'Datsun Heritage Museum' interview clip

[HS30-H]

I'm sure Mr Fred Jordan is a very nice man with the best of intentions, but he could perhaps have been a little better prepared for this interview:

[26th-Z]

That has to be an excerpt from a longer piece. Poor Fred - taken out of context - four hundred and thirty-two cubic inches? Fred!!! Raff Out Roud!

[psdenno]

432 Cubic Inches! I imagine that the Beach Boys are working on a sequel to "She's real fine my 409" - titled "I'll Make Do With My 432". Giddy up giddy up 432!

Dennis

[Walter Moore]

Now that is funny...

"432 cubic inches, wow"

I wonder how he thought they fit that much displacement in such a small block? He must have thought "those guys can miniaturize anything!"

For those visitors who don't actually get the joke, search for KATS' threads on that car.

[HS30-H]

"....actually from Japan..."

Unlike the north American market cars, which were from - er, what was the name of that place again? Oh yeah, Gardena. That's it.

"....twin double overhead cam..."

And quadruple four valves too, I think?

"....the Skylines are manufactured by Datsun?" "Yes"

But seriously, can anybody tell me what this particular car is doing in the 'Datsun Heritage Museum'? Is it pretending to be a 'Datsun' or something? When that car left the factory it was marketed and sold as a 'Nissan'.

Is it not the case that this obsession with the 'Datsun' name appears to be obscuring the fact that all of the cars in this 'Datsun Heritage Museum' are actually - first and foremost - Nissans.....?

I'm sorry, I'm just not seeing it. Can anyone explain that to me?

[26th-Z]

Yes. Chevrolets are Chevrolets in America, not GMs. And as such, Datsuns are Datsuns, not Nissans. Biggest most well known marketing gaff in history is Nissan taking away the Datsun brand. Only "New Coke" comes close. At the time, the Datsun brand in North America rivaled the big three and symbolized "the Japanese invasion". Fred's museum has that underlying tone of protest for what became a huge cost for Nissan's market in North America. Even the famous rally cars are Datsuns Alan, come on!

So the subject car is probably in the museum because there is a rotation of cars, everybody wants to show their car at the museum, and there is a California good-ol boys thing going on. Some club cars go on display, all the friends come down to the museum to see them, everybody wins. It doesn't sound like Fred had the slightest idea what that car was and he shouldn't be doing interviews like that. We'll have to poke some fun at him. I know the museum has some very nice pieces; Ron Carters' cars are there. Mr. K's car is there. It looks like the colection of memorabilia is growing.

"This car actually came from Japan..."; lets hope he was poking fun at the guys who think that they were assembled and painted at the port!

[bobc]

Man, you guys are tough. It doesn't sound like you've done a television interview before, because if so, you'd realize that it isn't that easy to do.

Fred didn't say 432 cu. in., the interviewer did. If you know Fred, he IS the nicest guy in the world, and you would recognize the pause he made was him trying to figure out how to correct the interviewers mistake and not make the interviewer look foolish.

Come on guys lighten up. The point is the publicity for the museum. 95% of the audience wouldn't catch the mistakes you guys did. As far as a good ole boys network on the cars in the museum, I can personally say I haven't seen it. If you want to put your car in the museum, give Fred a call. He's always looking for interesting cars. I'm sure her majesty would look great in there!

I'd also say that before you criticize Fred or the museum, get your check book out and write a check to support the museum. At this point, Fred and Betty along with very few others have been responsible for making the museum happen. They could use your support as well as your criticism.

Best,

Bob

[HS30-H]

Yes. Chevrolets are Chevrolets in America, not GMs. And as such, Datsuns are Datsuns, not Nissans.

Well - as far as I am aware - Chevrolet products are still sold as 'Chevrolet' branded products. Is there any place in the world where something that would normally wear a Chevrolet emblem is sold wearing a 'GM' emblem, and all mention of 'Chevrolet' is expunged? What I'm trying to get across is that the 'Datsun' brand / emblem was essentially just a badge stuck onto a Nissan product. It didn't actually represent anything that could not have been more accurately attributed to NMC USA or indeed Nissan Motor Co. of Japan.

I don't think the modern day 'GM' conglomerate is strictly comparable to Nissan in this question of brand names. The cars that we discuss here ( and that form the basis of this 'Datsun Heritage Museum' as far as I can see ) were all designed and manufactured by Nissan in Japan. You might say that "Datsuns are Datsuns", but not all Nissans of that same period were Datsuns, were they? I find it difficult to understand the mindset that wishes to so strongly differentiate between the 'Nissan' and 'Datsun' emblems that it perpetuates misconceptions. The kind of misconceptions that lead people to think ( as seen in this video clip ) that 'Datsun' was the manufacturer.....

