1984 (or 1985) Nissan 200SX - She Might As Well Have Been My Mother

 

Funny how we associate old cars with certain people. This 1984 or 1985 Nissan 200SX popped up on Facebook Marketplace and took me back...back...back. Way back. The Facebook ad doesn't specify the year, although seeing that it doesn't have a CHMSL, it's probably safe to say it's not a 1986 or newer car.

If I recall correctly, her name was Suzanne, and she drove a brand-spanking-new, dark-blue, V-6-powered 1987 Nissan 200SX that she drove with the ferocity of the hellion she wanted to be seen as.

This one has the pokey 2.0-liter inline-four.

She was two, three, maybe four years older than me and was a manager working for the food-service company that ran the kitchen in the hospital where I worked part-time through college. She was a big flirt and flirted with me often. I never took any of it seriously; if she was flirting with God-forsaken me, who wouldn't she flirt with?

Besides, again, she was older than me and was, technically, my boss. The way I'm wired, she might as well have been my mother.

In a day and age when sports coupes actually sold well, Nissan's new-for-1984 200SX was a standout. Although lacking the brawn, per se, of a V-8- or even V-6-powered Camaro, Firebird or Mustang, there was a slick sophistication about these cars that the American "ponies" simply didn't have. They were also built to near-Swiss-watch standards and had a reputation for excellent build quality and reliability.

They didn't jiggle, creak, moan, groan or go clank, and they certainly didn't shimmy-shimmy. If the Japanese sports coupes lacked anything, though, it was styling that was somewhat staid, if not bland. These cars were better looking than most of them. They were also a click or two or three more expensive than the domestic triumvirate, but you got what you paid for.

The S12 was Nissan's version of the third-generation Silvia, and it was sold in North America as the 200SX from 1984 through 1988.

1984 was when Nissan was finally completing its transition away from the Datsun nameplate in North America. The 200SX was one of the transition cars, with early 1984 examples still carrying Datsun badging and later ones carrying Nissan badging. By 1985, the U.S.-market cars were Nissan-badged.

The 200SX name goes back quite a way here. The S10 Silvia was sold here as the Datsun 200SX from 1976 to 1979. Not surprisingly, given that it looks like a set piece from a Godzilla movie, it didn't sell particularly well here.

From 1980 to 1983, the S110 Silvia was sold here as the Datsun 200SX, a far comelier design that sold considerably better.

The S12's successor was badged as the Nissan 240SX and was sold here from 1989 through 1998. Note to self: Blog in the very near future about one of those beauties, especially a 1989 or 1990 notchback coupe.

Contemporary reviews of our Facebook Marketplace find here were mostly positive. They were noted for their fine ride, excellent handling and exceptional build quality. They were dinged, though, for their annoying voice-warning system: "Lights are on... lights are on. Fuel level is low... fuel level is low..." and so on.

The 102-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder, while fuel-efficient, didn't provide the kind of go its terrific styling would imply. There was also a 1.8-liter, 120-horsepower turbocharged four that upped the ante considerably, especially when paired with the slick-shifting five-speed. The turbo was offered in the fastback version of the 200SX.

Nissan's 160-horsepower, 3.0-liter V-6 became available for 1987 and 1988, and it was a game changer. Curiously, the V-6 was never available in the 240SX.

Our plain-Jane '84 or '85 here hasn't been on the road since the mid-1990s. The ad claims the interior is nice, which it is, and, ahem, "the rot's not too bad." It does have a five-speed, and the asking price is just $500.

I left that job slinging hash and cleaning grease chutes at the hospital shortly after I graduated from college in 1986. I never saw Suzanne again.

I've never forgotten her car, though.