The reason I know this is because the VW Minibus, which was engineered in the 40s has been sold in Brazil from 1953-2013 with very little change. Want to know how much a brand new van designed 60 years ago would cost you? $18,000 USD.

That's a vehicle whose engineering and equipment was paid for decades ago, that received numerous exemptions to tightening safety and emission standards and could be produced in a region with cheap labor. It was also the cheapest vehicle of its kind on the Brazilian market.

Super cheap cars like the Versa are really only possible because Nissan figured out how to build value without making money. The $11k stripper model is a good for marketing (i.e., inflated fuel economy #; generates interest in the low price, even if they aren't viable), money can be made on the back-end (financing), lowers lease residuals, it can be used to keep factories at full capacity, and helps negotiate lower prices with suppliers.