Nissan Altima

s852

It varies on the model, the time and the location.
You can already get near invoice prices on the all-new for 2001 Honda Civic in some locations. That is a little unusual for the first year of an all-new Honda design.
The new Civic is nice, but it did not really impress many.
I think the new Altima will be more impressive, but many people shop Nissans for price when they decide a Honda or Toyota is too expensive for them.
Either the MSRP needs to be lower than a Honda or Toyota and they won't need to discount them much, or else they will need to discount them heavily so the real street price will be lower than a Honda or Toyota if the MSRP is high.

speedracer3

I guess I am an exception. I shopped the Camry V6 (Solara) and Accord V6 (coupe) and chose the Maxima SE which is more expensive than either Camry or Accord. So it is not only about price it's what you are getting for the price. If there is "value added" in the Altima vs. CamCords then Nissan will sell them even if they are slightly more expensive. Remember, Nissan is not planning to dethrone Camry and Accord, their goal is to sell 190,000 new Altimas and I think it is a modest and attainable figure.

ludacris

does shopping at the end of the month help in getting a price u want?

bluesky999

Thx for bringing those pix to our attention. All 3 colors looked good to my eyes.
Well, let's see, if you wait until '04 to buy a car, you have the choice of 1) a slew of new Nissan's and Infiniti's 2) new Honda Accord, rumored to be at least 240 HP and 5 speed auto 3) new Toyota Camry including a "sport" edition 4) new Grand Prix and 5) for about 4 extra clams, the new Acura TL (in '04). I think I just might wait that long, since by then the Altima should have offer a 5 speed auto, and perhaps a bump in vitamin H (as in horsepower) from 240 up to the 260+ range. In the meantime, I can obsess about this and prove that I am indeed a car nut.

maxamillion1

For 2003 Mazda is said to be redesigning the 626, and from the sketches at Motortrend, it looks to be a winner also.

nikecar

you hit it on the head with the Civic...

they are mass produced like rabbit bunnies and thus can sell it for close to invoice because with that car, volume is the key. You see much more LX's on the road than EX's because for the price someone will pay for the base EX, you can get more features in an Altima or other cars.

lsc

you guys are right about Honda, the new Civic is not impressive...just like the '97 Camry was unimpressive. That's because in both cases, cutting production costs was the major goal. Nissan did the same thing on the Maxima and the Altima in 1995 and 1997.

Anyway, it looks like Nissan is not going to make the same mistake with the 2002 Altima.

redline65

Has the Civic ever been impressive?

s852

The Civics from several years ago were impressive for what they were. They clearly outclassed the other economy cars they were competing with.
Now they are more average due to cost cutting and "decontenting."
Nissan decontented the Altima starting in 1997 where they eliminated some options (like auto climate control on the GLE), then they totally messed up the 1998 to 2001's with cheap materials and frumpy new styling.

nikecar

then they totally messed up the 1998 to 2001's with cheap materials and frumpy new styling

says you... The only thing I don't like is the tail section, but its grown on me. but each person is different and with different opinions...

maxamillion1

Cheapened the 1998-2001 Nissan Altima compared to the 1993-1997. I have two aunts, one drives a 1995 and the other drives a 2001, both are GXE models. My aunt with the 1995 has a better overall interior design than the 2001 my other aunt drives, the seat fabrics of the 1 gen were better then those of the 2 generation,the wood trim used in the 1 gen was alot classier than that of the second gen to me. I agree that Nissan really started cheapening the Altima for the 1997.5 model, when the deleted the Automatic Climate control from the GLE models. I don't know about styling, that's subjective, but just about every Magazine thinks the 2 gen was overall cheapen and less desirable then the 1 gen, and I have to agree, but that is just my opinion.

