Wagons in vintage Street scenes

In '67 in southern California, I remember VW Bugs (and Buses) starting to become very prevalent. Also, I was starting to see quite a few Datsun 510's around. (I think '67 was the first year for them in the U.S.) The Toyota Corona was selling quite well. Local Toyota and Datsun dealerships were stand-alone franchises by this time, not affiliated with any other makes, so they were making good money. The area was a HUGE Japanese import market. Acres and acres of them were coming in at the port.

 

I wish I could remember the name of the book, but the gist was a comparison/contrast between Ford and Nissan, providing histories, figures, etc., and that was one of the upshots of Datsun in California--they were selling like hotcakes, even the pickups. The executive in charge of Datsun USA was finding all the pickup trucks he was allotted were selling out every month, because Californians would buy them as a second vehicle, but only use them for leisure, not work. So he wired back to Nissan HQ for an increase in the allotments. The president of the company refused, for two reasons: one, the exec was 'banished,' basically, because he believed in selling to what the market wanted, not making the market fit what the company built; and two, the president short-sighted believed that trucks were only for work and nothing else. However, the exec was finally able to show the president and board that Americans wanted what they wanted, and the sales and backorder numbers did not lie.

 

Vietnam Saigon Februar 1989 238 by orangevolvobusdriver4u, on Flickr

 

Vietnam Saigon Februar 1989 217 by orangevolvobusdriver4u, on Flickr

 

Not quite like Cuba, as no real embargo was placed on Viet Nam after South VN fell. So they got all kinds of cars, trucks...F-4 Phantoms...M60 tanks....

 

Hmmm...I'd like to see the cargo floor....