A common misconception, but the 510 actually predates the 2002 by a year.They share a common rear suspension design but not because one is a copy of the other(in fact, BMW kept it until recently).Part of this myth undoubtedly comes from the fact that the 510 was known as"the poor man's BMW" back in the day.This is not to say that Nissan was above copying other manufacturers technology back in the 60's,in fact this was a common practice back in the infancy of the Japanese car industry(as it relates to the US.).If you are at a junkyard and have a chance, look at a old Datsun L series engine and look at a Mercedes of the same era.They look almost identical.While this all took place before I was born, I still love to learn about it.
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1998 Nissan Frontier XE/2wd/5spd 1 owner, 264k miles
1985 Olds Cutlass, 350 Chevy, owned for 14 years
WANTED: 1968-1973 Datsun 510 or 1991-1994 Sentra SE-R
http://www.myspace.com/junkyardengineer
