Nissan unveiled a new car under its old Datsun brand name today. The Go is a small hatchback meant for the Indian market, and shows how Nissan will use the Datsun brand name in emerging markets.
Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Nissan revived its Datsun brand name, retired from the American market in 1981, for its new Indian market Go model. The car, and brand, are meant to exploit emerging markets where the general populace is becoming affluent enough to afford a small, cheap car. Nissan expects to sell the Go for 400,000 Indian rupee, which comes in just under $7,000 U.S. Nissan says it will use the Datsun brand name for India, Russia, Indonesia, and South Africa.
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By U.S. standards, the Go is indeed a small car. This five-door hatchback's overall length is just 12.5 feet, a little more than 5 feet wide, and under 5 feet tall. Those dimensions put it as comparable in size to the Tata Indica, a popular Indian car.
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For motive power, a 1.2-liter engine drives the Go's front wheels. That engine comes mated to a five-speed manual transmission.
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Interior instrumentation and amenities look minimal, although the Go appears to have air conditioning and power windows.
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The Go includes an integrated smartphone dock, with ports for USB and auxiliary audio, according to this photo.
