Nissan Cherry
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The Datsun Cherry (チェリー), known later as the Nissan Cherry, is a series of
subcompact car Subcompact car is a North American Car classification, classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the Unite ...
s which formed
Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...
's first
front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of internal combustion engine, engine and transmission (mechanics), transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature ...
supermini The B-segment is the second smallest of the European segments for passenger cars between the A-segment and C-segment, and commonly described as "small cars". The B-segment is the third largest segment in Europe by volume, accounting for 15. ...
model line. The Nissan Cherry featured the
front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout In automotive design, a front-engine, front-wheel-drive (FWD) layout, or FF layout, places both the internal combustion engine and driven roadwheels at the front of the vehicle. Usage implications Historically, this designation was used rega ...
. The Cherry line includes the E10 and F10. Nissan's direct successor was the
Nissan Pulsar The is a line of automobiles produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1978 until 2000, when it was replaced by the Nissan Sylphy#N16, Nissan Bluebird Sylphy in the Japanese market. Between 2000 and 2005, the name "Pulsar" has been used in ...
worldwide. In Japan, the Cherry was exclusive to '' Nissan Cherry store'' locations. On the UK market, it debuted just before the company's surge in sales, which saw it sell just over 6,000 cars in 1971 and more than 30,000 the following year. Although its successor was launched in 1974, such was the original model's popularity on the UK market that it was not replaced there until 1976.


Background

Originally, before combining with
Nissan Motors is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and '' Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house performance tuning ...
, the
Prince Motor Company The Prince Motor Company (Japanese language, Japanese: ) was an automobile manufacturer, automobile marque from Japan which eventually merged into Nissan in 1966. It began as the Tachikawa Aircraft Company, a manufacturer of various airplanes fo ...
plan of development was to
mass-produce Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. ...
a front-engine, front-wheel drive car. Subsequent to the Prince and Nissan merger of 1966, the Cherry was released in 1970 as Nissan's first front-wheel drive car instead. In Asian markets there was also a " Cherry Cab" cabover truck model (C20), which was closely related to the
Nissan Sunny The is an automobile built by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1966 till 2004. In the early 1980s, the brand changed from Datsun to Nissan in line with other models by the company. Although production of the Sunny in Japan ended in 2004, the ...
— it was also marketed as the "Sunny Cab".


First generation (E10; 1970–1977)

The E10 generation featured four-wheel
independent suspension Independent suspension is any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i.e. reacting to a bump on the road) independently of the others. This is contrasted with a beam axle or deDion axle system in ...
. The E10 was fitted with two varieties of inline four-cylinder Nissan A-series OHV engines: * A10 * A12 Although the car used a Nissan engine, the powertrain dated back to Prince's original concept – which was in essence a copy of the "transmission-in-sump" layout pioneered by the
British Motor Corporation The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a United Kingdom, UK-based vehicle manufacturer formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris Motors, Morris and Austin Motor Company, Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merge ...
in the
Mini The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally ...
. Consequently, this gave the E10 a very distinctive transmission whine which was characteristic of this mechanical configuration. The sporting
Japanese domestic market The term "Japanese domestic market" ("JDM") refers to Japan's home market for vehicles and vehicle parts. Japanese owners contend with a strict motor vehicle inspection and grey markets. JDM is also incorrectly used as a term colloquially to ref ...
Cherry X-1 model featured twin-carburetted A12T engine with dual-sidedraft Hitachi carburettors. In Europe, the A10-engined E10 Cherry was called Datsun 100A (the
Datsun Datsun (, ) was a Japanese automobile manufacturer brand owned by Nissan. Datsun's original production run began in 1931. From 1958 to 1986, only vehicles exported by Nissan were identified as Datsun. Nissan phased out the Datsun brand in Marc ...
brand being used in place of Nissan in the European market at that time) or Datsun 120A (A12, but this engine was only available with the
coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...
body style or as a semi-automatic version of the ordinary car available in 1978). The names "Cherry" and "Datsun 1000" were also used in advertising, however the Datsun 1000 name was associated with the early
Nissan Sunny The is an automobile built by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1966 till 2004. In the early 1980s, the brand changed from Datsun to Nissan in line with other models by the company. Although production of the Sunny in Japan ended in 2004, the ...
and
Nissan Bluebird The is a compact car produced between 1955 and 2007 with a model name introduced in 1957. It was Nissan's most internationally recognized sedan, known for its dependability and durability in multiple body styles. The Bluebird originated from N ...
. The Cherry was introduced in Japan at a specially established dealership sales channel called '' Nissan Cherry Shop'', whereas the Sunny was sold at ''Nissan Satio Shop'', and the Bluebird was sold at the ''Nissan Bluebird Shop''. As the Cherry F-II successor flagged in the market, the somewhat smaller E10 Cherry continued to be sold up until 1977 in many places. With the launch of the Cherry in 1971, Datsun's prominence in the UK market grew. In the early 1970s, as the British auto-industry faltered, Datsun led the charge of Japanese auto-manufacturers rapidly gaining market share in the UK. Britain's
Motor An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...
magazine polled readers about their cars, including, in February 1973, those who owned E10 Cherrys. The question given greatest prominence was the final one which asked whether or not respondents would buy another car of the same model: 76 percent of Cherry owning respondents answered "yes", which was the top score for this question achieved by any model to date, and beat even the 66 percent "yes" score given by owners of the previous leader, the
Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. One of the most iconic cars in automotive history, the Beetle is noted for its distinctive shape. Its pr ...
, at the time well known in the UK for its owners' brand loyalty.


