Distinctive Nissan Pao powers through Evergreen

Heidi Fletcher won the People's Choice award for her 1990 Nissan Pao at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

Heidi Fletcher won the People's Choice award for her 1990 Nissan Pao at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. The car, imported from Japan, came with Japanese papers. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

Heidi Fletcher won the People's Choice award for her 1990 Nissan Pao at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

The air conditioning unit of Heidi Fletcher's car show winner, a 1990 Nissan Pao. Fletcher won the People's Choice award at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

Heidi Fletcher won the People's Choice award for her 1990 Nissan Pao at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

The interior of Heidi Fletcher's car show winner, a 1990 Nissan Pao. Fletcher won the People's Choice award at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

Heidi Fletcher, who started In N Out Auto Sales with her husabnd, won the People's Choice award for her 1990 Nissan Pao at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

Heidi Fletcher's trophy from when she won the People's Choice award for her 1990 Nissan Pao at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

Heidi Fletcher won the People's Choice award for her 1990 Nissan Pao at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

by KATE HESTON
Daily Inter Lake | July 28, 2024 12:00 AM

A retro-styled three-door hatchback in aqua gray, Heidi Fletcher’s 1990 Nissan Pao grabs attention.

With just over 31,000 of the cars produced between 1989 and 1991 and originally marketed solely in Japan, the Pao is unique driving most anywhere let alone in the Flathead Valley.

“There were only a small amount imported into the states,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher’s car won the People's Choice award at the Show N Shine car show last year, a hit with the community. Outside her family’s car dealership in Evergreen recently, Fletcher sitting in the right-side driver’s seat below the soft-top reversible roof she drove the car around the lot with a smile on her face.

The car has a simple radio and air conditioning unit and a feature that beeps when it is put in reverse. The manual and original paperwork, all which Fletcher has, is in Japanese, much of it handwritten.

Due to its length and engine size, it is too large to be considered a light car in Japan and is instead classified as a small-size passenger vehicle. It can seat five people.

Offered in four exterior colors only, the Pao was introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 1987 and available by reservation only.

Originally purchased by her husband’s godfather at an auction, six years ago the car was gifted to Fletcher from the family.

Fletcher is undecided on whether she will reenter the car in this year’s show but looks forward to the show regardless, which she and her husband, Jordon, help sponsor through their Evergreen dealership, In N Out Auto Sales.

“It's a huge show, so the fact that I won was really exciting to me,” Fletcher said. “There were a ton of really cool cars.”

The Show N Shine is one of the largest car shows in the state of Montana, taking place the first Saturday of August each year. Fletcher and her husband have sponsored the event for the past few years.

Connie McCubbins, executive director of the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce, was pleased that Fletcher won an award at the show.

“In N Out Auto Sales have been supporters of the Show N Shine from the start when they became part of our Evergreen community and members of the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce,” McCubbins said.

Jordon’s family has been in the car dealership business for over 40 years. In Fletcher’s position at the dealership, she hopes to give people the confidence to find a car that fits their needs.

A past motorcycle enthusiast and licensed occupational therapist, Fletcher moved to the valley three years ago to open the In N Out Auto Sales dealership off U.S. 2 with her husband.

“We were given the opportunity to do something else [post-Covid].” Fletcher said. “It was a hard decision, but it allowed us to slow down a bit too.”

Originally from Tacoma, Washington, Fletcher’s father-in-law was a frequent visitor to Montana and the Flathead Valley. When the previous owner of the Evergreen dealership wanted to sell the shop to another family dealership, the Fletcher family was a fitting option.

“This dealership is run by a therapist and a finance guy,” Fletcher said. “We’re here to really help the community get cars that run. We don’t want to be a used car dealership that everyone normally thinks of [as a negative].”

Fletcher also owns Intentional OT, where she travels to clients in the valley for pediatric and postpartum healing trauma work. She handles the backend of the dealership, from books to marketing to simply building community.

The car shop features shuffleboard, arcade games and the occasional food truck, making the space family friendly and engaging. They source their repairs locally and are grateful for their Evergreen and Flathead Valley neighbors’ support.

“It’s been really great to find other businesses that want to do the best they can too,” Fletcher said.

Thankful to the Evergreen community, Fletcher looks forward to continuing to serve the Flathead through therapy, straightforward car sales and a positive outlook on encouraging the community and being a good neighbor.

“My role here is to build community and foster that community, that’s what I focus on,” she said.

The Show N Shine car show on Aug. 3 runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Conlin’s Furniture parking lot, 1441 Montana 35, Evergreen.

Reporter Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.

Heidi Fletcher won the People's Choice award for her 1990 Nissan Pao at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

The air conditioning unit of Heidi Fletcher's car show winner, a 1990 Nissan Pao. Fletcher won the People's Choice award at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

Heidi Fletcher won the People's Choice award for her 1990 Nissan Pao at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

The interior of Heidi Fletcher's car show winner, a 1990 Nissan Pao. Fletcher won the People's Choice award at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

Heidi Fletcher, who started In N Out Auto Sales with her husabnd, won the People's Choice award for her 1990 Nissan Pao at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

Heidi Fletcher's trophy from when she won the People's Choice award for her 1990 Nissan Pao at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)

Heidi Fletcher won the People's Choice award for her 1990 Nissan Pao at the 2023 Show N Shine car show in Evergreen. (Kate Heston/Daily Inter Lake)