Nissan Bluebird 2.0 Executive

...about my taxi, a 1990 Nissan Bluebird 2-litre injected Executive model. (You didn’t really think I was talking about something else, did you!?)

~ ~ My present Bluebird was acquired in August, 1999, after I spotted her revealing all her charms on the Autotrader website. (see my diamond review, plug, plug)
Website: http://www.autotrader.co.uk
It was love at first sight, and I flew over to Newcastle from Dublin especially ...
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~ ~ The Nissan Bluebird, in my opinion, is one of the finest and most reliable vehicles that the Japanese car manufacturer ever built. And don’t just take my word for it either. The Bluebird has been a firm favourite of taxi drivers the world over ever since it first made its appearance in the mid-1970’s. (when Nissan were still Datsun)
Early models were also famous for their ability to turn into huge piles of rust very ... more

~ ~ OK. It’s confession time at Ciao.
The mad cabbie has another woman in his life, that he lavishes love and attention on, and who he spends far more time with than his wife.
She’s black and beautiful, and a fast and flirty big lady, and has given him years of faithful service and devotion.
I’m talking (of course) about my taxi, a 1990 Nissan Bluebird 2-litre injected Executive model. (You didn’t really think I was talking about something else, did you!?)

~ ~ My present Bluebird was acquired in August, 1999, after I spotted her revealing all her charms on the Autotrader website. (see my diamond review, plug, plug)
Website: http://www.autotrader.co.uk
It was love at first sight, and I flew over to Newcastle from Dublin especially to collect her and bring her home here to Ireland.
She cost £1,500 Sterling, and I had to pay the airfare across, plus the totally iniquitous Vehicle Registration Tax here in Ireland. All in, including allowing for the exchange rates, the car cost me a grand total of €2,800. (£2,200 old Irish Punts, £1720 Sterling)
So it was by no means an expensive buy, and I have made countless thousands of Punts and Euros from her since, with very little expensive outlay on maintenance. (more later)

~ ~ The Nissan Bluebird, in my opinion, is one of the finest and most reliable vehicles that the Japanese car manufacturer ever built. And don’t just take my word for it either. The Bluebird has been a firm favourite of taxi drivers the world over ever since it first made its appearance in the mid-1970’s. (when Nissan were still Datsun)
Early models were also famous for their ability to turn into huge piles of rust very quickly, but the Japanese caught on that customers didn’t really like this quaint little quirk, and solved the rust problem.
From the early/mid 1980’s, up until the last Bluebird rolled of the production lines in 1992, the Bluebird was a much sought after car, and purchased by countless thousands of motorists.
It came in a choice of saloon or hatchback, and with six different engines. A 1.6-litre, 1.8-litre, 2.0-litre, a ‘Turbo’ version, a 2-litre diesel, and the model I now own, the 2.0-litre fuel injected.

~ ~ I have owned three Bluebirds, the first being acquired almost by accident, when my then car (a Renault 25) was in the garage for repairs, and I was given a 1.6-litre Bluebird hatchback as a loan car.
It was used as a taxi, and covered an incredible 375,000 miles before I eventually sold it on. (to a taxi company, where it ran for another year or so) I then acquired a 1.8-litre Bluebird saloon, which covered 220,000 miles (before I fell in love with my present car) and was again sold on for further use as a taxi to a mini-cab driver.
My current car is the very top of the Bluebird range. When I purchased it, it had covered 61,000 miles with only one previous owner, and had a full Nissan service record and old MOT certificates to back up the claim. Now it has covered over 150,000 miles, and is still running as sweetly as the day she was purchased.
So you can see from this that the Bluebird is a car that is designed to last, and will give you years of service without too much complaint.

~ ~ One complaint that I had with the 1.6-litre model was that I thought it lacked a little in the performance stakes. The 1.6-litre engine, while willing and reliable enough, was really a little underpowered for the size of the car, and it showed when you were overtaking or wanting to ‘push on’ a little. The 1.8-litre model was a definite improvement, but my current car, with it’s 2.0-litre injected engine, is a real flying machine.
Try as I might, (and I did try) I just couldn’t dig up any performance figures on the car. My local Nissan dealer hadn’t a clue, (“It’s too old a model”, they said) and there was nothing in the owner’s handbook or on the World Wide Web.
My own guess is that the 0 to 60mph time (for the 2.0-litre) is somewhere in the 10 to 11 second bracket, and with a top speed of around the 120mph mark. (not that I’ve ever driven it this fast, of course!!)
I know that it lacks nothing in acceleration, being quick and sprightly when taking off, and having plenty to spare when you are attempting an overtaking manoeuvre, or pressing on a bit.
Third and fourth gears in particular have loads of torque, (pulling power) and when you drop from fifth gear to fourth on the motorway and floor the accelerator, the car literally leaps forward.
Because of the larger engine, I also obtain better fuel consumption figures that I did with the 1.6-litre, averaging about the 30mpg mark around town (most of my driving) and about the 40mpg figure on a long run. (As long as you have a light right foot!)
Road holding is better too, as the Executive model is fitted with larger wheels and tyres. (195/70/15) My car also has a lovely set of wire type alloys that gives it a nice ‘sporty’ appearance.
It has a good (if not great) suspension, and doesn’t roll about on the corners, only really complaining when you hit the thousands of huge potholes that seem to be on almost every Irish road.
The gear change is precise and accurate, and you don’t have to ‘search’ for the gear you want, and the power steering is light and responsive, with good feedback to the driver.
All controls and dials are both easily visible and accessible from the driver’s seat, and it’s fitted with a 4 speaker ‘Blaupunkt’ radio/cassette, which while not cutting edge technology, does it’s job of keeping me amused with both music and news very adequately.

