hsu@cvl.UUCP (Dave Hsu) (03/08/85)
> > The reason for the change to Nissan is not due to lawsuits but due to > the fact that the parent corporation has been Nissan for a couple of decades. > ... > The name Datsun came from the original company. It was named DAT (as I > remember the story). They produced a car which was called DAT-son meaning > > son-of-DAT. That became Datsun (with the 'u') in the west which I understand > has uncomplimentry meanings in Japanese. > ... > Ken Hoyme > Honeywell Systems and Research Center Actually, if TIME magazine is correct, the original company, Datson, derived its name from the initials of the three founders: Mr D, Mr A, and Mr T :-) Unfortunately, this name apparently meant 'son of rabbit', which involved bad connotations in Japanese. This was verified when, in the 40's, a hurricane in the Pacific came ashore briefly, and accomplished the complete and utter demolition of a Datson factory, while leaving everything else relatively unscathed. Presumably, this convinced the owners that a name change was in order. Gosh, maybe this belongs in net.games.trivia. -dave