JDM Trivia number four: Nissan Sportsmatic
Nobody took a guess at last weeks teaser and maybe it was a bit too strange indeed. So the question was what is this device called and what does it do?
The device is the Nissan Sportsmatic that was featured in both the Nissan Cherry F10 and the Nissan Pulsar N10 coupe.
The sportsmatic for the F10 was a conventional autobox with torque converter, but the Sports-Matic in the picture is the version on the Pulsar N10. This gearbox is an automatic by Nissan that isn’t a slushmatic, but uses an electromagnetic clutch to engage and disengage the drive.
Engagement knob
The engagement knob for this automatic gearbox is a bit unconventional: shifting it up puts it in Drive, shifting it down puts it in low gearing, to the right is the Over Drive while Reverse is left up and Park left down.
Why did Nissan go through the trouble of designing something this weird? Probably because automatic gearboxes were still considered to be un-sporty and the use of an electromagnetic clutch did offer a more sporty ride.
Prince Motor Company (PMC)
This also probably is one of the last echoes from the Prince Motor Company. When PMC merged with Nissan in 1969 they were almost done with the Prince Cherry which got launched as the Nissan Cherry in 1970. Nissan tried to get rid of the Cherry name in 1978 by replacing it with the Pulsar in Japan. The Pulsar shared all major components and engines and was basically the next generation of the Cherry. Probably the old Prince engineers who worked on the Cherry also have put together this master piece called the Sports-Matic.
Next time
Teaser for next time:
The next trivia will be in the next year, enjoy the Christmas holidays and see you in the new year!
Direct link to video: JDM Trivia #4: Nissan Sportsmatic
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