How an unassuming Japanese car became a fixture in Mexico

Compact, easy-to-repair Nissan Tsuru seems made for the nation's streets

20250429N Tsuru 1

This 1980s Nissan Tsuru is still in action in Mexico City. (Photo by Tomohiro Ichihara)

TOMOHIRO ICHIHARA

MEXICO CITY -- A dented, scuffed sedan from a bygone era jockeys for space on the streets of Mexico City, no easy place to drive.

It is a Nissan Tsuru, one of more than 2.4 million sold in Mexico after the model debuted in the country roughly 41 years ago.

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