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Comments
Damn it man get serious, I'm counting on you.
Grand High Poobah
The Fraternal Order of Procrastinators
Grand High Poobah
The Fraternal Order of Procrastinators
Has anybody heard about what Nissan is looking for WRT sales numbers?
BTW, hairong where did you come up with the numbers?
Grand High Poobah
The Fraternal Order of Procrastinators
I agree with you that Murano will be cross-shopped with ALL the mid-size AWD wagons out there, but mainly the near luxury ones. When I first saw the picture, I see a taller tall wagon, not a SUV. However, Nissan's aim is clearly the highlander, and maybe the upcoming pacifica. It beats the highlander in every category, except compromising cargo room for styling.
BTW, Murano will be made in Japan, at least for the first year or two. This is because their TN plant is near full capacity and is adding on the '04 Maxima next year. (This is also from freshalloy.com)
So my question to those of you with American built Nissans - can I expect a similar level of quality with a domestically assembled product? Does it really matter whether the line is in Tokyo or Tennessee? (for quality - not for balance of payments!) Thanks.
http://www.mag-x.com/scoop/murano0206/index.html
I love the G35, however, the wheel doesn't telescope. With the mandatory sunroof there is more headroom than most sedans but not as much as I'd like.
It seems that the Murano may fit the bill, especially with the adjustable pedals. Has anyone seen any headroom numbers? What else would you suggest I consider? It appears I would be compromising on the power/weight ratio, however I love the CVT. If Infiniti had put the skyline CVT on the G with a little bit more headroom I'd be sold!
Thanks for your help.
Can't tell much other than the styling and colors, because they are coming down while I was going up. One is in champagne color, and the other is in that blue-ish grey color --- the "Bluedtone Metallic" of the Highlander. They looked pretty sharp.
For many years the one thing that Japan was missing was creating unique attractive body styles. Japan simply copied successful European or US styling. The new Lexus LS430 looks like the last Mercedes, etc.
The only exception to this rule was the last generation Nissan 300ZX and the Lexus SC300/400.
IMO the new Murano is a smashing success with very original, and dramatic styling. Lets hear it for Nissan for being willing to take some risk which is bearing fruit with the new Altima, G35, Murano, etc.
We know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and many of you out there prefer non descript transportation. You want to blend in and not be noticed. Honda and Toyota seem to dominate this market although they are becoming much more aggressive with their styling, Celica, Honda Element, New Scion Division, etc.
And many new body styles seem to be more appreciated with time. When the last 300ZX was introduced in 1990 many of my friends told me it looked like a squashed bug. And now it is widely heralded as a major styling success.
Lets hear it for the individualists and early adoptors who will love this new Murano.
Keep up the great work Nissan
Do you think Nissan will make a big deal about this - TV ads, test drive days (before customer delivery?) at every dealership, any special promotions (discounts or otherwise, perhaps for pre-ordering), etc.? Or are they likely to keep it quiet - send a couple of cars to every dealership at roughly the same time, and let people check it out for themselves?
What's the best way to ensure seeing one as soon as possible?
Thanks.
http://www.freshalloy.com/site/cars/nissan/2003/murano/spy/home.shtml
I just can't get myself to like the odd swooped up rear quarter panel / window. That styling feature breaks up the balanced look. Reminds me of the 1987 & 1988 Cougar. However, the Murano does have an overall presence that distinguishes it from the competition. If pricing can be kept well under 30k then Nissan surely has another winner!
We need to move up from our '95 Maxima within the next 6 months (2 kids + puppy = more room needed) and in theory the Murano looks good. But it's a stretch for us financially, so if it turns out to be a loser (quality-wise) we're in trouble.
Thanks for the educated guesses...
The G35, Q45, I35 and Maxima (all currently built in Japan) haven't had any big issues. Some G35 owners are complaining about A/C noise issues, I haven't heard anything about the Q45 since it's release and my family hasn't had any problems with our 2000 Maxima.
