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link For Datsun revival, Nissan gambles on $3,000 model – Yahoo! Autos.
It’s only in hindsight that people can determine at what point in history that a trend change occurred. It can be put forth that things such as the invention of the Gutenberg movable type printing press in 1450 ushered in a new era of enlightenment for mankind. It can be argued that the invention of the steam engine by James Watt in about 1775 was responsible for the industrial revolution which gave rise to modern industry and commerce. It can also be argued that the first law degree ever conferred on someone in about the 12th century will be responsible for the downfall of civilization. Incidently, according to Wikipedia, that was created aptly by the European University of Bologna. Of course that’s debatable. Some blame rap music.
I would postulate that the invention of consumer credit, especially via credit cards is mainly responsible for much of the aggravation that many people in modern western society face today. Combine that with the slickest advertising industry in history and it’s a devastating cocktail of unfettered consumerism. Think about the consumer items that most everyone spends money on today; phones and automobiles. As documented in http://asiftimes.com/2009/12/30/can-you-hear-me-now/ phones have been around for about 140 years. When they first appeared, they were useful appliances. Now, they are essential lifestyle items no less important than clothing or food. People find it necessary to spend hundreds of dollars on a phone as well as possibly hundreds of dollars on monthly usage charges… just to LOL other people.
In the case of automobiles, the siren song of faster, more luxurious, more prestigious, more comfortable, yada, yada, yada never fails to pull in that next generation of willing consumers who are convinced that they must have the new iteration. Nissan looks to try to change the whole dynamic in the car arms race by apparently introducing a new stripped down vehicle which goes the other way. No 12-way power electric leather seats with built in warming and cooling. No 12 speaker surround sound stereo. Navigation will mean looking out the window and a backup camera will mean turning your head. Power steering will be by as much strength as you can muster and rolling down a window will mean an arm cardio workout rather than a finger press. Assuming windows are available for the purchase price. Three thousand bucks doesn’t even cover the cost of leather seats on most average sedans these days, so it wouldn’t be a surprise that the new Nissan may have only one window that rolls down.
While the car won’t be available for sale in the U.S., it’s probably going to be a hit in most other parts of the world where having a bicycle means you are middle class. But that’s too bad. If people in the western societies can afford to pay off their main form of transportation with just a couple of paycheques, imagine the resultant collapse in consumer debt. Who really needs napa leather seats to pick up groceries anyway? Who needs 12 way power seats when it’s mostly the same person driving all the time? How did people manage to get around years ago with only one or two horsepower (by real horses) and now we need 400 to get to work? Maybe the new Datsun can be an inflection point in unchecked consumerism. Now about those $500 phones for the kids….