Nissan EXA

The Nissan Pulsar EXA and Nissan EXA are automobiles manufactured and marketed by Nissan Motor Company from 1983 to 1986 and from 1986 to 1990 respectively. The first generation model was internally designated as the N12 series and was marketed in Japan at Nissan Cherry Store locations as the Pulsar EXA. The second generation EXA was designated as the N13 series.

Both generations were marketed in North America under the name Nissan Pulsar NX.

Nissan Pulsar EXA (N12; 1982–1986)

The Pulsar EXA followed a successful strategy Nissan used in Japan of offering the economical Nissan Sunny in an affordable, youth-oriented two-door coupé, demonstrated by the Nissan Sunny fastback coupé, which had been offered since the Sunny's introduction in 1966. As the Pulsar was a companion to the Nissan Sunny, but offered at a different Japanese Nissan dealership called Nissan Cherry Store, the Pulsar EXA mirrored the tradition of the Sunny Coupé. The Pulsar/Cherry line was originally developed by Prince Motor Company previous to the 1966 merger of the two companies; by the early 1980s Prince still maintained a separate design center in Ogikubo, Tokyo and this is where the Pulsar EXA was developed. It was available from 1982 to 1986 and came with several of the engines also seen in the regular Pulsars. The Pulsar EXA was known in North America as the Pulsar NX and shared many of its parts with the Nissan Sentra.

The car's shape was determined using computer-aided design (CAD), with the body engineers working closely with the designers. The design brief was to make a distinctive, aerodynamic shape while utilizing as many standard Pulsar and Sunny components as possible. Early iterations featured a large, glass "bubble-back" rear end similar to the Renault Fuego, but since the contemporary Sunny/Sentra Coupé was to be a fastback, the Pulsar EXA was changed to a notchback profile with a near perpendicular rear windshield to set the two cars apart in the marketplace.