Datsun DB series
motor vehicle
The Datsun DB series was introduced in 1948 as a more modern, ponton-bodied complement to the Datsun DA. It was based on pre-war Datsun designs, themselves closely based on the Austin Seven. A lower-cost range with the same underpinnings, called the DS series, took over from the DA and was sold in parallel. The cars shared their chassis with the contemporary small Datsun trucks, which sold in considerably larger numbers.
Datsun DB
The Datsun DB was introduced in March 1948 as the first postwar Japanese vehicle with modern styling. After a trial production period, series production commenced in August 1948. The DB (based on the same pre-war chassis as used on the Datsun 2124 truck and most other Datsuns since the early 1930s) resembled the 1947 Crosley, with some minor differences: the front end was longer, windshield shape was rectangular, grille design was different. The engine was the pre-war 722 cc Type 7 sidevalve four-cylinder (rated at 15 horsepower) with a floor-shift 3-speed manual. The DB was in production until 1949, when it was replaced by the Datsun DB-2.
Datsun DB-2
The Datsun DB-2 was introduced in 1949 and was redesigned to look less like the 1947 Crosley; the dorsal fin that ran down the hood and front end was removed and replaced by a crease and the front end was almost completely flat. The grille became a single piece (it was changed in 1950), above the grille was where the license plate attached.
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This entry incorporates text from “Datsun DB series” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.