I don't understand the point of bringing back the Pulsar name for a car that is nothing like it.

 

 

Right--my dad had a Dodge Dart. A low end piece of junk, basic transportation.

Now, with 4 doors.

 

I grew up with, and learned to drive, on cars of that vintage. Darts, back then, in the 60s/70s, also had four doors....but not in the Dart Swinger 340, the performance model. (there was also a two-door coupe Demon version). And, true, Chrysler-designed/built bodies, interiors, and hardware were not impressive in those days (with clearly an unacceptable number of defects in even brand-new cars), but the six-cylinder and small V8 engines /automatic transmissions were iron-tough, and would sometimes go the better part of 200,000 miles when the average drivetrain back then, even with care, was pretty much shot by 90-100,000 miles. That is why Chrysler products with sixes and automatic transmissions were so much in demand back then as taxicabs.

Actually, bringing back a retro name on a car of a different type is not unusual at all in automotive history. In the 70s and 80s, for example, common examples (from downsizing) were when Pontiac transferred the Bonneville name from its big full-size sedan/coupe to an car which had previously been sold as mid-size Pontiac Le Mans. Plymouth transferred the name Fury from its full-size sedan/coupe to a completely different car which had previously been sold as the mid-size Belvedere. Ford did the same with its LTD to a mid-size Granada. I could list dozens of examples from just that era alone.

More recently, of course, we also saw it with the VW New Beetle, in 1998, which, as a rebodied FWD, liquid-cooled in-line engined Golf, was nothing like its famous rear-engined, air-cooled flat-4 predecessor. Same for the concept VW Microbus...a FWD liquid-cooled, in-line 4 design that, mechanically, was nothing like its famous 1960s Microbus Hippie-mobile for pot-smoking and peace-signs painted all over it.

So, if Nissan wants to do it with the Pulsar, I see nothing wrong with it.

 

It appears everyone forgot about this...

 

 

 

Nice styling. Side profile, rearend, and front bumper are all sporty. The tall headlights is where it diverges off. Would have looked much better with slimmer, slit-like headlights.

 

 

Nice rims. I'm surprised no one's mentioned their familiarity.

 

why do they need this vehicle when they have the versa note?