For the Love of a Pao
Why is the Pao such a beloved car to so many? Because it is 'different'. And because it is different it has as many detractors as fans. Described as 'cute', 'quirky', 'bold' and 'characterful', there is no doubt that the Pao wants to stand out from the crowd. Here was a car that did not take itself too seriously.
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In a market where designers and buyers were desperately striving for a clean, modern look, the Pao was an ugly duckling. The designers of the Pao and its stable mates the Figaro, S-Cargo and the Be-1 were slapping the industry in the face, running circles around it, pointing and laughing. What made the Pao so different was its refusal to conform to the accepted norms of aesthetic progress but at the same time offering a modern car perfectly suited to city driving.
Not everyone wants to see a car break this far from the mold and the Pao's retro looks are a little too much for many people. Nissan took a step back on the path of aesthetic progress when it conceived the Pao, it could be argued, and this step back gave the car an ugly old-fashioned demeanour wholly unsuited to what is in many other respects a thoroughly modern car. A retro look, its detractors say, simply makes a car look outdated.
Of course the opinions of both the 'love' and 'hate' camps are all equally valid and are welcome in any civilised discussion of the Pao. What is more — and this is arguably the Pao's greatest contribution — Nissan produced a car that makes conversation, makes people think and invokes emotions. So many of today's cars are unable are unable to cause a flicker of emotion in the driver, let alone neutral onlookers, and that is a great shame.
Many of history's cult cars have been 'different' in many ways, and it is this willingness to stand out from the crowd, to shout long and loud and hard to tell the world that they do not care what it thinks that endears people to these cars. The 2CV, the Beetle, the Morris Minor: all different and all very proud to be so. It is this conspicuous difference that makes them what they are.
Nissan's masterstroke was in limiting the production of the Pao: in doing so it sold only to the hardcore fans and left everyone else — even to this day — wanting more. Would more models have been sold if production had continued? Probably. Would the Pao be revered as it is today? Perhaps not: there is the possibility that it would have become just another over-produced car with more units than buyers.
Love it or hate it the Pao is here to stay for a while yet. As the numbers of healthy, serviceable cars dwindles with the onset of age, so the cult status will flourish. Hopefully other novel automotive designers will take up the slack as the Pao disappears from our roads but truly different cars are few and far between.
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