It's always a special feeling when you get out of your car, and someone asks, "Hey, what's that?" It either means that person doesn't know much about cars or you have a keen sense of automotive taste.... or they're trying to distract you while they rob you (but probably not). If you own a Nissan Gloria, this has probably happened to you in the last few days or perhaps even hours.

As car enthusiasts, it's not enough to know a lot about one thing. Someone calling themselves a JDM guy because they own a Japanese car won't cut it. But, if they know their stuff, the Nissan Gloria should widen their eyes and make them feel 'war and fuzzy' inside.

If you've never heard of the Gloria, don't count yourself out. It was never offered in the US, and not many have been imported. However, this rear-wheel-drive Japanese sedan goes way back in Nissan's history and is a great platform for aftermarket JDM goodness. Production of the Gloria lasted from 1959 to 2004.

Without further ado, let's take a look at everything you should know about the Nissan Gloria.

We Want What We Can't Have

Nissan Gloria
Via Barrett Jackson

The Nissan Gloria was also known as the Nissan Cedric. And the reason you've probably never heard of these names is the same reason why we couldn't get R34 GT-Rs in the States for so many years. Now, you can technically import an R34 and modify it to comply with the FMVSS standards for US roads.

But unlike the GT-R, the Gloria didn't have fans waiting on the other end of an ocean to import it when the time finally came. Meaning if they were imported at all, it was by necessity. For example, a Japanese family moving to the US may have owned a Gloria and wanted to take it with them.

This type of situation didn't result in many Glorias reaching North America since it wasn't a highly desired model.

But several decades after the "golden era" of JDM, any rear-wheel-drive Japanese car that can be modified is fair game to enthusiasts, and the Gloria is all of those things.

Related: Here's How Much A Nissan Skyline R34 Is Worth Today

The Nissan Gloria In All Its Glory

Black Nissan Gloria
Via: TTTNIS, Wikimedia Commons - http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en

In 1958, the Prince Motor Company began working on a luxury-oriented version of the Prince Skyline. It had completely different sheet metal and a mission for comfort. This was the BLSIP Gloria.

After it went on display at the All Japan Automobile Show in 1958, the company decided it would go on sale for the following model year. It has a very American design with flowing lines, big chrome pieces, and a large road presence. In fact, the first-ever production Gloria was given to the Crowned Prince of Japan, Prince Akihito, as a wedding gift.

It used an 80 hp inline-4 engine developed by Prince, and a few years later, it would get up to 93 hp for the BLSIP-3 version of the Gloria in the early 1960s.

By the 1990s, the Skyline and Gloria had gone in two completely different directions. The Skyline became the partial nameplate for one of the most famous sports cars in the world, and the other ended up as a lowly luxury sedan that no one seemed to care about beyond the waters of Japan.

But the Gloria's styling in the early '90s was way ahead of its time. It grew extra doors and did the Jaguar body style better than Jaguar themselves. Don't ever count out the Japanese when it comes to producing a timeless design.

And speaking of a timeless design, by the end of its production, the Gloria was replaced by the Nissan Fuga, which became the Infiniti M series sedans. And the Infiniti M45 sedan is one of the most badass bruiser sedans of the 2000s.

RELATED: Here Are The Coolest Classic Luxury Cars Japan Ever Produced

The Nissan Gloria Offered Fantastic Performance

1991 Nissan Gloria
Via: Mytho88, Wikimedia Commons - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

The early '90s Nissan Gloria was offered with several versions of the VG30 Nissan V6 as well as the VG20 2.0-liter V6. Those engines were paired with either a 5-speed or 4-speed automatic. No manual, sadly.

The Gloria made 226 hp at its peak in the '90s, putting it above both the '92 MR-2 and the Acura Integra, two extremely legendary sports cars.

Luckily, the VG30 motor series was also used in the Nissan 300ZX, a car that did come with a manual. Swapping it in doesn't take much work considering the V6 was mounted longitudinally in the Gloria.

The sedan version of the early '90s also gives drifters a larger wheelbase and more room to put race rubber in the back when traveling to the race track. Or, you could street your Gloria and turn it into a VIP sedan with window curtains, champagne compartments, and leather-padded floormats. Just an idea.

No matter if you love the Gloria or take a pass on it, this car is baked into Japanese car history and gave the Nissan Skyline badge the opportunity to find its way onto the first Hakosuka GT-R in the late '60s.