Nissan Gloria

The Gloria (Japanese: 日産・グロリア) is a large luxury car made from 1959 by the Prince Motor Company, and later by Nissan Motors since its merger with the former — hence being originally marketed as Prince Gloria and later as Nissan Gloria. Initially based on the smaller Prince Skyline, the Gloria line was merged with Nissan Cedric starting with 1971 models and both continued until 2004, when they were both replaced by Nissan Fuga.

After Nissan assumed Prince's operations, the now Nissan-badged Glorias were sold along with the Nissan Skyline. They were marketed through the Nissan Prince Shop network, composed of dealerships that were formerly affiliated with the Prince company. The Prince G engine was used in the Gloria until 1969.

Its name was inspired by the Latin word "Glory".

The Prince Automobile Manufacturers, previously known as Fuji Precision Industry, released a modification of their Prince Skyline with a more luxurious approach, and modified exterior sheet metal, at the All Japan Automobile Show, after the Tokyo Motor Show and the Skyline 1900 exhibition, in October 1958. In February 1959 the BLSIP Gloria was released with the 80 PS (59 kW) 1.9-liter GB-30 OHV four-cylinder engine. The Gloria mimicked popular appearances found in North America, the Gloria used a styling feature on the front bumper, called "Dagmar bumpers". The grille featured "PRINCE" in individual gold letters. The side trim was similar to the Skyline, except the chrome-framed painted strip ends at the rear door instead of the back of the car. The other side of the painted section is painted the same colour as the car and inside this section is a "Prince Gloria" badge. Inside the Gloria used the same dashboard as the Skyline, but a clock and radio were standard. The radio featured two speakers, a new idea for the time. The seats were similar but were trimmed in a plush cloth fabric. The rear seat featured a fold down armrest.

In April 1959, Crown Prince Akihito was presented with the first Gloria as a wedding gift. According to the article found in Japanese Wikipedia, the Gloria got its name as a tribute when the first series BLSI sedan was presented to the then Crown Prince Akihito, the future Emperor of Japan, and Princess Michiko as an anniversary gift after one year of marriage. The Prince Automotive Industry was the official vehicle supplier to the Imperial Household Agency at that time, previously known as Fuji Precision Technology. Previously, the Crown Prince was also presented with the first Prince Sedan earlier.

In February 1960 the BLSIP-2 was released. The front end was modified with quad headlights and although the grille opening remained the same, the grille itself was changed, with six thick horizontal bars replacing the 13 thin horizontal bars. The rear end was completely redesigned; the tail lights were moved low to just above the rear bumper. The rear end and tail fins showed resemblance to the 1957 Chevrolet. The tail fins were capped off with stainless steel trim that ran from one fin, down under the trunk lid opening and back up the fin on the other side. The trunk lid featured a "Prince" badge and a "Gloria" badge to the right of it. The panel between the tail lights was covered in metal trim. Side trim remained identical from the BLSIP-1. The BLSIP-2 continued to use the GB-30 engine.

In February 1961 the BLSIP-3 was released. It featured the new, 94 PS (69 kW) 1.9 L GB-4 inline-four engine. The front end was changed slightly, with the "PRINCE" grille letters removed and instead a Prince badge on the left front side of the hood. The side trim and rear trim panels remained identical to the BLSIP-2.

The suspension used double wishbone and coil springs in the front, and De Dion setup in the back.