Just because a Nav is not offered on the Altima now it doesn't mean it will never be offered. The Maxima was not offered with a Nav system when introduced and now it has one. I expect that Nissan will wait to move the Maxima up to before they add a Nav system to the Altima. I am sure a Nav system will find its way onto the Altima, but maybe after the first or second year run.
Judging from the responses to my question, I guess I was wrong about the Camry requiring premo fuel. I remember that Edmund's had some cold-starting problems with theirs when they used regular. I know that my car (Jetta VR6) runs fine on regular, even though premium is recommended. The technical explanation I have received is that the knock sensor retards timing to compensate for the difference. I have noticed no loss in power and possibly very slight (0.5 mpg) loss in gas mileage.
I'm considering buying a 2002 Altima. I was almost ready to buy the Civic EX until I saw pictures of this car....It looks great!!! I'm leasing my current car which expires in Oct. but I have to get a new car in Sept because I'm going to reach my mileage. I called my local Nissan dealer and asked when the new models would be avail. They said early Sept. I also asked about the price of the new 2002. He told me that the price will be about the same as the 2001. I'm on a very strict budget for this new car. What are my chances of getting this car as soon as its avail at the invoice price?
The problem here in Northern Arizona is the Nissan dealers are awful. The one in my town in well known for shady dealings, and if you drive to Phoenix, they are like vultures; it is horrible. The largest Nissan dealership in the world is in Phoenix and it is a nightmare to even visit it. (In Arizona, Nissan outsells Toyota and Honda; from what I've heard, its one of the only, if not the only, state to do that) The Ford/Mazda dealership in my town is a nice honest Mom-Pop business which takes care of you. I LOVE the new Altima, but am not sure I can put up with the dealers... (My sister does... she's on her second Altima)
Universal City Nissan here in LA was supposed to be the biggest Nissan dealer in America...dunno...the dealer we got our car from literally had 20 salesmen standing outside the building by the doors and lots waiting for anyone to enter...
Forgive me if this is buried somewhere, but I didn't have time to wade through 600 messages... The wording on Nissan's website seems to suggest that the 5-spd will not be available with the V6. Is this correct? I've not seen any photos showing a manual and I'm getting concerned. An auto would be a big turn-off for me...
The 5 speed will be available for the 3.5SE, the stick shift will be available for all models, including the luxurious 2.5SL. Maybe one of the car magazines will test it in August and let us see what the interior looks like with the 5 speed stick.
At the Altima's introduction in NY they specifically said that with the 5spd. and a v-6 the Altima is suppost to do 0 to 60 in 6.3 seconds. That's definately my new car.
Re: comment on how to justify 2K for NAV, posters on other threads seem to love it on other cars, even if they don't use it that often. I tend to keep a car a long time, so 2K spread out over 10 years or more would not be a big deal. And they are cool--I've used the system in the Acura TL.
Re: Nissan dealers--my father has a Nissan, which has been very reliable and a fun car, but the dealers were pretty bad. Personally I'll really have to get my nerve up to brave the Nissan dealer experience and deal with the low-rent looking interior I expect, if I'm going to buy the Altima. But then I'm coming from a luxury and near-luxury perspective, as I'm used to Acuras. Problem with the Acuras is that they lack excitement--that's why I'm looking at other brands.
Looking forward to the reviews on the Altimi (that's the plural)
I think Nissan is making a mistake by continuing the Altima name with this redesign. Since they have decided to go much further upscale, the Altima name serves as a crutch in terms of prestige and pricing because people will associate it with the previous version. They should have ditched the Altima name and strated from scratch. It would have more greatly reinforced the notion that this is really a different, more greatly improved car from the Altima.
The current generation Altima may have missed a step or two, but by no means was it a complete loser. Nissan has made a move in the right direction in its complete redesign of the already identifiable name plate...Altima. Just my 2 cents.
I thought that too for a while... stil not sure exactly how I feel about it. In my opinion, the "old" Altima was percieved as an 11/10ths Sentra for the most part... it was never a serious contender to the Accord/Camry.
They are going to have to pour a LOT of money into advertising so that people will know tha the NEW Altima is a 100% completely different car. I hope there ad agency is up to it.
I think it was a good move to have kept the name. Discontinuing a model kills resale value, something Nissan has learned the hardway through Infiniti. Infiniti is only 12 years old and currently only has one model that has lived through the entire life of the brand (G20 was discontinued in mid-90s), and that's the Q45. That pissed a lot of owners off, buyers like buying a car that has a name behind it. Besides, with the new Altima rumored to be priced right in line with the previous generation Altimas what's the point in changing the name?
