The Nissan name was first seen on the American version of the 280ZX in 1979. From that year until 1983, the car was given the brand name of "Datsun by Nissan". These were the years when Datsun was slowly making the transition to the Nissan name around the world.

There were two different trims on this car, and they were very different. The lower base trim got nothing special, while the Grand Luxury GL 280ZX got nearly every option available. The only thing left above that was leather seats and digital dash in 1982.

1981 was a big year for the 280ZX. In that year, the 280ZX Turbo was introduced. It only came with a 3 speed automatic transmission, but this was still the fastest Japanese car sold in the U.S. market, and was the fastest non-exotic production car on the market.

Some of the original commercials for these cars starred Paul Newman and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

These cars are still very popular with import car collectors and Nissan fans. You can buy them used on places like eBay, along with lots of original parts and customs and mods.