Regards
Max

ruski

another dealer sent me this:

" We do not have specific prices on the new 2002 Altima nor Maxima. We are speculating however, that the Altima will be between $19,000 to the $25,000 range. Maxima's are probably going to remain in the same price range as this year ($23,600 to $32,000). We do not know what the supply number will be but we are very sure that they WILL be hard to get. It will not be a
vehicle that we will have plenty in stock. They will be leaving our lot as soon as they get here.
There is word that they will be out this Septemeber. As I mentioned before, we do have many individuals requesting a new Altima and have a waiting list for them. Fortunately for you, this list is still very small. I encourage you to either pass by or give me a call so that way I can explain to you our procedures for purchasing the new Altima"

s852

I guess everyone had better run out and buy one on the first day before they are all gone forever.

bluesky999

I'm kind of surprised you guys are so well informed on the Civic. When I see a Civic, it looks so conservative and underpowered that my mind refuses to think about it. I would buy a used camcord before I would buy a new Civic. Is there some attraction to the entry level cars, such as the Civic, that I'm missing out on?

kookiel

Has your dealer read the automotive sales stats for this year? Leaving his lots "soon" does soon means six months? Sure the Altima is a nice car (I drive a Gen 1), yet dealers in Huston were selling '93 models at or below invoice by early 93. A local dealer is ready to strike a deal for the '02 at $ 300 over invoice. With the sales slow this year Nissan will have to discount as Toyota, Honda and Ford will discount cars to meet their sales numbers

nikecar

subliminal messages in Civic Ads... also, they give all good reviewers a free Civic to their daughters and sons...

s852

Since the car seems very good so far and has better specs on paper than what is currently available, if the price is good, it should sell well.
I doubt that people will need to sign up on waiting lists or camp out at the dealer to get one though.
Dealers will simply resist discounting for as long as the market will bear it.

har1bush

there's going to be plenty of Altimas period! At this price range, there is just too much competition (i.e. the new Camry, and well discounted Accord, not to mention Nissan's own '01 Maximas that will also have to be heavily discounted). Plus, if there's not enough in the first few months, you could always afford to wait until the dust settles.

lngtonge18

I sincerely hope Nissan doesn't try to decontent the 02 Altima like they did with the 97.5-01. I have a 97.5 that I recently bought and really notice the little things they deleted to save a few bucks. They took away the chrome interior door handles and door lock buttons, the passenger side power door lock switch, the digital clock in the dash above the HVAC controls, and the corner lamps that turned on with the turn signals if the headlights were on (and they call this a Limited model!). The deletion of the corner lamp irked me the most as that was one of the features I liked about my 91 Stanza and thought my Altima would have it too as I have seen ones that had it. I was quite disappointed to find out that in the place of the corner lamp relay is an empty spot Mazda made the same mistake with the 98-99 626 and than realized that they cheapened the car too much and readded the features they deleted to the 00 model. Let's hope Nissan has learned their lesson from the poorer response to the 97.5-01 Altima and makes things right with the 02.

ludacris

i dont think nissan is gonna decontent teh altima. they know what they have to do to reclaim their spot among Japans major companies (even if theyre 2nd or 3rd largest manufacturer in Japan, in America they arent). anyway, theyre bringing back the auto climate control, putting in 17 inch wheels (optional), putting in chrome door interior door handles, etc. etc. shouldnt have too much to worry about ; )

lngtonge18

Whats the big deal over auto climate control? I find it useless and more of an annoyance. They never seem to work how I would set the temperature and are very inaccurate. When you first get into the car, it blows steaming hot air at u at the highest possible fan speed, not fun when the car has been sitting in 100 degree temps all day. I was always having to adjust the temp while driving because the fan speed would be too high or too low, or it would be too warm or too cold. It's frustrating and caused me more distractions that a manual system would! I find it a lot easier to just turn a simple dial for both fan speed and temp control and rarely do I have to fiddle with it. Are manual systems really that difficult to operate for other people?

khoa

True, Auto Climate Control is only good when interior temp. have reached an equilibrium (thus only for long trips), all other times are just as distracted as manual.

