History of Datsun 1200

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Revision as of 18:38, 22 November 2006

The Datsun 1200 car was made by Nissan. Why "1200"? Because it had an engine size of approximately 1200cc. In Japan it was known as "Datsun Sunny 1200". The car was Nissan chassis code B110. The left-hand drive version was labeled LB110.

Market Names: Sunny, B110, 1200

B110 has different names in different markets:

• Japan & Aisa markets: Sunny
• Australia: Datsun 1200
• USA: Datsun 1200

The Sunny market name was also applied to all Nissan B-series cars:

 * B10: Datsun 1000
 * B110: Datsun 1200
 * B210: Datsun B-210 (USA) or 120Y (many markets)
 * B310: Datsun 210 (USA) or Sunny (ANZ) or 120Y/130Y/140Y/150Y (various markets)

"Sunny" is the name used in Japan and some other countries for all B-series vehicles, including:

 * 1967-70 Datsun B10 (Datsun 1000) 
 * 1971-73 Datsun B110 (Datsun 1200) 
 * 1974-78 Datsun B210 (Datsun B-210 or Datsun 120Y) 
 * 1971-up B120/B122/B140 (Sunny trucks) 
 * 1979-82 B310 (Datsun 210) 
 * 1983-up front-wheel drive Sunny/Sentras (B11-B15)

Nissan's Sunny was the perennial rival for Toyota Corolla. In some years Sunny sold more, other years Corolla. Sunny was generally always a bit lighter, but Corolla had more engine options.

For a more detailed history of the Sunny family, see the History section at RatDat.com or Nissan_Sunny at wikipedia.org.

For a more detailed history of Nissan/Datsun, see the History section at www.nissanfanseite.de

Model Years

The "Datsun 1200" line has been produced from model Years 1971 to 2006 (so far ...). 1971-1973 was the regular run for the Coupe, Sedan and Wagon production.

<class[box]>NOTE: Model Years (MY) generally runs from October to September. So the 1972 MY was from Oct 1971 to Sep 1972</class>

 * A few vehicles were sold by Datsun New Zealand as "1974" models. 
 * South Africa: Datsun 1200 GX coupes (with twin SUs) may have been produced into 1975.

Only the 1200 trucks were made after this:

 * the B120 "ute" was made up to 1985 in Australia
 * the B122 up to 1994 in Japan
 * the B140 is still being made in South Africa (the truck is called "Bakkie" in SA)

Sunny Model Line

The "Sunny" models started in 1966 with the B10 "Datsun Sunny 1000". The "Sunny" name was a trademark owned by Sony, so Nissan had to make a deal to get access to the name. Why go to all the trouble? Because "Sunny" was picked by consumers in a Japan-wide contest!

The biggest change was to front-wheel-drive starting in 1983 with the B12 model. Regular Sunny Production ended in Japan in September 2004 with the last model, the B15 (Sunny Super Saloon). Sunny production continues in Mexico with the B12 "Tsuru" Sentra. The last model sold in USA was the B14 Sentra with QR25DE power. The replacement is the Tiida (called Versa in USA).

But the "Datsun 1200" production continues with a truck form in South Africa -- now with 1400cc power -- and so is Nissan chassis code B140, named the Nissan 1400 LDV but commonly called the "Nissan bakkie".

Sunny Excellent

For more information on the PB110, see the What body styles did the 1200 come in? article.

Racing History

For more information on Datsun 1200 racing history, see the B110 Racing History in Japan article.

Sunny Truck

 * B20 February 1967 a.k.a. Datsun 1000 ute 
 * B120 February 1971 a.k.a. Datsun 1200 ute 
 * B122 November 1986-1994 (Japan) 
 * B140 1986-2003 (South Africa) a.k.a. Bakkie 

B120T Sunny Truck 7510-7908 GB120T Sunny Truck 7510-7908 Longbed B121T Sunny Truck 7908-8110 GB121T Sunny Truck 7908-8110 Longbed B122T Sunny Truck 8110- GB122T Sunny Truck 8110- Longbed

Trucks By Country

 * Australia: B120 production ended with 1985 models 
 * Japan: Sunny Truck (B122 & GB122) production ended in late 1994 
 * South Africa: Nissan Bakkie 1400 (B14) still in production as of 2006

Sales Figures

In North America (US and Canada), there were an average of 44,000 Datsun 1200s sold each year for three years.

 * Coupe: total sales 89,541 
 * 2-dr Sedan: 43,761