Cony 360

The Cony 360 was a kei car, truck, and van made by Aichi Kokuki.

Cony 360
Overview
Manufacturer	Aichi Machine Industry Co.,Ltd[1]
Production	143,845 units (sedan, panel truck, pickup); 100,886 units (Wide cabover truck/van)
Model years	1962-1971
Assembly	Japan
Body and chassis
Body style	kei truck 3-door wagon 2-door coupé van
Layout	RMR
Powertrain
Engine	354 cc 2 cylinder
Transmission	3-speed manual (until 1967), 4-speed manual (post-1967)
Dimensions
Curb weight	290 kg (639 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Cony Guppy

Overview

The 360 (referring to the 354 cc engine) had a two-cylinder engine producing 18 horsepower. Originally introduced as a two-door sedan, it was also built in light panel van and pickup truck versions, replacing the unrefined and outdated Cony Guppy and the similar Giant 360. Instead of an air-cooled two cylinder engine from the previous model, which was seen as outdated and unrefined, a new lighter air-cooled four cylinder engine producing 18 hp was placed in the 360; power went up to 20 hp after 1967. The vehicle was a technical oddity in early-1960s Japan. The compact engine, designed to take as little space as possible, was mounted in a RMR layout with a dry sump instead of an oil pan. The vehicle featured rack and pinion steering, a feature that was rare in Japanese cars at the time and mostly found on advanced American and European performance cars; post-1967 models also had a four-speed manual transmission, a rarity in kei cars of the time. Despite technological advantages, the 360's performance was low even for its class. It struggled to achieve a top speed of 80 km per hour.

Cabover truck

The wide truck was unveiled at the 1964 Tokyo Motor Show as a competitor to established cab over kei truck models such as the Subaru Sambar and Daihatsu Hijet. The name of Wide was due to the large size of the loading platform, which was the largest in its class; a panel van version was introduced in 1966. Some of the cab-over trucks were made in left-hand drive for export markets, mainly North America.[2][3]

Demise

For a smaller Japanese manufacturer, Aichi Kokuki was fairly successful and innovative; however, competition in the Japanese auto industry became fierce, particularly in the 360 cc kei segment. The introduction of newcomers, mainly the Honda N360 and T360 in particular, ate into Cony's market share as the vehicles, while advanced, were inferior in capability and performance compared to the Honda and Suzulight models. Nissan, having taken over Prince Motor Company in 1965, was greatly expanding its production and influence in the Japanese auto industry. Aichi Kokuki began its collaboration with Nissan in 1965, designing the Nissan A engine which would debut in the brand new 1966 Nissan Sunny. Aichi Kokuki's financial problems, combined with Nissan increasing their share of the company, caused the production of Cony vehicles to finally come to a halt in 1970; while there were plans to continue Cony vehicles under the Nissan badge, the plant was instead put to use to produce larger and far more profitable Nissan models, such as the Nissan Cherry, while the dealer network was transformed into the Nissan Cherry Store. Nissan did not control Aichi Kouchi completely until 2012, when it became a full-fledged subsidiary of Nissan.

References

1. Kimura, Nobuyuki. Giant and Cony Story. Shimabara Shoten. p. 32.
2. "Cony Car Club". Aichi Kikai. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
3. The 150 type was planned to be released in October 1969, a prototype very similar to a two-door car of [Honda · Life] (first generation) aiming at 3000 units per month and a price of 350,000 yen. Although it was a car, the parent company Nissan Motor originally planned to send manufacturing affiliates to the top management of Aichi machinery, but it was unable to train Aichi as a completed car manufacturer, and this plan did not succeed. (Translated from Japanese Wikipedia citation)