As for difficulty, I know some people who think the manual control is _a_lot_ easier to use than auto climate. I didn't get it at first either, what's so difficult than setting a temperature ... then I found out how much they have to play with it when the ACC is started ... hehe ... full speed hot air!

ludacris

our maximas auto a/c works great...all you have to do is turn the knob to the temperature u want and leave it. others in rentals havent worked so well and easily tho...

s852

Some are sophisticated enough not to blow cold air in the winter. You set the temp and fan does not start until the engine is warm enough to blow heat through the vents.
I don't know if the Maxima or Altima will have this feature though.
I don't think it is possible to do the reverse in the summer because it needs to blow the hot air out before cold air can start.

ludacris

well it blows warm air for the first 5 seconds maybe...then it turns cool. it wont work like that if u set the temp at 72 or something..u gotta set it to the lowest temp i guess..

gerapau

I agree with ludacris, the Auto Climate Control in my Max works great. I can probably count on my fingers the number of times that I have had to adjust the settings in the two years that I have owned the car. As ludacris said, in the summer it may blow hot air for a few seconds but turns cool very quickly. In the winter the system will stay on the lowest fan speed until the engine warms up. I would assume that the Altima will have a similar system.

lngtonge18

I guess I just have had bad experiences with them. My first encounter was with an 85 Audi 5000 who's vacuum operated system completely shut down. The vent fan would only come on in the defroster mode and a constant annoying ticking sound was heard from underneath the dash. Than the 93 Mitsu Diamante was the one with the system I was constantly having to adjust. It wasn't smart enough to not turn on the vents when the engine was cold and heat was selected. Setting a temperature rarely kept me comfortable in Florida's godawful heat and humidity and I always had to manually select the fan speed because the auto setting was not accurate. Either the system just plain sucked or I suppose the temp sensor could have been messed up. The auto system in my sister's 00 Odyssey is always set at the coldest possible temperature, which makes me wonder if the extra expense of the auto system is really worth it in hot climates since a manual system can just as easily be set to constant cold. I guess I just don't think they are worth the extra expense, especially if it ever breaks. Hopefully, Nissan will make it an option instead of standard on the top-line model and make leather separately available. I hate when I'm forced to get the lower-line model to avoid frivolous gadgets I don't care to have.

cncman

I don't know if anyone has brought it up yet, but the ATC is available on the 2002, only in the SE, and it comes with the leather package automatically, and it appears that you can get it as a standalone option.

djp2c

Go to www.nissannews.com., look at the specs and on the right hand side it mentions ATC for the GLE

s852

One thing I don't like about the GLE is that leather seats are mandatory, yet heat for the leather seats is not available.
The only way to get ATC is to get an SE or GLE.
The SE gives you the choice of cloth or leather and of you take the leather, you can get seat heaters to go with it.
If you take the SE, you have to live with the extra expense of the V6 along with a harder ride.

hmpower

I just wish the V6 in the 2002 Altima was available in the mid-range models as well, to keep a lid on pricing. Maybe they will in 2003.
Also from what I've seen, the new Altima is inspiring Toyota and Honda to make their next Camry and Accord designs a little less appliance-like...if nothing else, we'll finally be able to buy midsize japanese sedans for reasons other than being affordable and reliable...

har1bush

It takes years of preparation to build and design a new car... I doubt that Toyota and Honda are being "inspired" in designing their cars by Nissan -- the Accord and the Camry are and will always be better selling than the Altima will ever hope to be.

ludacris

yeah i have to agree with u on that, i think that Toyota and Honda designing more radical family cars (but still very far from it) has more to do with them finally figuring out..."hmm maybe we should ALSO make the cars less bland..." hehe...of course it could also be how car reviewers' consistent bad comment against these cars is "bland character", etc.

nikecar

More like Lemmings... ooh ooh let's buy a Camcord..

Look at the Taurus.. the bubble taurus.. Everyone you talk to says it stinks.. the reviews say it looks ugly, yet it was still in the top 3 best sellers. Of course I think the Rental fleet had something to do with it....