Timeline

* 1970 October: E10 goes on sale in Japan. At the beginning, were selling only four-door sedans and two-door sedans. * 1970: 17th Tokyo motor show, exhibiting the concept car "270X" which designates the Cherry as the base. * 1971 end of September: coupé version added * 1972 March: three-door van version added * Cherry coupé debuts in 1972 April race Japan. As a Nissan works entry, it participated also in other domestic Japan races. * 1972 June: Revised model with updated grille, rear lights and hubcaps released. This was called the 1973 model year version in most markets. * 1973 March: debut of Cherry coupé 1200X-1 R with "fender flares" * 1976: Acropolis Rally privateer entry * 1977: E10 production ceases


In popular culture

A fictionalised Datsun 100A (known in-universe as the Satsuma AMP) is featured in the Finnish video game '' My Summer Car'' set in a fictional town called "Peräjärvi". It serves as the protagonist's main car, that they must assemble, tune and maintain.


Second generation (F10; 1974–1978)

The second-generation Cherry was known as F-II in Japan and "Datsun F10" in North America. It was Nissan's first front-wheel-drive model to be sold in North America. Four-wheel independent suspension continued to be used. Sales of the F-II were generally disappointing, and the "Cherry" nameplate was retired in Japan after this generation. The F10 was fitted with three types of inline four-cylinder Nissan A-series OHV engines: * A10 * A12 * A14 A two-pedal type
semi-automatic transmission A semi-automatic transmission is a multiple-speed Transmission (mechanics), transmission where part of its operation is Automation, automated (typically the actuation of the clutch), but the driver's input is still required to launch the vehicle f ...
was offered called the "Sportmatic", which used a
torque converter A torque converter is a device, usually implemented as a type of fluid coupling, that transfers rotating power from a prime mover, like an internal combustion engine, to a rotating driven load. In a vehicle with an automatic transmission, the ...
obviating the need for a
clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...
. In Europe, F10 was known as Datsun 100A F-II (with A10 engine) or 120A F-II (with A12 engine). The A12 powered 120A F-II was the most common model, with the coupe only being available in A12 format in the UK where it sold in higher numbers. In New Zealand the 100A 4-door sedan (1.0L A10 motor) was assembled from CKD kits as a price leader for the Datsun range – due to the choice of engine, it was the smallest engined car assembled in New Zealand, the engine (988 cc) being smaller than the
Mini The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally ...
's 998 cc unit. Production continued well after the N10 model replaced it overseas, eventually being discontinued in late 1980, with the N10 5-door hatchback replacing it in 1981. In the USA, only the coupe and wagon were offered, and only with the 1.4-litre engine. In Canada, the two-door sedan was also available. It was a strong seller on the UK market, although it did not launch there until 1976, due to the popularity of the original Cherry model there, and helped the Datsun brand maintain strong sales figures.


