Nissan Cedric

The Nissan Cedric (Japanese: 日産・セドリック) is a large automobile produced by Nissan since 1960. It was developed to provide upscale transportation, competing with the Prince Skyline and Gloria which were later merged into the Nissan family. In later years, the Nissan Skyline was positioned as a sports sedan/coupe, whereas the Nissan Gloria was turned into a sporty version of the Cedric (with identical styling but using a different radiator grille and front & rear light clusters). In Japan, the Cedric/Gloria series was affectionately called Cedglo, and this long running series finally came to an end in October 2004, replaced by the Nissan Fuga. The Cedric name is still in use though, on the Y31 fleet vehicle, updated in 2005 and still in production. Throughout the many versions of the Cedric, it was always considered to be the prime competitor to the Toyota Crown. The hood ornament was inspired by the diamond pattern used by Lincoln but was changed to two right angles set next to each other.

According to Japanese Wikipedia, the Cedric name was inspired by the main character, Cedric, in Francis Hodgson Burnett's novel "Little Lord Fauntleroy" by the Nissan CEO at the time Katsuzi Kawamata.

First generation 30

The first Cedric was the "30" series, introduced in April 1960 and produced through 1961. It used a 1.5L (1488cc) G-series I4 engine which produced 71hp (53kW). The 1.9L (1883cc) H-series with 95hp (71kW), a 2.8 L K series Straight 6 producing 115PS and a 2.0 L SD20 Straight 4 diesel were optional. A 4-speed manual transmission with the top three gears synchronized was standard, and a 3 speed automatic transmission, sourced from Borg Warner was offered in July 1964. The first Cedric featured two stacked headlights on either side of a large grille. The Cedric replaced the Austin A50 Nissan was building under license. The Cedric was introduced with a wrap-around front windshield. The Cedric also introduced Nissan's first monocoque body. April 1962 saw the introduction of a station wagon/van, able to seat 8 people.