First introduced in 1977, the Nissan Stanza was a compact car manufactured and marketed by Nissan. The Stanza was a twin to the Nissan Auster and the Nissan Violet, all of which were built in Hiratsuka, Japan and Oppama, Japan. Though the Stanza is thought to be a duplicate of the Violet and the Auster, there were some styling differences that set the Stanza apart.
Many export markets simply did not see the Stanza after about 1986 as the Sunny and the Pulsar gained popularity and sort of pushed the Stanza out of the lineup. In 1990 the American Stanza was actually a version of the Nissan Bluebird that was given the Stanza badge. This new version was powered by a 2.4 liter Nissan KA24E engine. With newer and more stylized vehicles coming into the lineup, the Stanza was losing popularity and consumers just didn't think that the Stanza had anything to offer them. The Altima would eventually replace the Stanza with the 1992 model, though most markets hadn't seen a wide availability of the Stanza in the years leading up to this. The last American Stanza would finally roll off the assembly lines in March of 1992 marking the end of the Stanza era.
The Nissan Stanza was considered a very reliable vehicle, but Nissan continued to make the Stanza a very boxy vehicle that just wasn't attractive to most people. Had Nissan changed the body type to conform with the new, rounder body styles the Stanza may not have seen such an early exit.
