“All new cars look alike” is a common complaint. And they do – but so did all new cars twenty years ago, and so did all new cars forty years ago, too. For your consideration today, we have two hatchback versions of popular sedans from the days when Cheers was a hit show. The cars look an awful lot alike, and so do the ads, actually. Good thing they’re different colors so we can keep them straight.
We looked at two long-term-commitment sedans yesterday, and the final vote was pretty close. Enough of you preferred the modern amenities of the Camry to give it the win, but I was pleased to see the old diesel Mercedes still had plenty of fans. And just one quick note about the Mercedes: many of you thought it was naturally aspirated, but the VIN is visible in a photo in the ad, and I did run it, and it came back as a turbodiesel. You all may still be right, but I wanted you to know I did my due diligence.
The Camry would be fine, I guess, if you just needed a car and these were your only choices – but they’re just so joyless. The Mercedes has a lot more character, and I’d be much happier seeing it in the driveway every morning. I’d happily smooth out its rough spots and put up with the leisurely acceleration if it meant not driving a car that looks like the automotive equivalent of a middle manager.
Once in a while, I come across a pair of cars that are eerily similar, even though they come from different manufacturers. These two not only look similar, but they’re almost the same size in most dimensions, have the same drivetrain type and engine displacement, and come from the same country. Not only that, but the ads have similar photos and equally terse descriptions. And the asking prices are close. Is there a clear winner, though? We’re about to find out.
1983 Nissan Stanza XE – $4,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter OHC inline 4, three-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Odometer reading: 97,000 miles
Operational status: Ad doesn’t say
Nissan did business in the USA as Datsun until the early 1980s, when it finally decided to just use the same corporate name everywhere. A major automaker doesn’t just up and change its name overnight, however; it takes time. To facilitate the change, Nissan badged its cars with both names for a couple of years, including this one. In Japan, this would have been called a Nissan Violet, but here, it was the Datsun/Nissan Stanza.
The vast majority of the auto industry was switching over to front-wheel-drive in the early ’80s, and Nissan was no exception. Earlier generations of the Violet, which were sold as the Datsun 710 and 510 in the US, were rear-wheel-drive, but the Stanza had a transverse engine driving the front wheels. Unfortunately, despite the modern layout, the fuel delivery is strictly old-school; since this is a 1983 model, it still uses a carburetor. The seller doesn’t say anything about how well it runs, but this shot of the dash is encouraging. It’s idling, and all the gauge readings look fine.
It’s pretty much a time capsule inside; there are some faded plastics, and the carpet is a bit dirty, but for the most part, it looks just like it would have in 1983. It even has its original AM/FM radio. But there is one enormous catch: in one photo, the seller is visible in the rearview mirror, and he’s smoking. There’s a pack of cigarettes in a cubby in the dash, and one of those pine-tree air fresheners hanging from the rearview mirror. I fear this car may be stinky inside. Cigarette smell can be gotten rid of, but it’s a lot of work.
It’s very clean outside; the only flaws I see are a small dent in the rear quarter panel and a missing hubcap. I get the feeling this was somebody’s elderly parents’ or grandparents’ car, and it sat in a garage most of the time. That’s good – it kept the salt off. Most Japanese cars this age on the East Coast have long since rusted away.
1985 Toyota Camry LE – $4,800
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter OHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Whitehouse Station, NJ
Odometer reading: 76,000 miles
Operational status: “Runs perfect”
While Nissan was busy changing its name, Toyota was beginning an era of cars that cemented its status as builders of some of the highest quality and most reliable cars the world has ever seen. The Camry, introduced in 1983, was a new direction for Toyota, its first front-wheel-drive model. Unlike GM’s first foray into FWD, the X-body, which was legendary for its failures, the Camry was, if anything, more reliable than its RWD predecessor.
The first-gen Camry is powered by a 2.0-liter engine with electronic fuel injection. It isn’t a powerhouse; it only makes 92 horsepower, but it was on par with pretty much everything else on the road then. This one has a four-speed automatic transmission. The seller says it “runs perfect,” and has a new radiator, brakes, and shocks. I think it’s funny that neither of these sellers included a photo of the engine bay, but both show the dash with the engine idling.
This one is nice and clean inside too, with no evidence of someone smoking in the car. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened at some point, of course. Everybody smoked in the ’80s. It’s an LE model, loaded with options including power windows and air conditioning, which the seller says works fine. This one has even fewer miles than the Nissan, and I suspect it led a similar life of luxuriating in a garage most of the time.
Outside, it’s that dirt-beige non-color that Toyota seems to love so much. Most of it looks really good, but there is a wrinkle in the rear quarter panel – an early form of the famous “Camry Dent,” I suppose – and there might be some rust on the bottom of the driver’s door.
