MEET THE OWNER – MELISSA JARDINE AND HER NISSAN LAUREL C31

Melissa Jardine’s fascination with the Laurel stemmed from her family’s old car. In 1993 her father exchanged the Nissan for a base-model Ford Sierra, but such a fine vehicle could never be forgotten. Four years ago, Ms Jardine tracked down her gold example. It was an eBay listing in 2014 but had gone unsold, and so it was “sat in a barn in North Wales - along with two other C31 Laurels”!

Nissan commenced official imports in 1968 (under the ‘Datsun’ brand name). For many years, the Laurel was the penultimate member of its saloon range, occupying a position below the flagship Cedric. It competed with the lower reaches of the Ford Granada range, offering the buyer vast quantities of standard fittings and Pan-Pacific style. Melissa well remembers the day in 1989 when her family took delivery of a 1982 Laurel in light metallic green: “As a 10-year-old, I was won over with the armchair comfort seats, four electric windows, electric mirrors, electric aerial, central locking, reading lamps in the rear, cassette player, alloys, silky smooth ride with the 2.4 straight-six and auto box. It was a ‘Top Trumps’ winner compared to the cars all my friends’ dads had.”

Such was the impression the Datsun made on Melissa that she avowed to own one herself. This proved a considerable challenge as the survival rates of 1980s large Nissans is not high. But when Ms. Jardine was holidaying in Antigua in 2014, she came across a 1983 Laurel parked up in the street – “I just had to have my picture taken with it. Little did I know it would start a quest.”

And so Melissa finally came by her magnificent C31 and its two stablemates. A devotee of the marque previously owned the Nissan. After this gentleman passed away, his daughter was very keen that an enthusiast would purchase and renovate the Laurel. Five years later, B 714 LUF looks as though it has only recently emerged from your friendly local Nissan dealer, causing envy in all Vauxhall Carlton owners.

In terms of driving, Ms. Jardine remarks that her Nissan compares very favourably with most modern cars. In her view, theirs is a realm of “rock hard seats, annoying beeps, dangerous touch screens, horrible noisy low-profile tyres that crash over every bump, getting more and more bad-tempered and frustrated at everything. By contrast, I just relax in the Laurel, floating along on its magic carpet ride”.

The gold C31 is also a fascinating reminder of large Japanese saloons just before the arrival of the Lexus. B 714, as with Ben Jackson’s Toyota Crown Super we featured previously, is uncompromisingly Pan-Pacific in its appearance. However, the buyer also gained comfort, a lavish level of appointments, and reassurance that they would arrive at their next business appointment in style.

Or, as Melissa puts it, “commuting to work in this car is never a chore whatever the weather or traffic.” So naturally, she plays 1980s music on the cassette player, for to quote a certain Sade number, a Nissan Laurel C31 is definitely ‘a smooth operator’.

With thanks to: Melissa Jardine

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