Pulsar/Sentra: What's in Nissan name?

By DAVID LINKLATER

Don't look now, but Nissan's popular small car is over 20 years and six generations old, following the launch of an all-new Pulsar sedan last month.

Not that it's always been Pulsar. The Pulsar name became Sentra for 12 years in New Zealand from the mid-'80s to late'90s, before switching back to Pulsar. And there it has stayed.

Despite the different badges, the line of descent is clear. Nissan's N-series runs from the first front-drive N10 Pulsar, directly through the N13 Sentra to the latest N16 Pulsar sedan.

The real Pulsar milestone for New Zealand was the start of local assembly for the N10 in 1980. The first two generations (N10 and N12) were slower-selling siblings to the Sunny, and the two model lines ran parallel until 1987 when the range was rationalised as the Sentra.

The N13, N14 and N15 models ran under the Sentra monicker until local assembly stopped in 1998 and Nissan New Zealand switched to a Japanese-built version of the N15, returning to the Pulsar badge.

Nissan New Zealand's product boss Peter Merrie has helped steer five of the Pulsar's six generations through New Zealand in his 15 years with the company.

Most significant model in the range over the past 20 years? "I think that would have to be the N15, which we launched in 1996.

"If you look back through the N12, N13 and N14 models, they were all quite conventional and although the body shape changed, what was underneath didn't to any great extent.

"They had the same basic layout. But the N15 went to much better engines and had multi-link beam suspension at the back. It was better to drive and a much better car. A big step forward."

Merrie says that there weren't any huge disasters during the days of local assembly for Pulsar, but admits that the early'80s were dark and rusty days - though not just for Nissan.

"Like Toyota and some other manufacturers, we had a rust problem. And from personal experience with the N12, it was a real problem.

"It was basically down to preparation at the plant. I suppose the big breakthrough in that regard was electrocoat dipping, which we started in the mid-'80s.

"Back in those days the primer for the bodies didn't really do the job. You'd get air pockets under the paint, for example, which is why the bottoms of the doors always went rusty. But the electrocoat dip got into every part of the metal and attracted the paint. That was a big step forward in quality for the N13."

Chart the history of Pulsar and you chart the history of the small car market in New Zealand over the last two decades.

Through the'80s the line-up (with Sunny) accounted for up to 55 percent of Nissan's total passenger vehicle sales, albeit at a time when the company's model range was more limited than it is today.

The steadily falling Pulsar percentage of Nissan's numbers through the'90s and into the year 2000 mirrors the downward trend of the small car market overall.

In 1994 small cars claimed slightly less than 30 percent of the total new-car market and Sentra accounted for 32 percent of Nissan's sales. In 1999 small cars were down to about 23 percent, while Sentra took 26 percent of the Nissan figures. For the year to date 2000, small car sales are sliding well below the 20 percent mark and Pulsar is riding on 20 percent of Nissan numbers.

Not surprisingly, Nissan's advertising for the all-new N16 Pulsar pitches it as a little car with big-car qualities.

The new model is larger in every dimension than the previous car and looks for all the world like a scaled-down Maxima.

The new model is available in two variants, both powered by a 1.6-litre variable valve timing four. The LX costs $28,295, while the higher spec LS is $29,495.

The new sedan is already accompanied by a wagon which belongs to a different model line but wears the Pulsar badge for New Zealand.

There is no N16 hatchback available, so the previous model will continue for the time being.