Editing Daihatsu Compagno (section)

==History==
One hundred twenty thousand Daihatsu Compagnos were produced between 1963 and 1970. The first model introduced, in April 1963, was the Compagno Light Van light commercial vehicle (F30V). It was available in Standard or Deluxe trim. Two months later the Compagno Wagon (F30) followed, a pricier and more comfortable and passenger oriented version. This cost over twenty per cent more than the Standard Light Van and was Daihatsu's first four-wheeled passenger car. In November 1963 the Japanese-designed two-door saloon appeared, called "Berlina" and with the F30 chassis code. This was available in either Standard and Deluxe trim, priced close to their Light Van and Wagon counterparts. The Deluxe had an Italianate dashboard, reflecting Vignale's input, complete with three-spoke Nardi steering wheel.

To celebrate the [[1964 Summer Olympics|1964 Tokyo Olympics]], Daihatsu used two Compagnos and a New line in a PR stunt, driving the {{cvt|18000|km}} from the [[Olympic flame]] in [[Olympia, Greece]] to Tokyo in a little over three months.<ref name=DaiRede>{{citation | ref = DaiKi | title = Daihatsu Automobile: Erfahrung für die Zukunft | trans-title = Daihatsu Automobiles: Experience for the Future | last = Kießler | first = Bernd-Wilfried | language = de | page = 34 | isbn = 9783517012254 | publisher = Südwest | date = 1992 }}</ref>

In April 1965 the Compagno Spider appeared, introducing the larger and more powerful 1000 engine. The engine displacement was initially kept below one liter to price the car in the lowest [[Road tax#Japan|road tax bracket]] for Japanese buyers. The Spider received a twin-carb unit producing {{cvt|65|PS|kW|0}}. One month later the larger engine was also installed in the Berlina, and a new four-door model (only with the bigger engine) was added. The four-door model sits on a {{cvt|60|mm|in|1}} longer wheelbase. 1000 Berlinas have a single carburettor and produce {{cvt|55|PS|kW|0}}. In October 1965 the F31P Compagno Truck appeared, a small pickup truck capable of loading {{cvt|500|kg|lb|0}}. The 800&nbsp;cc engine gradually became installed only in the lesser variants as the 1000&nbsp;cc segment gained in popularity in Japan. In November the Compagno 1000 GT appeared, a Berlina two-door with the more powerful Spider engine. In April 1967 a two-speed automatic transmission became available.

In May 1967 the Compagno received a minor facelift, with new head- and taillights and a new grille. The fender pressings were also subtly altered so as to streamline production. A Super Deluxe version of the four-door was added, while the Spider and GT gained front disc brakes. Last amongst the news was the 1000 GT Injection, with mechanical [[fuel injection]] albeit no more power than the existing twin-carb version. In April 1968 the front grille was altered again, with black trim for the Spider and GT. The Super Deluxe gained chrome trim at the rear. In April 1969 the succeeding [[Daihatsu Consorte]] appeared, using Daihatsu's own 1.0-litre engine fitted in the [[Toyota Publica]] KP30 body. Daihatsu decided to depend on Toyota for designing compact cars from now on. The Consorte was initially only available as a two-door sedan, and while the Van, Truck, and Convertibles were not replaced the four-door Super Deluxe remained in production until January 1970 so as to meet existing orders.

Notably, the Compagno was the first official Japanese car import for the [[United Kingdom|UK]] market. Arriving in May 1965 in its initial 797cc form, UK press such as [[Autocar magazine]] found the car to be quite lackluster compared to its competition. Aside from the build quality and good standard equipment, the magazine review noted its outdated styling, poor ride and brakes, high price, and a 0-60 time that was quoted as being "too slow to record." In the end, only six Compagnos would be sold in the UK in its five years on the market. Nonetheless, the Compagno would eventually inspire other Japanese automakers to begin exporting their products to European markets, such as the 1966 [[Toyota Corona|Corona]] from [[Toyota]] and the 1968 [[Nissan Sunny|Sunny]] from [[Nissan]] (which would be known as the Datsun 1000).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Throwback Thursday 1965: the first Japanese car sold in the UK |url=https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/throwback-thursday-1965-first-japanese-car-sold-uk |access-date=2023-02-26 |website=Autocar |language=en}}</ref><ref name=DaiR33>[[#DaiKi|Kießler]], p. 33</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/RoadTestsHistory/Daihatsu-Sirion-1.3-SE/214836/ |title= Review: Daihatsu Sirion 1.3 SE |publisher= Haymarket Media Group | work = Autocar.co.uk | date=2005-04-26 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403042948/http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/RoadTestsHistory/Daihatsu-Sirion-1.3-SE/214836/ |archivedate=2012-04-03 }}</ref>

The Compagno was also sold in numerous other European markets. In Australia it was marketed until import tariffs were changed in 1968, which would have made the car prohibitively expensive.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110667289 |title= Daihatsu will return to car field | editor-last = Brown | editor-first = Robin |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |location=Canberra |date=13 July 1971 |accessdate=18 January 2015 |page=13 }}</ref> Daihatsu returned to the Australian passenger car market in 1972 with the [[Daihatsu Fellow Max|Max 360X]].