Hoyota knows it has to keep up with the styling of Nissan and Mazda because they are aiming at the segment Hoyota isn't touching (except the CivicSi).

cncman

Well,
actually there is no such thing as a GLE anymore, it is an SL, and no, ATC is not listed there in the specs for the SL, plus, the Nissan ordering brochure that the dealers order it from only lists ATC available on the SE, which, BTW you do realize is the only one you can get with the 3.5l V6. I don't know, maybe you guys are looking at something that I haven't seen but everything points to no ATC except for the SE.

ludacris

checkout the freshalloy forum for some new pix...id try posting some pix but stupid photopoint deleted my account...check out the new Altima pix on the nissan news menu..i think thats right

danny25

Do you have any 2002 Altima brochures yet at your dealership? If not, do you know when they will be arriving? Since I can't see the car in person or test drive it yet, drooling over a new brochure is my only option, so I want one as soon as possible.

s852

I looked at freshalloy.com today and saw nothing new. I saw some pictures I already had seen last month.

ludacris

were they the pix with a white max with beige interior in a parking lot? if they were, sorry i didnt look at the post date lol

s852

I see them now. You did not say where on freshalloy.com.

http://freshalloy.ubbforums.com/forum/Forum19/HTML/000089.html

katraak

The new Altima looks great. I especially like the dark silver colored one sitting next to the white Altima. The rear end looks really good too, unlike typical Nissan ugly rear styling. The clear tail lights look good but given a choice I will do away with those clear lights, maybe aftermarket will come up with a fix.

Come fall the midsize segment is getting hot, with the new Altima, 2002 Camry and Accord.

s852

http://www.freshalloy.com/images/070201e.altima.jpg

and

http://www.familycar.com/RoadTests/LexusGS430/Images/RearSeat.jpg

I see some similarity in the styling of the sides and rear. Even the instrument panel shape looks vaguely alike.

http://www.familycar.com/RoadTests/LexusGS430/Images/DriversSeat.jpg
Here is the Altima interior
http://www.freshalloy.com/images/070201k.altima.jpg

ludacris

sorry for not posting a link guys...the day i went on the forum with the pix for some reason teh URL read www.freshalloy.com. i couldnt make an exact link...all i know is my computers been actin weird recently and im probably gonna have to reformat.

has anyone seen pix of the altima interior with the wood trim? its the only pic of the interior i havent seen yet.

s852

I am looking at at least 4 other cars as alternatives for the 2002 Altima. The Altima looks the most promising, but there are many things to wait for.

Official Pricing
Recalls and the resolution
Gas mileage
Crash test results
Magazine full road test results
Comments and complaints of the first buyers of the 2002 Altima who post their experiences in this townhall forum.
Personal test drive
Initial supply and dealer gouging problems when car first comes out.
The looks, pricing and performance of the 2002 Camry.

s852

http://www.canadianautoreview.com/nissan_altima.htm

lsc

I just saw the interior pics provided by S852...and boy, it's disappointing. The center looks very strange and the stereo looks like they loosely based it on the old Ford Taurus. We'll see how it looks in person.

It looks a little low rent and plain like there were some serious cost cutting. I'm not sure though. Any pics on the interior of the Camry?

With my stocks tanking..I had to reconsider my options and was thinking of getting this car again.

vocus

I LOVE the way the new car looks! It's like a mix between the Passat, the GS430, and the IS300. Definitely classy. Can't wait till they come out so I have a chance to work that SE 3.5 on a test drive!

s852

I doubt there were any additional cost cutting compared to the current super cheap Altima interior. If anything, the new interior is an upgrade.
It looks pretty good to me expecially compared to the old photos of the 2002 Altima I saw from the 2001 auto show.
The only thing that looks plain is the door panels, but I would need to see more photos and see it in person to really make a judgement.

ludacris

actually i really like the interior design. i think it looks really creative. the dash design should make the interior feel more "airy" inside too since it curves toward the base of the windshield, away from the passengers.

the front seats appear to be very thickly padded too. but ill have to wait to check it out first. the only problem i can see right now is the rear bench looks a lil flat...im not too fond of the amber dash lighting either (i prefer white or green) but its not as orangy red as those found in pontiacs/bimmers so i have to see this in person too.

har1bush

To me the interior of the Altima is a mixed bag. In some ways it does look futuristic and less bland than the interiors of other family sedans, but the center console stands out perhaps a little too much. I've only seen the aluminum trimmed console of the 3.5SE, and while it follows a bit of a sportiness of the car's exterior, it looks a bit out of place, especially with that last generation Taurus-like oval around the audio system. If priced right, however, this "controversial" interior might be very well compromised by the rest of the car's attributes.