Timeline

* 1974 September: Sale started in Japan. Body styles included 2- and 4-door sedans, and a 3-door wagon. * 1976: Coupé introduced in Japan. * 1976: Full lineup launched in Europe. * 1977: Coupe Launched in the UK. * 1978: Swedish Rally privateer entry * In May 1978 Nissan Pulsar (N10 type) appeared as a successor model to the Cherry, originally only as a four-door. The four-door Cherry F-II was discontinued, with the two-door and coupé following the corresponding additions to the Pulsar range in September 1978. At this time the Cherry name was discontinued on the Japan home market. It was finally replaced in Europe in March 1979.


Third generation (N10; 1978–1982)

The N10 model Pulsar was introduced to Japan in May 1978, with European sales beginning in March 1979. While known as the Nissan Pulsar in Japan, it was called Cherry in Europe and many other export markets. The body styling was more boxy, and influenced by designs coming out of Europe at that time. It came at a time when small hatchbacks were enjoying rising sales across Europe, with the
Ford Fiesta The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car that was marketed by Ford from 1976 to 2023 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and had been positioned below the ...
,
Volkswagen Polo The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car ( B-segment) produced by the German car manufacturer Volkswagen since 1975. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, and estate variants throughout its production run. As of 2 ...
,
Renault 5 The Renault 5 is a five-passenger, three or five-door, front-engine, front-wheel drive hatchback supermini manufactured and marketed by the French automaker Renault over two generations: 1972–1985 (also called R5) and 1984–1996 (also call ...
and
Fiat 127 The Fiat 127 is a supermini car produced by Italian car manufacturer Fiat Automobiles, Fiat from 1971 to 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850. Production of the 127 in Italy ended in 1983 following the introduction o ...
being particularly popular, along with the
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
product which was known in Britain as the
Vauxhall Chevette The Vauxhall Chevette is a supermini car that was manufactured by Vauxhall in the United Kingdom from 1975 to 1984. It was Vauxhall's version of the " T-Car" small-car family from Vauxhall's parent General Motors (GM), and based primarily on t ...
and on the continent as the
Opel Kadett The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel from 1936 until 1940 and then from 1962 until 1991 (the Cabrio continued until 1993), when it was succeeded by the Opel Astra. Originally, the Kadett was ...
City. It continued to sell well in Britain, and the most popular foreign car there in 1981. In the American market it was sold as the Datsun 310, slightly upscale from the old-fashioned rear wheel drive Datsun 210. Engine choices were carried over from the previous model, consisting of Nissan's A-Series motor in 1.0 L, 1.2 L and 1.4 L forms. At some point, the A12 was replaced by the marginally larger A12A in export markets as well. Production of the N10 series ceased in mid-1982, to be replaced by larger N12 Cherry/Pulsar, which was sold in Europe from September 1982.


Fourth generation (N12; 1982–1986)

