the late 1950s and was unveiled at the 1958 LA Auto Show
The new Datsun 120 was the pickup version of its Datsun 110 sedan and was introduced in January 1955 as the first Datsun truck with a more modern styling. There were more variants introduced including a delivery and a panel van as well as double cab versions. On November 1957, the newer Datsun 220 was introduced. Although it basically remained unchanged in appearance, but it had a more modern 988cc overhead valve 37 horsepower engine and it was the first pickup to have a 12volt system. In 1958, the Datsun 220 was introduced in the US market as it debuted in the Los Angeles Auto Show and began penetrating the big engine loving American pickup market. Because of its reliability and compact size, the Americans began paying attention to the Datsun brand.
Datsun 320, 520, 620 and 720 series
On August 1961, the new 320 series was introduced with improvements to body and frame from the 120 and 220 series. The main change was its Nissan E-1 engine that produced 60 horsepower and independent front suspension. It had an A-arm torsion bar on its front suspension with leaf-sprung rear suspension that allowed it to have a 1,000 kg. load capacity. It came with several body styles that included a number of single cab and double cab variants. With its bigger bed and cargo space and strong chassis, it became a best seller in the pickup truck segment for a number of key markets.
By 1965, the Datsun 520 was introduced and came with a new 1.3 liter 67 horsepower Nissan J13 engine. The first two years of the 520 series had two single headlights but by 1967, the 520 was also slightly redesigned and had a pair of twin headlights. It was the first model to have padded dashboards too. In February 1972, Nissan introduced the Datsun 620 and remained in production until 1979. Besides a regular cab truck it also had a longer “King Cab” version that was introduced in 1977. It was designed to have a shorter and fully integrated bed to allow comfortably seating for four adults. The final iteration of this series was the Datsun 720 that also came in regular cab and “King Cab” models which had regular and long bed options. The Datsun 720 was available in both two-wheel (2WD) and four-wheel (4WD) drive configurations, with the 4WD fitted with a divorced transfer case. The long wheelbase 2WD trucks had a two-piece driveshaft with a center support bearing.
Nissan D21 Navara / Frontier
This Nissan D21 comes with the optional V6 engine sold in the US market
The Nissan D21 “Hardbody” generation was generally known as the Navara or Frontier to some but was still sold as the Nissan Datsun Truck in Japan. In North America, it still used the Datsun badge from model years 1980 to 1983 then was renamed Nissan Datsun in 1984 and then totally dropped the Datsun name, using Nissan beginning with the 1985 model year line for all its vehicles. Designed with performance and better comfort in mind, power steering was fitted and it had bigger V-6 engine options in some markets. As Nissan pickup trucks have come of age, more options were introduced like air conditioning, larger wheels/tires, sliding rear window and better stereo equipment.
This generation of affordable and dependable small pickup trucks sold very well worldwide, and is so well-built that they are still being used both on-road and off-road. The D21 design was so well accepted that it is still currently available in some Latin American countries like Venezuela. It received the 1998 J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study award for having the fewest quality problems in its segment. It was also the same year that Nissan USA was awarded the most productive automobile plant title in North America for the fifth straight year by Harbour and Associates, a manufacturing management consulting and automotive research firm.
Nissan Navara / Frontier D22 and D40
These two generations were the last two prior to the all-new NP300 Navara pickup trucks introduced this month in the local market. Both iterations were available in Asia, North, Central and South America. The D22 replaced the D21 series and was known in the local market as the Frontier model. The subsequent D40 series was badged as the Navara for the first time in the local market. Navara got its name from the Navarre region of northern Spain. The European version of this pickup is being built at the Nissan factory in Barcelona, Spain.
The D40 was a completely redesigned pickup and was introduced at the Detroit Motor Show in 2004. This ushered in a new generation pickup that became bigger and is now more of a mid-sized pickup than its predecessors. With a fully boxed ladder frame, its wheelbase was increased to 3.20 meters (from 2.65 meters of the regular cab and 2.95 meters of the King Cab variant of the D22 series). This was also the first time Nissan came out with the first-in-class 6-speed manual transmission in the local market. In 2010, it received the J.D. Power and Associates recognition for the Highest Ranked Midsize Pickup in Initial Quality Award.
The D40 was also extensively used as a rally race vehicle including the NISMO Stuff Racing’s participation in the Coupe Rallye Quebec series and Nissan South Africa also campaigned in its local ABSA Off-Road series with both the D22 and D40 platforms, taking home eight consecutive wins from 2001 to 2008.
