The Nissan Stanza was a compact car introduced by Nissan in 1977 and was a "badge-engineered" brother to the Nissan Auster and Nissan Violet. All three bore the A10 codename, and were built in Hiratsuka, Japan and Oppama, Japan (the former home of the Maxima). A front wheel drive model for the 1982 model year was launched in 1981. Later versions of the car would also be rebadged Nissan Bluebirds.

First generation (1977–1981)

The Stanza was first introduced in the 1977 model year as a rebadged Japanese-market Nissan Violet. In Australia, it was called the Datsun Stanza, and in the United States the Datsun 510, a name which was intended to recall the previous Datsun 510. It was powered by the 2.0 L, straight-4 Z20 series of engines.

Second generation (1982–1986)

After 1982, Nissan tried to standardize the Stanza name in its export markets. In the US, the T11 Stanza, a small hatchback with the same Z20E engine, replaced the 510 for the 1982 model year. The Nissan Prairie was sold as part of the range, as the Stanza Wagon. In 1984, Nissan changed the engine in the Stanza from the Z20E to the 2.0 L, straight-4 CA20E.

Third generation (1987–1989)

The Stanza line was not seen in most export markets after the 1986 model year. The growth of the Sunny and Pulsar models from below meant there was little room for it. However, it was still seen in the United States, as a sedan with the Nissan Maxima chassis but the same CA20E engine found in the previous Stanza. This led to the car being unusually heavy for its class, and as a result of its smaller engine, underpowered.

Nissan renewed the Auster and Stanza lines in 1986 (T12 series), introducing squared-off styling—very much at odds with the trend then to rounded shapes, the Ford Taurus an example. Japan and the US received this model. Europe received a version of the Nissan Auster from 1988 as a Bluebird replacement. These were built in Sunderland, in the UK, and badged as the Nissan Bluebird. The station wagon was the only "real" Bluebird in this range, imported from Japan.

Fourth generation (1990–1992)

For the 1990 model year the American Stanza was replaced by a version of the Nissan Bluebird (U12 series), wearing Stanza badges. This version used the 2.4 L straight-4 Nissan KA24E engine, an upgrade from previous generations in displacement (1974 cc to 2398 cc), power (94 hp to 138 hp), and torque (114 ft·lbf to 148 ft·lbf). This Stanza, often criticized as having very uninteresting styling, was discontinued after the 1992 model year and replaced by the American-built Altima, also Bluebird-based. The last American Stanza rolled off the assembly line on March 27, 1992, though its name would live on in the first generation Altima, technically known as the "Nissan Stanza Altima". Nissan would bail out of the compact class for North America until their Sentra crossoved over to the compact class for 2000.

In Japan and elsewhere, the Auster and Stanza ranges were effectively replaced by the Nissan Primera for the 1990 model year.

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