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3111

1937 DATSUN, OLDEST JAPANESE CAR made by

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Transportation Start Price:195,000.00 USD Estimated At:225,000.00 - 275,000.00 USD
1937 DATSUN, OLDEST JAPANESE CAR made by
One of the most unusual items we have ever offered - a paragon of automotive and economic history. A 1937 Datsun, believed made the very month of the inception of "modern mass production" by any Japanese automaker. No earlier such automobile has been located by us anywhere.

Datsun/Nissan was the first Japanese automaker to use "mass production." (They also termed this new manufacturing process "mass assembly" or "synchronized assembly.") In the Summer of 1936, Datsun purchased from Graham-Paige, the American automaker, the machinery that would enable them to truly mass produce motor vehicles. The equipment, from Graham's Lafayette, Indiana plant, began its ocean voyage in November, arriving in December, with Graham engineers standing by in Yokohama to assist in its unpacking and setup. By January 1937, it is believed that the first "mass produced" car had been made in Japan, in Yokohama. This example is dated Yokohama, "1-37" (January 1937) on its dataplate and chassis, respectively! In the model year 1937-38, the total output of all Japanese models, of all manufacturers, was just 1,819 cars. Prior to Datsun's mass production, worker output was as low as one car every six months.

The Japanese took great pride in this model, informally called the "Baby Car." It was the first automobile of any make to be designed by Japanese, manufactured by Japanese - using Japanese materials, assembled by Japanese, and sold by Japanese. In fact, it was a very sturdily constructed car with a robust - albeit tiny - engine. By the end of 1937, Japan would be on full military footing, and motor vehicle production shifted heavily to trucks. (And following the Japanese attack in December of that year on the U.S. gunboat Panay, Roosevelt would cancel military contracts with Graham, furious that they had provided Datsun with such modern mass-production equipment.) The first Japanese company to mass produce automobiles, Datsun/Nissan was the first Japanese company to produce parts and finished automobiles on a "machine-paced assembly line." "Nissan thus led the Japanese automobile industry in importing American technology and equipment: specialized machine tools and time and motion studies during the 1930s, transfer machinery and new production-management techniques during the 1950s, computerized production and inventory control systems as well as industrial robots during the 1960s and 1970s...."* Japanese cars remained obscure curiosities to the West until the late 1950's, and indeed, their production was unthreatening until the following decade. Today, Nissan appears poised to take over Ford, in some observers' predictions.

"Japan's rise from the destruction and bitter defeat of World War II, to its present eminence in world business and industry is perhaps the most striking development in recent world history...." * "The Japanese Automobile Industry - Technology & Management at Nissan & Toyota," Michael A. Cusumano, Council on East Asia Studies, Harvard East Asian Monographs 122, Harvard University, first published 1985.

<b> This is the earliest located Japanese car of any make or model from their inception of "modern mass production." One would be hard pressed to identify a more significant artifact in the modern history of business - and automobiles.</b> Request interesting mechanical, condition, and historical details. Ensemble of color prints, by postal mail, 20.00.
<b>PHOTO WITH DRIVER: As shown in a 1937 Datsun sales catalog
GROUP OF SIX PHOTOS: The actual car offered, at time of discovery.</b>
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