Datsun U620

The farther we get from a vehicle’s date of birth, the closer we get to archeology. On the Datsun U620‘s debut, society was sized for double cab coupe-trucks with roll-back covers, space for up to six passengers, and/or 400 kg (881 lbs.) of payload. 

In time, the U(tility) 620 (also known as the UN620) may even be held up as the opposite but same as a Tesla Cybertruck, because by not trying to be a durable, oversized kaleidoscope mess of shapes, both vehicles do share two rows of seats, a fastback profile, and truck bed. 

Mark my words: only one of those two trucks will start and move, on the day cockroach people inherit the earth from a murderous A.I. somehow trapped by its hubris (and an unperformed recall) within a derelict Cybertruck.

When they (the cockroach people) do end up hitting the road, they’ll need to get the U620’s 4-cylinder, normally aspirated, carbureted J15 engine running. Figure 1.5 litres of displacement and approximately 75 horsepower. Peak.

Dare I say this wee truck artifact is elegant? Usefully small? Approachable? Indestructible? (Keep reading…)

For everyday use, North America has sadly been sized up from this — imagine a 45-minute round trip commute somewhere in the Northeast, where your suburban neighbours watch you shiver on the way to the Interstate, itself a challenge given the old car’s heating, cooling, and ventilation systems. 

Closely related to and based off of the ubiquitous Datsun 620 trucks produced throughout the 1970s, the coupe-utility version seen here is now a much rarer car.

In Japan, a fair number have been smartly customized with lower stances, reminding us that its seemingly over-styled flanks are on, these days, what is quite a small car.