The Cherry name was still used in Europe on the model N12, an angular, three- or five-door
hatchback A hatchback is a car body style, car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row sea ...
design which was introduced in September 1982. The new model was somewhat larger than earlier versions of the Cherry, with the new Micra taking its place in the supermini sector on its European launch in June 1983, leaving the Cherry to compete in Europe against the new-popular hatchback designs like the Ford Escort and
Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/ small family car ( C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplate ...
, while the Sunny gave buyers a traditional saloon and estate option. Wheelbase and track all increased by about . While being somewhat larger, Nissan lowered the weight of the car by the new
E-series E series may refer to: Transportation * BMC E-series engine, a series of automobile engines * Entwicklung series, a late World War II German standardised tank series * Ford E-Series (Econoline/Club Wagon), a series of vans * Honda E engine, a serie ...
engines being lighter than the ones used in the previous model, and through the extensive use of
high-strength low-alloy steel High-strength low-alloy steel (HSLA) is a type of alloy steel that provides better mechanical properties or greater resistance to corrosion than carbon steel. HSLA steels vary from other steels in that they are not made to meet a specific chemica ...
(HSLA) as well. Further improving fuel economy were much improved aerodynamics, although at they were no more than average for the segment. Occupant comfort was also improved through better seats and a redesigned suspension. Sound levels dropped as a result of the improved aerodynamics, advancements in door seal technology, and the use of a sandwiched
firewall Firewall may refer to: * Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts * Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...
. Verhelle, p. 12 An interesting feature was that the three-door's rear windows could be opened with two levers on the center console; these controlled the child safe rear locks on five-door versions. A special model mainly sold in Europe was the one-litre E10-engined version. This was sold where tax regulations suited smaller engines, and was usually only offered with the lowest (DX) trim and a four-speed manual transmission. The little 1-litre engine had a higher fuel consumption figures than either the 1.3 or the 1.5, as it had to work a lot harder to keep up with traffic. A diesel model arrived in export markets in early 1983. In 1985 Belgian buyers also received a special edition combining the Japanese and the European names called the "Cherry Pulsar." This was a three-door Cherry DX 1.3 or 1.7 Diesel fitted with some extra equipment and painted light blue or silver metallic. The turbocharged 1.5-litre model produces at 5600 rpm in European trim. A derivative of Cherry N12 was also built by Alfa Romeo at Pratola Serra, near
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, Italy. The Alfa-built version was badged as the
Alfa Romeo Arna The Alfa Romeo Arna (an acronym for "Alfa Romeo Nissan Autoveicoli", meaning "Alfa Romeo issan motor vehicles", but also a female Italian name) (Type 920) is a hatchback produced by the Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo Nissan Autoveicoli S.p.A. ...
but in the United Kingdom and Spain it was available through Nissan Dealers badged as the Nissan Cherry Europe. The Cherry Europe was only available as a three-door in two varieties; the base model 1.2 SL and a later performance version, the 1.5 GTi. It is distinguishable externally by slightly different rear light clusters and other minor changes. Under the skin it used
Alfa Romeo Alfasud The Alfa Romeo Alfasud (Type 901, 902 and 904) is a small family car manufactured and marketed from 1971 to 1989 by Alfa Romeo as a front-engine, four-door, five-passenger entry-level model over a single generation — with facelifts in 1977 a ...
-based components including the engine,
transmission Transmission or transmit may refer to: Science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Transmission (mechanical device), technology that allows controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual tra ...
, and front suspension. Rear suspension, brakes and the majority of body panel pressings came from Japan. Arna was an
acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...
meaning ''Alfa Romeo Nissan Autoveicoli''. The Arna did not sell well and the partnership was not continued after the car's demise in 1987. The Arna was never sold in Japan but a domestic version of the N12 Nissan Pulsar, labelled the Nissan Pulsar Milano X1, made use of the Alfa Romeo connection in its publicity and was fitted with the same black and green interior as the Arna Ti or Cherry Europe GTi. The model was entirely N12 based though and featured the normal, transversely mounted
Nissan E engine The Nissan E series name was used on two types of automobile engines. The first was an OHV line used in the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. The second was an OHC version ranging from and was produced from 1981 till 1988. It was replaced by ...
. After the end of Cherry production, the Sunny was Nissan's only offering of this size in Europe, with the range launched in the autumn of 1986 including a hatchback as well as a saloon and the estate model carried over from the previous Sunny range. In America only the notchback coupé ("Pulsar NX") was offered for most of the N12's run although the three- and five-doors were sold for model year 1983 only.


Replacement by Nissan Sunny

In most export markets, the
Nissan Sunny The is an automobile built by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1966 till 2004. In the early 1980s, the brand changed from Datsun to Nissan in line with other models by the company. Although production of the Sunny in Japan ended in 2004, the ...
name replaced the Cherry starting with the N13 Pulsar model. In certain markets such as Greece, however, the N13 Pulsar retained the "Cherry" nameplate. In Japan and some Asian markets, the
Pulsar A pulsar (''pulsating star, on the model of quasar'') is a highly magnetized rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation out of its Poles of astronomical bodies#Magnetic poles, magnetic poles. This radiation can be obse ...
name was used until the N15 model.


References

{{Nissan
Cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...
Cars introduced in 1970 Subcompact cars Front-wheel-drive vehicles Cars discontinued in 1986 1970s cars 1980s cars Saloons Sedans Coupés Hatchbacks