[VadGTI]

I saw one of these in LA last night. Same color, right-hand-drive, with Japanese registration stickers on the rear windows and windshield. The badge in the front said "Nissan PAO Made by Pike Factory".

I can't find much info on these cars... Anyone know anything about them?

 

[Guest]

Re: What can you tell me about the Nissan PAO? (VadGTI)

I can't believe this sank without comment...
The Pao is probably a decade old, or even older now. It's one of Nissan's "speciality" small cars that they produced during the late '80s and early '90s. All were very limited editions, and were very cool. The Pao was the second generation of these cars, and it was produced in 1989 - 1991, and used the Micra as a basis (as did all these cars). The twin of the Pao was a cool small cargovan called (I'm not making this up) the S-Cargo:

The first of these cars was a nifty, retro small hatch known as the Be-1, which had a small van twin known as the Chappo:

The ultimate of these small cars was the Nissan Figaro, an ADORABLE retro roadster with a roll-down canvas roof:

BTW, it's the tradition of these cars that led to today's Nissan Cube:

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't import any of these cars legally into the US under the Bill Gates Law.


Modified by bgluckman at 5:23 PM 7-13-2003

 

[sisiisis]

that nissan cube is awesome.

 

[Kafer Wolf]

Re: (sisiisis)

http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif small cars rule!!

 

[Neckromacr]

Re: (Kafer Wolf)

These cars make me homesick for Japan.

 

[Taimar2]

Re: (Neckromacr)

The Pao, like the BE-1 mini,the Figaro coupe, and the S-cargo van, was one of those super-trendy late-80's fashion superminis that Japan just loved. Nissan was definitely the leader in this regard - while Honda, Mazda, and Suzuki catered more to the sporty-micro crowd with the Beat, AZ-1, and Cappucino. People in Japan also bought loads and loads of old-style Minis during this time in addition to the regular market tiny cars like the Subaru Rex and Mitsubishi Dangan.
The Pao's immediate predecessor, the BE-1, was so popular it spawned a line of accessory stores and boutiques. But the super-trendy Micros didn't last through the recession of the early 90's or the repeated economic crises in Japan in the last decade.
It's highly unusual to see one in the USA - it's probably unique. As far as I know, the Figaro and S-cargo were the only Nissan Boutique-Micros to be sold outside Japan. Certainly none of these cars was ever legally offered in the USA, though the UK and Western Europe do have Figaros by private import and a few others.


Modified by Taimar2 at 5:51 PM 7-13-2003

 

[VadGTI]

Re: (Taimar2)

Quote, originally posted by Taimar2 »

It's highly unusual to see one in the USA - it's probably unique. As far as I know, the Figaro and S-cargo were the only Nissan Boutique-Micros to be sold outside Japan. Certainly none of these cars was ever legally offered in the USA, though the UK and Western Europe do have Figaros by private import and a few others.

The car I saw had California plates, so it was somehow registered in the US (and here in smog-Nazi California, of all places). I left a note on the windshield, asking the person to call or email me if they were interested in selling the car. If the owner does call, I'll try to find out how they got it into the US. I'm also going to try to go back and take pics.

 

[Guest]

Re: (VadGTI)

My understanding is that, under the new Bill Gates Law, any "unusual or historically significant" automobile can now be imported into the US without modifications. I'm not exactly sure how that all works, but if somebody knows the exact name of the legislation, you should be able to find it on http://thomas.loc.gov.

 

[Lwize]

Re: What can you tell me about the Nissan PAO? (bgluckman)

Quote, originally posted by bgluckman »

BTW, it's the tradition of these cars that led to today's Nissan Cube:

Nissan showed the Cube at the LA autoshow last January to judge reactions. With the boxy Scion xB already on sale here, I wouldn't be surprised if Nissan considered bringing the Cube. I sat in one -- it's sweet... http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif

 

[christurismohk]

Re: What can you tell me about the Nissan PAO? (bgluckman)

Quote »

Although this looks good, it reminds me of some IKEA products in a way........very contemporary!!

 

[VadGTI]

Re: What can you tell me about the Nissan PAO? (Lwize)

Quote, originally posted by Lwize »

Nissan showed the Cube at the LA autoshow last January to judge reactions. With the boxy Scion xB already on sale here, I wouldn't be surprised if Nissan considered bringing the Cube. I sat in one -- it's sweet... http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif

Yep, it was there two years in a row (2002 and 2003 - both years in a copper orange color) just sitting in the corner of the Nissan area.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Re: What can you tell me about the Nissan PAO? (VadGTI)

Is the law really called the "Bill Gates" law?