I read an article in a car magazine (I think it was Car and Driver) awhile back. It said manufacturers have to go through alot of legal red tape to get a new name for a product on the market. That's why Chevrolet brought back their old names (Malibu, Impala) for the redesigned cars they came out with.
The same thing could be said about the Passat when it came out in late 1997. It was so much better than the previous version, but sells still picked up, even though it kept the Passat name, and it became a real winner for VW. I expect the same thing will happen with the new 2002 Nissan Altima. The first generation Altima was better than the second gen. model, and haven't sells of the Altima been up lately?
I also think that changing names tends to confuse the buying public. It is good to keep "well known" names even if the previous generations were not up to snuff.
"Infiniti is only 12 years old and currently only has one model that has lived through the entire life of the brand (G20 was discontinued in mid-90s)"
I had put the G20 in brackets specificly because I thought someone would bring that up. The G20 was discontinued for 4 years in the mid-90s. So the Q45 still remains the only Infiniti model that has been consistently offered since the brand's introduction.
Sorry to belabor the point, but the responses beg the question, when should a car be given a new name then?
I owned a 1994 Altima for 4 years. I know from personal experience what a great car it is for the money. But the new new Altima is bigger, more luxurious, more powerful... it's simply much better in every way than it's previous version, and is built specifically to go head-to-head with the Camry and the Accord, while the previous version was not. If this list of changes isn't extensive enough to warrent a name change then I don't know what is.
I understand the point about name recongnition but if the Altima name is perceived to be an inferior product to the Camry and Accord with which it is supposed to compete, then name recognition will do Nissan more harm than good, in my humble opinion.
With this all said, I think Nissan will sell the hell out of these cars nonetheless.
Judging by what we know about the new Altima, it should be a successful car. You can take a great car and call it whatever, and it will still sell (at the right price). Just look at the Accord and Civic of today, they are nothing like the original but they have kept their names over many model changes and they have somewhat of a reputation. On the other hand, Acura dropped the Legend name and struggled. They are making the same mistake with the Integra.
If every time a car gets a "major" overhaul just as the maxima will soon get (avalon size), should millions of dollars be spent on getting that new name into consumers head?
I don't think so, I like Altima anyway. Nissan has made a good decision to stick with Altima for many reasons.
Now lets see if first year of production produces any service recalls.
Maybe this is off-topic, but you guys have me thinking about automotive name changes in general. I've noticed that some companies hold very tightly to their classic names, such as Buick (Century, Regal, LeSabre, Park Ave) and Cadillac (DeVille, Seville, Eldorado), while others seem all too eager to change names. Since I tend to be a nostalgic person, I usually dislike the idea of automotive name changes. Some that specifically stand out to me as stupid and unnecessary include the Pontiac Montana (formerly Trans Sport, which was a much cooler name in my opinion) and Toyota Echo (replaced the Tercel, which I think was a better and more recognized name). Call me crazy, but I wouldn't mind if the Avalon were rechristened Cressida. My opinion: use new names for truly NEW cars that have no real predecessors (Rendezvous, Aztek, Avalanche, Highlander, Escape, etc.) and use classic names for cars with obvious roots. As for the Altima question, I'm glad to see the Altima name being reused on the new car. But for that matter, they could have chosen to do something really unexpected...2002 Nissan Stanza, anyone? :-)
the whole article more or less sounded like a typical propaganda.... but those price estimates sound true along with everyone's predictions. Let's just wait until these reviewers actually get to test the car for some real evaluations and conclusions.
they could have driven the car... sure... it says a couple things about comparing the I-4 and the V6, but I'm saying they havent put anything to a real test -- 0-60, braking, handling, etc. etc. Plus, there arent any constructive criticisms and the article sounds something like someone from Nissan could have written.
Actually, the article did mention that the 4-cyl. would be in the back of the pack going up a steep hill. Not much criticism, but hardly Nissan propaganda. Plus there was another article in the LA Times about Nissan's revival in the States, and it states that Nissan has a reputation for suspect reliability. Most will attest that this assesment is not right. In fact, some will know that the Maxima's reliability is in fact better than the Camcords. So suggesting that the articles were written by Nissan seems kinda silly.
because they have embargoed all driving impressions until the 27th. It would be pretty silly of Nissan to break their own embargo. Actually LA times DID break the embargo by publishing driving impressions of the car before the embargo date. Allright LA times!
It's been a while since I visited the Nissan site but I thought the future driven section on the 2002 Altima was really well done. It certainly makes me even more interested in actually seeing one of these at my local dealer.
They may actually pry the 95 Maxima with 180,000 miles on it out of my ownership as a trade on one of these:)I had planned on keeping it for at least another few years.
