#datsun

Datsun made its debut in the U.S. all the way back in 1958, and lasted almost 25 years in North America before it was phased out. Today, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has confirmed that Datsun will live, and carry Nissan’s products into new and emerging markets such as Indonesia, Russia and India.

Japanese automaker  Nissan is readying a revival of its Datsun nameplate, but it won’t be making its presence known in America. Instead, the Datsun brand will be used for Nissan’s entry-level models in emerging markets like India, Indonesia, and Russia.

What Inside Line did was pit an old Datsun 510 versus a new Nissan Juke. You might think that the Juke would have an unfair advantage, but the 510 they brought out to this comparo was not an ordinary, run of the mill model. No, it is a rally spec version that has been gutted of its interior to save weight and been given a roll cage for safety. It also has skid plates to protect its parts.

The Juke on the other hand was a completely stock model. Both cars recorded their time on a 2.6-mile gravel road.

And the winner is… well you’ll have to watch the video to find out which was just less than a second quicker.

Check out the video after the jump

As an automaker, Datsun may have had its issues, and rebranding the company in North America in 1982 as Nissan proved a smart move by execs. Still, few have forgotten cars like the 510, the many Z sports cars and even the 720 pickup truck.

Production will end for the Ford Ranger on December 22, according to the United Auto Workers 879 June-August newsletter. The Ranger is currently built in Ford’s Twin Cities assembly plant and the truck has been built since January 1982.

SEMA is so vast that it’s hard to truly see it all. Thanks to our eagle-eyed photographers, we’ve been able to cherry pick the best cars over the past few days, starting with the cars of the wheel and tire exhibit.

The story of Datusn (and later Nissan) in the United States is probably the most fascinating of all the Japanese auto makers . While early Toyota’s and Honda’s were ridiculed for their diminutive size and propensity to rust, Datsun was the first Japanese manufacturer to establish a reputation as a respected car maker. The 240Z sports car showed that it was possible to have European style and performance with perfect reliable and a fraction of the cost, while the 510 brought Alfa Romeo and BMW to its knees in amateur road racing.

There’s not a single member of the Autoguide staff who does not admire the Honda’s of the company’s “Golden Age”. Spanning the period from 1983, when the CRX was released, to 2001, when the last Integra Type-R rolled off the line, subsequent Honda’s have been excellent cars, but have never quite lived up to the magic that their predecessors were able to wield over us.

Nissan‘s Datsun 240Z broke ground in the early 1970’s by offering bulletproof reliability and the performance of a Jaguar E-Type for a third of the cost. The next generation Z-car could be similarly important by mating a hybrid drivetrain into a serious performance car, if reports coming out of Japan are accurate.