List of domestic and Japanese medium-sized vans in 1980s
In China in 1980s, with the rapid development of economy, the demand for automobiles increased sharply, but domestic automobiles not only lacked production, but also failed to meet the demand. Not only cars but also trucks need to be imported. Similarly, business vans need to be imported. In this way, from 1984 to 1986, China not only imported a large number of Japanese cars, but also imported a lot of Japanese vans. Among them, the number of medium-sized vans is the largest, and they have become the standard of many enterprises and institutions. These Japanese vans are not only easy to use, but also have face when going out to talk about things. Some of them are even more easy to use. Today, I will review these medium-sized vans imported from Japan.
Toyota Sea Lion (H50)
In 1980s, China imported the largest number of Japanese vans, namely the third-generation Sea Lion (H50) series, which was the main force for a reason. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, China imported a small number of first-generation sea lions H10 and second-generation sea lions H40. Like other Toyota cars, these sea lions have a very good reputation. Therefore, when the era of large-scale import comes, Toyota Sea Lion (H50) naturally becomes the first choice.
Many imported China sea lions (H50) are standard wheelbase versions. The body length of the standard wheelbase version is 4420mm (the long-axis version is 5025mm) and the width of the car is 1690mm. Both the standard wheelbase version and the long-axis version of sea lions have been exported to China. This generation of sea lions won unanimous praise after entering China, which is easy to use and has few faults, and has become the benchmark for the quality of medium-sized vans in China.
With the reputation of sea lions getting better and better, some domestic assembly plants naturally can’t sit still, so let’s rub the heat. Based on the 130 chassis, various "Saitoyota" and "Saihaishi" imitating the shell of sea lions came out. In the 1980s, the technology of hammering sheet metal in domestic assembly plants was not as good as now, and it was possible to tell which one was "Gui Li" 150 meters away. Thirty years ago, there was no concept of intellectual property rights in China from top to bottom. It is a very glorious thing to be able to imitate a car with a similar appearance to Toyota.
Mitsubishi L300
Compared with other medium-sized vans in the same period, the Mitsubishi L300 is somewhat different in appearance and its water chestnut is more distinct. This is the second generation model of L300, which is slightly smaller than Toyota Sea Lion (H50). It has a standard wheelbase version, a long-axis version, a flat-top version and a high-top version. The long-axis version has a body length of 4,445 mm and a body width of 1,690 mm, and the power is a 1.8-liter 100-horsepower engine. These versions have also been imported from China. The high-top version is a business van, and the flat-top standard wheelbase version is more for passenger and cargo use. Beijing Post also purchased some L300 s for mail transport.
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Nissan WanPark Jung Su Vanette(C120)
Wan Park Jung Su Vanette(C120) is a van introduced by Nissan Motor Company in 1978. It has a standard wheelbase version and a long wheelbase version with a body length of 4,230mm. In the 1980s, the medium-sized van imported by Nissan in China was the long-axis version of the first generation of Bunin, and its biggest feature was the addition of a long glass window behind the B-pillar.
Nissan Baning (C22)
This is the most advanced van imported at the same time in the 1980s. Its main feature is that the trunk door glass can be opened independently, which makes it convenient to take things. There is a refrigerator in the middle of the first row of seats, and there are iced drinks when traveling in summer. This configuration was absolutely high-tech.
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Nissan Jiaben (E23)
Nissan Jiaben (E23) is similar to the specifications of Toyota Sea Lion in the same period, with a body length of 4350 mm and a body width of 1690 mm.. Compared with the imported quantity of Toyota Sea Lion and Mitsubishi L300, the quantity of Nissan Jiaben (E23) is less. In the 1990s, FAW introduced this generation of Jiaben chassis technology and combined with 488 engine to produce CA6440 Jiefang Bun, which seems to be more famous.
Mazda E2000
Compared with Toyota and Nissan, which started to enter China in batches in the 1970s, Mazda entered China in batches later. Since 1984, cars of this brand have appeared on the streets of Beijing. At first, many people didn’t know where it came from. At that time, China didn’t even have a well-known car magazine. The first Mazda cars to enter the China market include E2000 vans, 929, 323 cars and B-series pickups, compared with E2000 vans, which are imported more.
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Isuzu WFR
In 1980s, Isuzu had more WFR vans in the south, and this van was also considered by many as the most beautiful Japanese medium-sized van in the same period.
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In China in the 1980s, the market of medium-sized vans above the mid-range was completely divided by several Japanese models, and all kinds of Japanese medium-sized vans enjoyed a good reputation, mainly because the quality of domestic cars at that time was far from good. This situation didn’t begin to change until the 1990s. With the improvement of the technical level of domestic vans and the expensive import of Japanese vans, it was not until the late 1990s that the Japanese mid-range vans dominated the China market.
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(Article source: Ye Hong 2011)