Biggest most well known marketing gaff in history is Nissan taking away the Datsun brand. Only "New Coke" comes close.

There's also the view that the very idea of using that 'Datsun' brand name on a Nissan product was the first big gaffe that made the second ( doing away with the 'Datsun' brand ) an eventual inevitability. Having used it, I completely agree that they should have kept it. But in retrospect I think it is easy to see that it was largely a mistake to use it in the first place.....

Fred's museum has that underlying tone of protest for what became a huge cost for Nissan's market in North America. Even the famous rally cars are Datsuns Alan, come on!

I guess Fred Jordan - having been on the inside - will quite rightly feel that he has a mandate for this 'protest', but most of the rest of us are ( merely? ) paying customers for a commercial product. What I'm still failing to see is the sense in this 'Datsun=good, Nissan=bad' kind of undertone that bubbles up between the lines. It all seems to be linked into that simplistic 'Mr K.=good guy, dark shadowy figures in Japan=bad guys' type of scenario that we often see being perpetuated. I really don't see how you can divorce that use of the 'Datsun' brand from the fact that Nissan were behind it all.

The red Fairlady Z in this video clip is a brother ( sister? ) to the north American market cars that it is standing next to, but is it to be treated as something far away from them just because it never wore a 'Datsun' emblem? I often see respected figures in the north American 'early Datsun Z community' telling us that such cars are not part of the story, and that they are "irrelevant". It is nice to see the car in the 'DHM', but it would be nicer if it was being accurately described. More on that below....

[HS30-H]

Man, you guys are tough. It doesn't sound like you've done a television interview before, because if so, you'd realize that it isn't that easy to do.

Bob,

I understand the pressures involved, and have been put 'on the spot' myself on occasion. It's never easy. Fred Jordan has my sympathy as far as that is concerned.

But what I can't understand is how the production that this video clip was taken from actually made it as far as broadcast without being fully researched / edited / corrected. In fact, it's possible to hear the interviewer leading the interviewee into the mistakes. It quite simply should not have made it to air. It's as simple as that.

As I wrote in my first post, I think Fred Jordan could have been a little better prepared / rehearsed - but the interviewer must have had some kind of script that was already prepared ( even if it was only in his head ) and that's where the buck stops in this instance.

If the production company in question made such mistakes whilst inside the walls of the 'Datsun Heritage Museum', then what chance is there to ever get this stuff discussed with any accuracy? As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink......

Alan T.

[Mr Camouflage]

Well - as far as I am aware - Chevrolet products are still sold as 'Chevrolet' branded products. Is there any place in the world where something that would normally wear a Chevrolet emblem is sold wearing a 'GM' emblem, and all mention of 'Chevrolet' is expunged?

The Holden Commodore and the Holden Monaro is/was sold as the Pontiac G8 & Pontiac GTO in the USA. In Europe the Commodore is called the Vauxhall VRX8. Yet they are all made in Australia by Holden.

Miata, Infini, Lexus, Subaru. When's the Fuji Heavy Industries heritage museum opening?

The manufacturers only have themselves to blame for the confusion. They should have been Nissan from the get-go, instead of Datsun. Now Datsun is synonymous with rusty old bombs from the 70's to the common masses. As least down under they are.

I don't get what a modified S30 with a 90's skyline engine is doing in a Heritage museum though.

[Ron Carter]

I have been on a couple of TV shows with my cars, the production value and editing always leaves something to be desired. To the normal (uninformed viewer) this is just fine and not big deal as they don't know any better. To those of us in the know, it is an issue.

In this case there was no script, although I am sure the interviewer probably had some ideas and directions on what he wanted to ask, most of it was off the cuff. Fred probably had no idea what car was going to be discussed, and that car would be about the toughest car for Fred to comment on as he knows the least about that car.

It was the interviewer who posted this video, and clearly he is not a Datsun or Nissan expert.

The majority of vehicles in the museum are heritage related, there are a couple of cars that are on loan from individuals too, this car is one of them. It is very well done and for now although it is not a "Heritage" car, it is a good draw as it has been well built.

Edited June 22, 2009 by ron carter

[Zs-ondabrain]

Either way, it's great to see the Museum getting publicity. But unfortunately, he basically was repeating the "432" phrase with the interviewer and then finished by saying "BIG". So he basically agreed with him that it was a 432 ci block.

In his defence, I'm sure age and nerviousnes had a play in his mistake. I'm sure I would also make a few mistakes when under the pressure of an unprepared interview. But like I said, at least the public has a few better ideas of what that car was that "Screamed by them" on the freeway.... Ya know?

And to end the confusion for us who are NOT in the know, What exactly is a 432??

I was told that it was a 4 cyl, 3 valve (per cylinder), 2 carb, motor. How far off was I missinformed???

Anyone?

Edited June 22, 2009 by Zs-ondabrain