Nissan Civilian: Japan’s small bus

The Nissan Civilian is a single-decker minibus built since 1971, mainly as a public and intercity bus. In Japan it was sold at Nissan Store dealerships and replaced the Nissan Echo of 1958. Its chassis codes continued the Echo’s, reflecting shared underpinnings with the Nissan Caball.

Nissan Civilian at a glance

based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Nissan Civilian.

History of the Nissan Civilian

From the Echo

The bus line began in 1958, when the KC42 was a special-order vehicle built on B40 Junior and C40 Caball truck underpinnings and sold as the Junior Microbus and Caball Microbus. In June 1960 the Caball and Junior microbuses were updated with the B140 and C140 models, and the GC140 Caball Microbus became a regular production model. In 1961 the GC140 was renamed the Caball Echo, and in 1962 it became simply the Echo with the 1.9-litre H engine and the GC141 code. A light facelift in 1963 brought higher headlights and round indicators and added a long-wheelbase GHC141; a 2.0-litre SD22 diesel joined in January 1964. Two more facelifts in 1964 and 1965 changed the cooling system and moved the chassis code to 142.

The Civilian

The Civilian took over from the Echo in 1971, keeping the Echo’s chassis code pattern with its own GC340, which pointed to the shared underpinnings with the Caball C340. It became Nissan’s standard small bus for public and intercity routes, with a normal capacity of 26 passengers.

Engines and markets

Over the years the Civilian has used the 4.5-litre TB45E petrol engine and a long list of diesels: the 4.2-litre TD42T turbodiesel, the 2.8-litre RD28T, the 3.3-litre ED33 and its turbocharged ED33T, the 3.5-litre ED35, the 3.0-litre direct-injection ZD30DDTi and even the Mitsubishi Fuso 4M50 of 4.9 litres. In some markets the bus was sold as the Datsun Civilian, and in China it is marketed by Dongfeng as the Dongfeng Green Lotus, still with Nissan logos.

Design and features

• 26 seats: a compact bus for routes where a full-size coach is too large.
• Caball roots: the body and chassis descend from the Caball truck line.
• Wide engine range: petrol and diesel units from 2.8 to 4.9 litres.
• Long production: in service since 1971.

Nissan Civilian versions

• Caball Echo (1961–1971): the minibus predecessor.
• Civilian GC340: the first Civilian generation.
• Civilian W41: the model code used in later years and in export markets.
• Dongfeng Green Lotus: the Chinese version with Nissan badges.

The Civilian grew out of the Caball line, and Nissan’s smaller bus work went to the Caravan. More cars are in the Nissan collection.

Video: Nissan Civilian Bus at Nissan 360

Video by YouTube on YouTube.

Sources

• Nissan Civilian, English Wikipedia: Echo ancestry, engines, markets, capacity