Have you ever wondered why most electronic artists turn to analog warmth? Have you ever wondered why electric guitar amplifiers still use vacuum tubes, with solid-state amps being a big no-no for seriously talented musicians? Well now, we don't mean to talk like your old man, but old school is best school on this occassion. The same applies to the Nissan Voice Warning box, a contraption that uses a tiny vinyl record to make the 1982 Datsun 810 Maxima talk.
Also known as the Nissan Voice Annunciator, this whiz-bang futuristic electronic device graced one of the most awkward cars from the long-forgotten Malaise Era. If you ever find something like it at the junkyard, offer the man $15 because that's how much a Nissan Voice Warning system is worth these days.
The era that saw Michael Jackson top the charts was a black era for cars, no pun intended. It was then when a series of TV ads tried to reduce confusion for American shoppers with lines such as "From now on... the name is Nissan." We forgive Nissan/Datsun for this rebranding effort thanks to the Voice Warning box.
The under-dash box you can see and hear in the following video uses a tiny phonograph record to tell the driver this and that. Nissan was so proud of it that the manufacturer added a snazzy on/off switch on the center console, just to remind the driver that the future is now... or to shut the friggin' thing off. If HAL 9000 of 2001: A Space Odyssey had a brother with a passion for vinyl records, this would be him.
Designed to be shock-resistant, the built-in phonograph record player issued various vocal warnings about what the Maxima was up to at a given moment. The 3-inch white plastic record was cut with six parallel grooves, each containing a voice message. These are: "Left door is open," "Right door is open," Lights are on," Keys in the ignition," Fuel level is low," and "Parking brake is on." The stylus that drops in the grooves is triggered by the Voice Warning system's control circuitry, which was the pinnacle of analog automotive devices back then. Imagine how funny it would be to rig this retro-licious device into your Ford F-150, LOL.
Want to hear something even more oddly compelling about (how I've found) the Nissan Voice Warning box? Death in Vegas posted a video of it on their Facebook page. The British psychedelic electronic rock group's first album is known as Dead Elvis and, just like the Nissan Voice Warning box, it's an immersive blast from the past that makes heavy use of analog synths and vinyl-ripped samples. Enjoy the audition!
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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