The Nissan S-Cargo is a small commercial van manufactured by Nissan. Its name was an amusing double entendre meaning both "Small Cargo" as well as "Escargot", the French word for snail. This was because the styling of the S-Cargo looked a lot like a snail. The S-Cargo design was directly inspired by the appearance of the tiny French Citroën 2CV camionette or small truck, even including the single spoke steering wheel. The 2CV was relatively popular in Japan at this time. Its internal workings are identical to the Nissan March.
The car was introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1989, and was manufactured from 1989 to 1992, with approximately 12,000 manufactured. All S-Cargo's are right hand drive. While initially marketed only in Japan, S-Cargo's have spread as grey import vehicles.
It has a small cult following, in spite of being criticised for looking "toy like". Its rarity, quirky looks and huge signage panels make it an attention-grabbing vehicle. Both McDonald's and KFC have used it for mobile billboard advertising.
The S-Cargo was featured in the Gran Turismo series.
The S-Cargo was equipped with a 1.5-litre 4-cylinder gasoline engine, a 3-speed automatic transmission, and air conditioning.
Optional items included:
* An oval portal window installed on each side panel.
* An electric canvas sunroof.
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