200SX Zombie Apocalypse Edition
Man, some cars have been put so thoroughly through the wringer that it is genuinely startling to see them parked on the street with a current registration. Behold the 1981 Datsun 200SX by Nissan:
There isn't a single piece of this car inside or out that doesn't look used to death.
Way back when this car was being designed it was meant to be the platform for installing Nissan's own rotary engine. Unfortunately a confluence of delays and reliability/cost issues kept the rotary from making it to full production, but the resulting car was pretty cool regardless.
Notice the wheels made of unsweetened cocoa and the dents and tears into the body from so long ago that the injured shape of the metal has now rusted into permanence.
Yellow tape, red tape, what's the difference? It's all the same to the brave mechanic that produced an inspection sticker for this wreck! The body actually looks like it was formed out of clay and then left in the rain for a short while. I think the original color was Mesa Tan, but it's difficult to confirm.
This is another example of the DATSUN by Nissan era of the late '70s/early '80s. Wait a minute! The passenger's side quarter panel looks to be Gold Metallic! I guess we'll never know. This taillight area really sums up the entire car nicely though; every single inch has a tough history.
My mother had an immaculate example of this car in white. One detail I remember was that there was a little joystick installed in the dashboard to adjust the front/rear and left/right speaker control, which I thought was pretty darn cool. It was a great little car as proven by the fact that she soon got the next generation Nissan 200SX (which I eventually drove cross country). The fact that this absolutely brutalized and neglected little beast is still ferrying somebody to work everyday is a testament to their durability. Hats off 200SX!
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