It’s weird how well these two cars line up. They’re the same age, size, bodystyle, and condition, right down to having a dent in the same place (though the one on the Toyota is a little more serious). And they’re close enough geographically that you could cross-shop them without too much trouble. Which one of them seems like a better deal to you?
Stanza idling with the oil at 90PSI isn’t ‘normal’ I’d think? Camry is a replica of one my SIL had new back in the day, the hatchlett was unusual for the time, and with an extra gear and FI it’s what I’d go with.
My Mother had that generation of Stanza (the facelift version) new, it was a heap of poo and died young from transmission failure (some things never change, evidently). And smoked in – absolutely not. So Camry for me, and I kind of like those first-gen ones, especially the hatch.
Though really this is a “neither” because the prices of both of them are utterly stupid even in these inflationary times. You can get something 20 years newer and infinitely better for $5K. There is zero collector value here.
Give me the smokey Nissan with the rad red recliners, the gap between these cars is a lot closer than yesterday, but I am going to stick to my guns and say Camry’s are great for other people but at this point I am just not interested in having one of my own.
Kudos to the Nissan guy for making it clear in the ad that it’s a smoker’s car. But yeah, that means the Camry is going to be the overwhelming choice today. I’ll contribute to the piling on.
If you have your heart set on a dull box from the 80s there isn’t a whole lot between them. I guess Toyota because no smoke (we assume) and EFI vs. a carb ought to require a bit less attention over time.
If you’re in it for the rad factor, a vintage pack of Winstons in the Nissan and a tree really make it a time capsule. Slap a Reagan sticker on the bumper, throw on some Bon Jovi and you’ll feel just like the blue collar shift workers that bought a lot of these…The nissan also matches the rose colored glasses.
I’m a Nissan fanboy, so the Stanza is the one for me.
I couldn’t vote for either of them. There was no right choice today.
My ’86 Integra was so much better, and better looking, that it seems to have come from a different decade, not a different year, than these things.
PS–no one asked for a Citation that would last longer.
<Insert Jason Bateman’s Arrested Development “No” GIF>
I picked the Camry because I had to pick something. Neither bring me any joy.
I wanted to pick the Nissan because it’s an actual color, but that car is in no way worth the work it would take to get that smell out. Plus the Toyota has an extra gear in the transmission, which is not insignificant. I’ll have the Camry.
Both are priced very high, and I would have chosen the Stanza, but – smoker’s car. Honestly, for that amount of money I think one can do much better.
You monster—you made me vote for a Camry two days in a row. These are two great survivors, but the Camry was always a better car than the Stanza.
I grew up in a Datsun 710 wagon and it was awesome. Today is a Toyota day though. It would have been a close decision but a smoker’s car just kills it. I can still remember riding in a friends’ cars and the smell of their moms’ smoking. You can almost never get rid of that smell.
Oh, and as decent condition as these cars are in, those prices are high.
No wrong choice, I think.
…I’ll just get the Camry. If it has a problem Seafoam is cheap.
My mom drove a blue ’83 Camry (5 spd) hatchback during my formative years, so Camry all the way just for nostalgia’s sake. Though, if I could find a manual to swap in, that would be preferable.
Neither. However, I’d pick the Stanza because at least it has some character and someone gave some minimal thought to design. The first generation Camry was probably a better car, but still as dull as any Toyota ever, and those diving-board bumpers don’t help.
Yuck. I voted Camry, but neither is in a condition that justifies those asking prices.
Toyota makes things that run approximately forever. I’d gladly rock that Camry at a Cars and Coffee, dent and all. If you know, you know.
I tried helping a friend fix the carburetor on his early ’80’s Nissan. I picked the Toyota.
So close I’d have to cross shop then considering where they are from pick the one with the least bullet holes.
Yikes. Choosing between these two is giving me flashbacks to the last few presidential elections – I definitely had to hold my nose to vote for one of these malodorous turds.
Obviously, I want neither. Of the two, literally the only thing I can find to like is the upholstery of the Stanza. Red upholstery is cool, and I like the stitching pattern on the back half of the seats. I voted Nissan because of this and this alone.
I haven’t read the comments yet, but there are 46 as of this moment and I presume at least 25 are talking about how these are overpriced. I’ll be number 26 – $4,500 and $4,800 are WTF prices for these unlovable machines.
I would accept a carb in a 60’s or early 70’s car, but not some complex, smogged 80s carb.
A sad vote for the Camry.
It’s wild to consider that every Accord that wasn’t an LXi was carburated through 1989.
Bucking the trend, apparently, and voting Stanza. Both of these have their downsides, but I feel as though the Stanza is in better shape overall and I do love me a red interior, even though it’s a little faded. Were I to cross shop these, it would come down to whether or not the seller has been smoking in Grandma’s old Nissan for a couple weeks or a few years.
The Camry’s fuel injection and 4-speed auto made this a difficult decision.