I recently returned from a trip to Ireland, and the right-hand, narrow road driving experience was certainly a memorable facet of that trip. Over there, one gets to experience a lot of different makes and, in particular, models of cars that aren’t available in the U.S. You can have that experience here of course, if you wait for a certain model to age out to twenty-five years, and then it can be imported regardless of compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). And that’s a review that I’ll present today, a 1997 Nissan Gloria. No, it’s certainly not from Ireland, but it is an example of a Japanese model that was not available to U.S. drivers. Imported just this past December, this unusual Nissan is located in Buckley, Washington, and is available here on craigslist for $18,500. Scott gets a tip of the hat for this lead!

Japan-sourced automobiles often have rather interesting model names such as the Nissan “Cedric”, the Mazda “Bongo”, the Suzuki “Mighty Boy”, and the “Solio Bandit”. Considering that array, “Gloria” seems mild by comparison, at most reminding me of a song, so entitled, by Van Morrison. Anyway, the Gloria was produced from 1959 through 2004, with our subject car being a member of the tenth generation (1995-1999). Known as a “Y33”, one body style, a four-door sedan, was all that was offered, and it covered several trim levels, all prefaced by “Gran Turismo”, including LX, S, LV, Ultima (our subject car), and Ultima X. In Gulf Coast Countries (the Middle East – a big Nissan market), just two trim levels, the Brougham and Brougham VIP, were available. If you see similarities between this car’s appearance and an Infinity Q45, other than the distinctive front end, you’re not imagining it.

With 75K miles (121K kilometers), this sedan is in glorious shape. It has a strong finish with no indication of rust, fade, or crash damage. The seller states, “Car is in excellent condition,” and that seems obvious – this Nissan has been well cared for. The nineteen-inch staggered wheels appear to be aftermarket pieces, BBS maybe? Regardless, I’d suggest that they do this car justice.

Pointed the way an engine should be, longitudinally, what we have here is a 266 net (Japanese Industrial Standard – JIS) HP, 3.0-liter, DOHC, turbocharged V6, connected to a four-speed automatic transmission. The seller claims, ” Runs and drives great. Everything works as it should.”

Opening the front door reveals a spacious interior, accentuated by a right-hand drive steering location and outfitted in attractive cloth upholstery. Its mottled pattern does a nice job of complementing the exterior hue. The environment shows nary an ounce of wear and looks like that found in any typical mid-nineties Japanese luxury ride – absent the steering tiller location.

The seller tells us that he has a Washington state title, so that’s good to know – performing a transfer on this genuine Land of the Rising Sun-sourced rig shouldn’t be a problem. As for parts sourcing, the mechanicals shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, while the body is probably a mixed bag (that front end in particular). This is a neat find, I’d put it in the “dare to be different” category. Tell me, have any of you ever brought over a foreign-sourced car under the twenty-five-year rule, and if so, how did the entire process go?