2 scenes 1 car

2 SCENES 1 CAR
I'm lucky to have amassed a group of friends who send me pictures of old/cool/weird cars when they encounter them. However this was a first for me; I was hurrying to catch a 1am ride home and only managed to snap a couple pics of this car before the bus was in front of me (they're rare after midnight so I couldn't wait for the next one). By happenstance Robin from Omaha took several pics of the same car weeks later to contribute! For that reason this ride is parked in front of a bank and then magically in front of some deli flowers. Behold!

This is a 1987-1988 Nissan Sentra XE Sport Coupe in Silver Frost Poly. At first glance this looks to be an anonymous import from the '80s/'90s like any of the millions on the street. However this happens to be a 2 year only vehicle. The grill treatment here is unique to the Sport Coupe as the regular Sentra had a very boring facade consisting of 2 rectangular headlights in a plain black grill. This is a little more sleek with the angled 2 opening grill flanked by running lights.

In the grand scheme of things this is a Nissan Sunny. The Sunny was built over many generations from 1966-2006 and sold all over the world.
"Power" (in air quotes) comes from a 1.6 liter inline 4 cylinder. Efficiency and sporty handling were trademarks while acceleration was not.

This quirky profile sets the Sport Coupe apart from the standard Sentra. Every body panel on this ride is unique to the Sport Coupe. Under the rumpled skin of our feature car lies front and rear sway bars, a tachometer, and remote mirrors.

The XE designates a mid-tier trim level. The base level was E for Economy, followed by the XE with GXE at the top. These cars are more about straightforward reliability than luxury though.

I think silver spray paint abounds on this ride but it's a forgiving enough shade to allow it. The shamefully cheap plastic hubcaps scream AUTOZONE.
There was a seriously innovative Nissan in this same era called the Pulsar. The claim to fame for the Pulsar was a removable and interchangeable rear roof section. Closely following the angle of the fixed rear quarter window on this ride would be where you had either a hatchback or the Sportbak which was like a mini station wagon. There aren't too many still out on the streets in 2017!

Well that's that for this little cruiser. Since these are front wheel drive cars they haven't achieved the sort of cult status that the RWD Japanese classics have. Now that they're at around 30 years old people will start noticing the cooler body styles like this and the Pulsar. In the meantime if you want a seriously reliable classic to drive around that anyone with a socket kit and a manual can work on a late '80s Nissan would be a fine choice.