Page 52 - 60 YEARS NISSAN NIC. J. THEOCARAKIS S.A.

1973-1980
The "Spatial Plan for the Capital” was assigned
by the Ministry of Public Works to the Doxiadis Firm, and it was officially delivered in 1976. The expansion of Athens towards Corinth and Thebes-Halkida was confirmed, although no new regulations were proposed for motor traffic. In 1979, Law 947/79 was published, with Stefanos Manos as Minister. For the first
time, a proposal was
made for raising funds
for the implementation
of the Regulatory Framework, and shortly after the "Athens 2000" Plan was published, but
no steps whatsoever
were taken towards its implementation - its publication in the Official Gazette in 1980 does not suffice. In 1971, there were 2,542,349 people living in the Athens Agglomerate, and 10 years later about half a million more. The country's Capital appears to be both attractive and captivating.
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Three years before the end of the decade, Nic. J. Theocarakis S.A., was formally involved in car races, trusting a right-hand drive Datsun 160J 710 to Tassos ‘‘Siroko’’ Livieratos - Manolis Makrinos team. Their maiden victory at the Spring Race was followed by four more victories, and they were crowned champions. This
was just the beginning of a long and very successful presence in races. The company’s success was complimented by the Racing Department that was created in 1977 thanks to the perseverance and insightfulness of Ioannis Theocarakis, and which fully launched its activities after 1980. Car races, with the Acropolis Rally being the most prominent, were not only an advantageous testing ground for proving in practice the reliability and durability of the Datsun products, but also an opportunity, or rather a challenge,
for improving the skills of the company’s technicians, the same technicians that provided technical support for passenger cars – a subject that will be analysed further in another chapter.
During the decade 1971-1980, there were two oil crises, in 1973 and in 1979. Severe restrictions on car imports were imposed during 1972 and 1973, while the devaluation of the drachma against European currencies resulted in a higher exchange rate - a 14% increase in the