The first generation Maxima was a rear-drive thing badged as the Datsun 810, later Datsun Maxima, and finally Nissan Maxima, but today’s next car is a 2nd generation and front wheel drive…not that there is anything wrong with that. Today’s example is about as nice of an example of a Maxima that you’ll find around town. Find this 1988 Nissan Maxima offered for $5000 near Atlanta, GA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
We posted a 280Z 2+2 the other day that got some good discussion about the pluses and minuses of the 2+2 roofline of the 4-seat version of the S30 Z-car. Commenter Chris Miller pointed out that you can get a 350Z for the $8k asking price of that older Z and it got me thinking, with the 400Z coming out soon — what is the cheapest 370Z that you can get? And it surprised me that you could almost get a 370Z (2008-2020) for less than $10k. Seems like a performance bargain to me. Find this 2011 Nissan 370Z offered for $10,950 in Orange County, CA via craigslist.
Under normal circumstances, I’d say that the 2+2 extended roofline ruins the classic looks of Nissan’s classic S30 generation Z-car…but today is no normal day. This gold/brown 280Z has those little back seats and the extended roof shape and doesn’t look bad at all in the photos…but the most shocking part is that asking price compared to the condition. By the time you read this, it is probably already gone. Find this 1976 Datsun 280Z offered for $8000 in San Jose, CA via craigslist.
I saw this next can and a little earworm immediately jumped into my head. And her name is G…L…O…R…IiiiiA…GLORIA…I wanna shout it ev’ry night (GLORIA!). Oh man. If I owned this car, I don’t think the cassette player would have anything other than Van Morrison’s single GLORIA stuck on repeat 24-7 at top volume. Makin’ me feel so good, huh, Make me feel all right, huh! I don’t think my wife or kids would want to ride in this car with me…mmmm…that’s just a bonus, I guess. Find this 1995 Nissan Gloria Gran Turismo bidding for $4000 on cars&bids with a few hours to go.
Kawaii is not a Hawaiian Island — it is the Japanese word for what is known as the culture of cuteness. Rainbows, Hello Kitty accessories, and childlike aesthetics is the rule, and I won’t go into the details or controversy around kawaii, other than to say that is quite strange to descendants of uptight Westerners like myself…but if you were into that kinda thing, I can’t imagine a better car to go with your Pikachu fishnet stockings and miniature backpack than one of the retro Pike cars (Pao, S-Cargo, Figaro, Be-1, K10-Micra) from Nissan 90s catalog. This next one has some rust, but you could probably get someone to fix the rockers and keep this thing alive. Find this 1991 Nissan Figaro offered for $7,500 in Athens, GA via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
I live in SoCal, so I need a factory equipped umbrella holder in my car about as much as glovebox full of scorpions…but I am absolutely obsessed with the trick this Pulsar GTI-R has inside the door. What you see is a factory Nissan umbrella that goes in special cavity accessible via the door jam. Sure the car has a SR20DET mated to all-wheel-drive…but that umbrella holder is sick. Would have been better if they put a katana in the door, Yakuza style, but Nissan made some cool cars back in the day. Find this 1991 Nissan Pulsar GTI-R offered for $17,950 in Ferndale, WA via craigslist. Tip from JB1025.
The Nissan Xterra (1999-2015) might not have the off road chops of Chrysler’s Jeep or the turn-key reliability of the Toyota 4Runner but it was truck based body-on-frame (built on the Nissan Frontier) and available with a manual gearbox. What it lacks in off-roading capability and easy maintenance it makes up for being cheap to buy. Really cheap. Find this 2003 Nissan Xterra offered for $3900 in Decatur, GA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
The N12 Nissan Pulsar (1982-1986) was a front-drive little compact that was the predecessor to the wicked Sportbak configurable wagon/convertible/shootingbrake thing. The early Pulsars didn’t have the cool configurable roof design, but they did have one of the coolest grills on a car ever made. Find this 1986 Nissan Pulsar NX offered for $4,000 in Denver, CO via craigslist.
A brand new Nissan Frontier pickup will set you back $30k before taxes and fees (more if you start piling on options)…and it is a nice car, but you can’t get it with a 6-speed manual gearbox because the only transmission that Nissan offers is some 9-speed super flappy birds paddle thing…sounds like a recipe for just putting in auto and following traffic on your daily commute. But if you want to save a few bones and you don’t mind the horrible death-by-plastic interior of early 2000s Nissan…then take the dirt road around traffic and get something like this 2006 Nissan Frontier SE Crew Cab offered for $7900 in Phoenix, AZ via craigslist.
Whenever I’m in a public place and somebody says, “hey, nice hardbody” instantly crane my neck looking for that sweet boxy Nissan pickup…but most of the time it is just some dudes on steroids or ladies who spend too much time at a CrossFit gym (sidebar; why do Crossfit gyms always have names that sound like something you wouldn’t want to get as a prognosis from your doctor: I’m sorry Bill, you’ve got change your eating habits, you’ve got a bad case of beach box. Ohh…is it fatal? No, but if it gets worse, it could become squats and shots). Anyway, back to the Hardbody– it is the name given to the D21 generation Nissan truck sold from 1985 through 1997 and what this next one lacks in bed space is sure makes up in original clean condition. Whooo oooh. Find this 1986 Nissan Hardbody offered for $4,500 in Ft Lauderdale, FL via craigslist.