You don’t need a Rolls-Royce to get yourself a car with a cool, hidden pocket for an umbrella, Nissan did it over 30 years ago.

Welcome to JDM Obscura where we delve into weird JDM cars, trim levels, gear, accessories and the like.

Think cars with umbrellas in their doors, and most people think of Rolls-Royce.

Since 2003, the luxury car marquee’s included a full-size umbrella in their Phantoms and Ghosts to the delight of their owners and their chauffeurs.

But, Rolls isn’t the only car manufacturer to offer an umbrella inside the door, and they aren’t even the first.

Umbrellas in doors have been a thing since at least the 1950s, with the Daimler ‘Golden’ Zebra having a concealed telescopic umbrella.

But that Daimler is like the Rolls, costing £12,000 to build in 1955 (that’s roughly equivalent to $500,000 today,) it’s far out of the reach of the common motorist.

One of the first of many car companies to offer an in-door umbrellas in their lineups meant for the masses was Nissan.

Scrolling through X/Twitter and, I came across a video showing a Nissan Langley/Pulsar owner showing off his optional, door-mounted umbrella pocket with full-size, retractable umbrella in action.

Check out the video that inspired this blog post below.

According to Response.JP and Carview.Co user Aoy@ma, Nissan’s offered this as an option in their Nissan Pulsars (known as Langleys in Japan) through two generations (N13 and N14) starting in 1986.

Here’s the straight English translation of the first ad above.

“The basis of organization theory is not to waste empty space. By the way, a wet umbrella really bothers him. The Pulsar style takes advantage of the thickness of the body side and buries the pockets. It’s strange because when you lightly press the tip of the handle of the umbrella inside, it comes out with a swoosh. It has a drainage hole, so you don’t have to worry about it getting wet. An umbrella pocket that comes standard with an original umbrella.”

The description on the second ad says pretty much the same, emphasizing a drainage hole so you don’t have to worry about your umbrella staying damp and getting moldy.

Presumably like all door-mounted umbrellas in cars, you can’t use any ordinary umbrella, you have to use a Nissan specific umbrella.

And, throughout its use, it can’t be bent even the slightest.

One minor kink in the handle or body of the umbrella, and, supposedly, they can’t be put back in without bending them back into shape.

Googling around, I also found a photo of what a Nissan Umbrella pocket looks like when pried out of its door, this one previously for sale.

And here’s how it looks like on the hottest Pulsar, the Nissan Pulsar GTI-R courtesy of RHD Specialties.

Since the Pulsar exited in 1995, it seems like Skoda’s taken a page from Nissan and included an umbrella in all their models as standard or optional starting in 2003.

But, as for one of the so-called “regular” car manufactures that isn’t super expensive, Nissan seems to be one of the first to offer an indoor umbrella in one of their bog-standard models.

And for that, the democratization of once pricey options, I tip my hat to them.