I'm not really sure if families with children were aimed to be the target market for the Murano. If it isn't, then it's hard to understand which market if truly fits into. If this vehicle was aimed for "SUV poseurs going boutique shopping", then sales would be probably dismal since sedans are logical alternatives.
I am in the market for a mid-size SUV, and I would like to wait and see what the Murano has to offer before paying MSRP + dealer installed crap for a Pilot. I am also skeptical about build quality of Honda cars manufactured in North America; I have a 2001 Acura CL-S, and it's got more rattles and fit-and-finish problems than my 150,000 miles 96 Maxima, which was built in Japan.
Note:
Once - it's called a typo.
Twice - it's called rude.
More - it's called disruption.
tidester
Host
SUVs; Aftermarket & Accessories
All along, I think Murano is aimed at Highlander's market, family with no kid or 1 kid. If Nissan can offer a right car at the right price at the right time, who's to say they won't succeed. The Murano, if its quality and reliability are on par with Maxima/Pathfinder (better than the Altima), it is the right car, IMHO. Timing is still very good, though could have been better (debuting along side the new Altima, thus ahead of the Pilot, would have been perfect), at least it is before the (will be) mass produced Pacifica and Crosstrainer. The price, if Nissan stands by their word, is right, IMHO.
Crikey, I do agree with you about sedans as alternative, however I would like to word it differently. If people who don't want to be caught dead in a minivan go buy a Pilot, people who don't want to be caught driving a midsize sedan will go buy a Murano. Think about the possibilities...
The Pilot's AWD is reactive, so it doesn't deliver any power to the rear wheels above 18mph until there is slippage. It's kind of like Auto 4WD without the low range benefits. Talk about SUV poseurs.
"Poseur", isn't that French?
I do not know why people are comparing it to the Pilot. Perhaps Nissan will offer a bigger SUV for the 7 seaters (I call it PathfinderPLUS) but that does not obviate the need for the Rx300 clone.
With the Murano, XTerra and PathfinderPLUS Nissan will have a complete range. XTerra for the low-price off-roaders, Murano for the urban SUV (currently a category covered by the PF which is a lot more than that) and a real full-sized SUV for the extended family up the Rubicon crowd.
The only issue is that at the entry-level pricing (under $25K) which is filled by RAV4/Forrestor/CRV, Nissan does not have a car-like offering.
1. Honda has a much bigger installed base of customers, who have loved their Civics and Accords.
2. There was no true HONDA SUV which the Honda dealer could offer to this large base of customers; the pent-up demand for an SUV with the Honda badge (reliability and a higher fun to drive quotient at a reasonable price) was huge. For years, these folks had NOTHING to look up to. Imagine if Porsche sold 500,000+ cars an year and announced an SUV; sure it will lead to a lot of activity.
3. These hordes had been tormented by the Acura MDX (which not many of them could afford).
Honda may have lost a lot of sales in the past decade since they did not have an offering; however they also knew that the pent up demand will lap up what ever they would offer. Perhaps that is there way of keeping their dealers in business. Let them sell Accord/Civics at no-profit and base the allocation for low-availability items on those sales, knowing that these vehicles will command a premium because of the supply-demand mismatch.
http://www.newxtrail.com/
And here is the X-Trail-We want it thread:
artdecho "Nissan X-Trail (we want it!)" Nov 6, 2001 10:57am
Most of us would rather pay $20k-$26k for a more useful, less asthetically pleasing SUV than $28k and up for the Murano. After speaking with, e-mailing, and snail mailing Nissan of America and speaking with the boneheads there I have plenty of reasons to dislike Nissan's new offering.
whotheman
It's not a matter of us hating Nissan. If it was we sure wouldn't be wasting our time contacting Nissan of North America. It's a matter of Nissan turning it's back on the North American market, only offering what they believe will make them the most profit. That, IMHO, sucks.