~ ~ Comfort levels in the car are excellent.
Despite the fact that the car is now 12 years old and with a fairly high mileage, (for anything other than a Nissan!) the shock absorbers and the springs seem to be holding up well, and still transport me (and my passengers) around without jarring the torso at every bump in the road surface.
The ‘Executive’ model comes with leather upholstery and air conditioning as standard, so not only are you seated in comfort and style, but you can be comfortable whatever the outside weather is doing. (snow or heat wave)
A big plus for a taxi driver is the ease with which you can clean leather upholstery, given some passengers propensity to vacate their stomachs when they have been drinking alcohol and eating fast food. Leather wipes clean with ease, and doesn’t have the same absorbency as cloth upholstery. (ugh!!) I keep the leather in good condition with a wax that both cleans and nourishes it at the same time, and it really does look the part, adding immensely to the general appearance of the car. One complaint is that the dashboard area is still a mass of plastic, but even that looks OK once it is cleaned properly and regularly.
The driver’s seat has a couple of little gadgets to help you find a more comfortable driving position. As well as the usual adjustments for height and reach, it also has a lumbar support airbag and side airbags on the sides of the seat, which you can adjust at the simple push of a button. You can also adjust the steering column to suit your own particular driving style.
There is more than enough room to transport three fully grown adults in comfort in the rear seat, with excellent legroom, and the rear seat also folds down (split level) to allow you to either virtually turn the car into an estate, or to transport a long piece of luggage with ease.
All controls are electric, with adjustable rear view mirrors and windows, a tilt and slide sunroof, and central locking, all of which can be controlled from the driver’s seat.
An electronic engine immobiliser is also standard. (Executive model only)
The boot can carry two large and two medium size suitcases, and I’ve never had a problem fitting in 4 passengers and their baggage from the airport.
There’s good storage space inside the vehicle too, with a good-sized glove compartment, and side pockets on both the driver’s and passenger doors. A nice touch is the web nets fitted on the back of the front seats. I normally use these to provide my customers with a selection of the morning papers, and some magazines, but they would also be useful to anyone using the car as a family runabout.
The car looks well, although some people might call it ‘boxy’.
Having owned both, I have to say that I much prefer the look of the saloon to the hatchback version, although the hatchback is probably capable of carrying more luggage with the rear passenger shelf removed.

~ ~ There are a few drawbacks with the Bluebird that you should be aware of.
All cars have their little faults and quirks, and the Bluebird seems to go through CV joints very regularly for some reason. I have had two new front joints fitted to my current car, and the previous two cars I owned displayed the same tendency.
I paid my mechanic €120 to replace the last CV joint, (including parts and labour) so it’s not a financial disaster when one of the joints packs up.
Because they were such a popular car in their day, (and because they last so long!) there are still plenty of them around, and parts are usually easily obtained from your local scrap yard at an economic price.
The 1.6-litre model is also infamous for destroying gearboxes, and indeed, I had to replace the gearbox (second hand) on the 1.6-litre I owned. (cost €280, parts and labour)
A regular service costs in the region of €125, and I carry out a full service every 10,000 miles, and change my oil and oil filter every 5,000 miles. (€30)
In nearly 3 years of heavy urban use, and covering some 90,000 miles, I have also had to replace the clutch, and put a new core in the radiator, but this I would really classify as regular maintenance, and not a fault with the car as such.
New parts, such as brake pads, filters, etc can still be easily obtained from any Nissan main dealer or good motor factor, and are relatively cheap.
Taxis here in Dublin have to go through a strict test every year to ensure they are safe and roadworthy, and my trusty Bluebird flew through its most recent test in January.

~ ~ If you are interested enough to actually consider buying one of these cars, then there are still many to be had, and at a very cheap price. (well under a £1,000) Look in the classified ads section of your local paper, or do as I did, and go to a good used car website like Autotrader.
Be wary though. The Bluebird was/is a VERY popular car with the taxi and mini cab fraternity, so make sure that you aren’t purchasing one that has been trashed or poorly maintained, or, even worse, had its speedometer turned back. (clocked)
I got the AA to check out my latest car and give it a clean bill of health, (cost £90 Sterling) and this is a good idea when you are purchasing ANY used vehicle. Either that, or take someone along with you who knows their stuff when you go to view the car.

~ ~ The bottom line is that I simply love these cars, and give them a very high recommendation. If you want cheap, comfortable, and above all, RELIABLE, motoring, then you could buy an awful lot worse that this Japanese cracker.

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NB. A Euro is equivalent to approximately 61 pence Sterling.

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