JDM: 1998 Nissan March Bolero Edition

The Nissan March aka Micra was never imported into North America. In fact, it was only available in Japan as part of Nissan's Cherry Store network until 1999, when it was sold elsewhere.

What were we missing out on? The March was pretty basic, economical transportation.

Styling wise, it's a classic two-box mini-car shape. Two doors, big windows and a rear hatchback. This one however has the rather comically-named "Bolero" Edition trim (I can't confirm whether it has anything to do with Bo Derek's 1984 erotic epic). Apparently it was sold briefly in the late 90s and early 2000s as a special luxury package. The kicker is that it adds this rather gaudy and un-cool grille and chrome trim that makes the car look more like a Stutz Blackhawk than sleek Japanese microcar.

Underneath the hood however is a less-than-epic 1.3-liter 16-valve 4-cyldiner engine good for about 54 horsepower to the front wheels. It won't set the street on fire, but you can be you'll be getting damn good gas mileage. The downside is it's mated to an automatic transmission.

This example seems to have been imported from Japan to Canada. I've never seen one before. It is puzzling why someone would shuffle this thing across the Pacific. It's not particularly rare or desirable. It's a slow econobox with a weird front end. To each his own, though. I like the rear design at least, it resembles a Mini Cooper, and the owner also seems to have added aftermarket alloys, always a sign of love.

The seller says there is no rust but some dings and the paint isn't perfect. They do say there seems to be no sign of accident damage and the glass is good. Mechanically, they say it runs.

Hey, someone though it was special enough to bring over to this continent.

Available here on ebay with a auction and a $5,000 Buy It Now.