East, Central America and South America. It is known as the Nissan Tsuru in Mexico, Nissan V16 in Chile, Sentra B13 in Central and South American countries, and Sentra Clásico in Peru and the Dominican Republic. Tsuru vehicles destined for the Mexican market were modified by Nissan Mexicana specifically for the Mexican market and for the most part are identical to the 1991 model except for a new Renault-sourced clutch/transmission, updated Mexican-made electronic systems and minor cosmetic and ergonomic upgrades. The Tsuru was the most popular car in Mexico from 1997 until 2011 when it was surpassed by the Mexican-made Volkswagen Jetta. The Middle East/African export market version is the same basic car only with minor cosmetic changes and mechanical downgrades to make it cheaper, such as non-power steering, downgraded interior trim, a downgraded braking system, and a mechanical clutch instead of a hydraulic one. Vehicles sold in the Middle East region are not equipped with catalytic converters to make the car cheaper to build. Because of the lack of the catalytic converter, the vehicles are illegal in Mexico and South America. More recent models have received a Renault-built hydraulic clutch and an optional catalytic converter. Its affordable price, relatively good fuel economy, easy servicing and ease of finding spare parts for it made it popular among local taxi drivers and low income families in Mexico, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The Tsuru is commonly used in the taxicab livery in Mexico as a replacement for the VW Beetle. Due to stricter automobile safety regulations which came into effect in Mexico from 2019, production of the Tsuru was discontinued in May 2017 since the Tsuru lacked both anti-lock brakes and airbags. A special commemorative edition limited to 1000 cars went on sale in March 2017, by which time 1,849,289 third generation Tsurus had been built in Mexico. Safety The Tsuru/Sentra in its most basic configuration with no airbags for Latin America received 0 stars for adult occupants and 0 stars for infants from Latin NCAP in 2013. Fourth generation (B14; 1995) Introduced on January 5, 1995, the Sentra changed from an independent rear suspension to a torsion beam setup. Some variants were not equipped with a rear swaybar or rear disc brakes. Many of these vehicles equipped with the 1.6-liter DOHC engine that had Nissan's Variable Intake Valve Timing Control System (NVTCS) and standard 5-speed manual transmission can