The story begins in 1963 when Nissan introduced its first real luxury sedan, the Cedric Special 50 series. This was a longer-wheelbase and more ornate version of the first Cedric that had been introduced in 1960. It was powered by a 2.8-litre straight-six, the first such engine from Nissan. It was indeed the first real luxury sedan and an indicator of the progress being made. Soon, cars like the Prince Grand Gloria, Toyota Crown Eight and Mitsubishi Debonair followed.
Toyota had introduced the Crown Eight in 1964, its first V8-powered luxury sedan, which would be replaced by the Century three years later. Nissan had however raised things a notch in the meantime when in 1965, it introduced the first President, the H150 series. It was the biggest, most powerful and most luxurious car built in Japan to date at the time. Power came from a 3.0-litre straight-six or a 4.0-litre V8. Nissan introduced the second-generation, Pininfarina-styled 130 series Cedric in the same year. Prince Motors, which Nissan would merge with the next year, had its Skyline and Gloria with OHC straight-six while Toyota had introduced the M-series six-cylinder engine in the Crown.
In 1973, Nissan introduced the H250 series President. Its styling aped contemporary American norms but was the same basic car underneath. A Sovereign trim level, Y44 4.4-litre V8 and rectangular headlights would be changes to this car over the years, and it remained in production until 1990. This is no surprise given that the first-generation Toyota Century ran from 1967 to 1997 with facelifts in 1973 and 1982, and the first-generation Mitsubishi Debonair ran from 1964 to 1986 with numerous running changes (e.g. Executive SE trim level and the ubiquitous 2.6-litre four replacing the original 2.0-litre six!). The Mitsubishi Jeep had an even longer run- from 1954 to 1998, while the 40 Series Land Cruiser ran from 1960 to 1984.
In response to Toyota's Celsior aka Lexus LS400, Nissan developed its own export-oriented luxury sedan in the Infiniti Q45. The new car was the basis for the all-new President that broke cover in 1990, the HG50 would serve as Nissan's domestic flagship until 2003. It basically is a stretched Q45 with a more regal grille, but a better car than the second-gen Q45 aka Cima.
And so, the next President came in 2003, based once more on the Cima/Q45. The big Nissan was built in small numbers, which have dwindled even more in recent times. Furthermore, there isn't too much other than styling touches and longer wheelbase to differ it from the Q45 (the 5.6-litre V8 would have helped so it would go head-on with Toyota's more exclusive V12 Century).
Here ends a tradition, sad to say. But Nissan was a pioneer of Japanese luxury cars, which have a longer tradition than the average car guy outside Japan would realise. The President perhaps lost some of its exclusivity/uniqueness when it became a Q45-based car, in contrast to the Toyota Century which became an even more exclusive and unique car when it was totally renewed.
Toyota Century:
More info and pics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Century
Source: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.p ... ition-ends
. Florida is definitely a good place to get a deal on one. I'd consider a Sport GT model.