OH man, I'm so depressed, I feel betrayed although I suppose I should have expected it. The MPG numbers are *so stinky*. I thought somehow Nissan would pull two 20-something nos. out of that V-6--after all, the *avalon* does -- and make the perfect car, designed exactly to my dream, that I could buy guilt free. As my DH says, anyone can make a 240 hp that gets 18/23 (or whatever it was, acc. to the LA Times). The trick would be to get it up like the Avalon. I don't want to hear that the Alt will do things the Avalon can't. I want it all.
I just don't see how I can buy it now, with that wretched city MPG. We wail on SUV owners for numbers that aren't always that much worse, and the Highlander is better, actually. I've been whining to my husband all day...
I guess it's just a matter of hours 'til we see the real figures. Ack.
Yeah, I know they're guesstimates, and of course I was looking at the V-6--the only one I'm interested in. I somehow expected nos. like the 4-cyl ones for the V-6--even the Regal can get 19-29, w/a 240.
I sure hope the estimates are way low (I saw an even lower estimate in another preview I found online--don't remember the site--18 hwy??? must be a misprint--I'm guessing they meant 18 city just like the LA Times).
If anyone sees the real EPA nos. (I checked nissannews and they haven't updated it yet), please post. Probably sounds strange but half of my DH's and my heart is in a fast fun car and the other half is in a Prius, and a third half is in a station wagon--is there a demographic for bleeding-heart family racers?
Comments
The wording on Nissan's website seems to suggest that the 5-spd will not be available with the V6. Is this correct? I've not seen any photos showing a manual and I'm getting concerned. An auto would be a big turn-off for me...
Re: Nissan dealers--my father has a Nissan, which has been very reliable and a fun car, but the dealers were pretty bad. Personally I'll really have to get my nerve up to brave the Nissan dealer experience and deal with the low-rent looking interior I expect, if I'm going to buy the Altima. But then I'm coming from a luxury and near-luxury perspective, as I'm used to Acuras. Problem with the Acuras is that they lack excitement--that's why I'm looking at other brands.
Looking forward to the reviews on the Altimi (that's the plural)
I called a dealer in the Los angeles area and they said October is the release time for the new Altima. Has anyone heard otherwise?
What do y'all think?
They are going to have to pour a LOT of money into advertising so that people will know tha the NEW Altima is a 100% completely different car. I hope there ad agency is up to it.
as for resale hurt.. geez, every car with a next year change takes a hit..
Reread what I said:
"Infiniti is only 12 years old and currently only has one model that has lived through the entire life of the brand (G20 was discontinued in mid-90s)"
I had put the G20 in brackets specificly because I thought someone would bring that up. The G20 was discontinued for 4 years in the mid-90s. So the Q45 still remains the only Infiniti model that has been consistently offered since the brand's introduction.
Toyota and Honda are about to get voted off.
Altima admirers, owners and dealers welcome.
I owned a 1994 Altima for 4 years. I know from personal experience what a great car it is for the money. But the new new Altima is bigger, more luxurious, more powerful... it's simply much better in every way than it's previous version, and is built specifically to go head-to-head with the Camry and the Accord, while the previous version was not. If this list of changes isn't extensive enough to warrent a name change then I don't know what is.
I understand the point about name recongnition but if the Altima name is perceived to be an inferior product to the Camry and Accord with which it is supposed to compete, then name recognition will do Nissan more harm than good, in my humble opinion.
With this all said, I think Nissan will sell the hell out of these cars nonetheless.
On the other hand, Acura dropped the Legend name and struggled. They are making the same mistake with the Integra.
I don't think so, I like Altima anyway. Nissan has made a good decision to stick with Altima for many reasons.
Now lets see if first year of production produces any service recalls.
-Andrew L
http://www.latimes.com/class/highway1/20010725/t000060528.html
Also good hint on the pricing. Sounds impressive.
They may actually pry the 95 Maxima with 180,000 miles on it out of my ownership as a trade on one of these:)I had planned on keeping it for at least another few years.
I just don't see how I can buy it now, with that wretched city MPG. We wail on SUV owners for numbers that aren't always that much worse, and the Highlander is better, actually. I've been whining to my husband all day...
I guess it's just a matter of hours 'til we see the real figures. Ack.
In sorrow,
ajacat
What are you talking about? No numbers have been released..
Since it is not available from the factory.
Here it is at Outpost http://shop3.outpost.com/product/93947/#
I sure hope the estimates are way low (I saw an even lower estimate in another preview I found online--don't remember the site--18 hwy??? must be a misprint--I'm guessing they meant 18 city just like the LA Times).
If anyone sees the real EPA nos. (I checked nissannews and they haven't updated it yet), please post. Probably sounds strange but half of my DH's and my heart is in a fast fun car and the other half is in a Prius, and a third half is in a station wagon--is there a demographic for bleeding-heart family racers?
ajacat