Overhead at a car show last weekend

[bobc]

Two teenagers walking up to the Japanese sports cars:

One to the other, "Cool, those are Datsuns"

Other: "What are Datsuns?"

Reply: "That's what they used to call them before they changed the name to Toyota!"

I was going to post under the jokes section, but unfortunately this is a true story! :laugh:

Best,

Bob

[Carl Beck]

..and that is only part of the reason why many business leaders consider changing the Brand Name from DATSUN to NISSAN was one of the largest corporate blunders of the 20th Century.

FWIW,

Carl B.

[geezer]

..and that is only part of the reason why many business leaders consider changing the Brand Name from DATSUN to NISSAN was one of the largest corporate blunders of the 20th Century.

FWIW,

Carl B.

At the time of the name change I was not a Datsun enthusiast, but I remember thinking how "wrong" the name change was in my mind. It just didn't seem right then and took some time to get used to. A lot of years of building brand recognition went down the drain. As far as kids being confused with the lineage, it is understandable with so many nameplates in existance today. Hopefully they left the show a little more knowledgeable than they came in. At least they recognized "cool".

[f1race79]

At my last autox I took my stock 83 ZX and was wailing it around some cones.

One of the younger guys approached me and asked "Is that a Datsun or Nissan?".

My reply "Datsun by Nissan".

He said both, huh?

I know I had a puzzled look on my face as I said "sure". LOLLOL

[HS30-H]

..and that is only part of the reason why many business leaders consider changing the Brand Name from DATSUN to NISSAN was one of the largest corporate blunders of the 20th Century.

"...one of the largest corporate blunders of the 20th Century."?

Wow. That's a big statement. Can't take the people who would say something like that seriously. Who are these people?

One could argue that the bigger mistake was pinning the 'Datsun' name on a Nissan-designed, Nissan-engineered and Nissan-manufactured product, and hence misleading people into believing that it was a Datsun-designed, Datsun-engineered and Datsun-manufactured product.

Such a decision was always going to cause confusion when the truth was revealed.

Alan T.

[moonpup]

Wow, consider all these "mistakes" and the confusion that must be out there with.....Acura(Honda), Lexus(Toyota), Infinety(Nissan), Plymouth/Dodge(Chrysler), Mercury/Lincoln(Ford) and Chevrolet/Cadillac/Pontiac/Buick(General Motors)....just to name a few past and present examples.

[Jackhammer]

Oouch...... right to the chin.:knockedou

[HS30-H]

....Infinety(Nissan)....

Any relation to 'Infiniti'?

Maybe they should have stuck with 'Datsun'. At least you might have a better chance of spelling it correctly.

[SteveJ]

Wow, consider all these "mistakes" and the confusion that must be out there with.....Acura(Honda), Lexus(Toyota), Infinety(Nissan), Plymouth/Dodge(Chrysler), Mercury/Lincoln(Ford) and Chevrolet/Cadillac/Pontiac/Buick(General Motors)....just to name a few past and present examples.

Apples and oranges. You are talking about different product lines. Carl's statement was referring to changing the brand name, though I lean toward Alan's statement that the Datsun name shouldn't have been used in 1958 when the brand came to America. Of course, it doesn't help following up one mistake with another.

[Mat M]

Why so grumpy today, Alan?

[HS30-H]

Why so grumpy today, Alan?

Grumpy? Moi?

I'm my usual happy-go-lucky, hail-fellow-well-met self.

On the other hand, there's a full moon tonight.....

[moonpup]

Apples and oranges. You are talking about different product lines. Carl's statement was referring to changing the brand name.....snip.....

Sorry, you must be confused. I WAS talking about Brand names (Chevrolet) and not the product lines of that brand (Impala, Corvette, Silverado, etc.) of a particular manufacturer (General Motors).