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Nissan - Are they in trouble?
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Regardless, the positive buzz around Chrysler started long before the Charger was added to the lineup. One big hit will take us from fear of bankruptcy to elation. The auto community tends to make a mountain out of a mole hill whether it's good news or bad.
Mitsu they were guilty of using the same styling theme that Pontiac used in the 90's and combining that with the failure with the 0/0/0 they fell flat on their faces a few years back. They have a long mountain to climb to get back in the spotlight. I think Mercedes is outselling them this year.
Chrysler was still very strong in trucks around that time. Now right around '01-02, I'd say Chrysler was getting shaky. With the old Ram on its way out, and the new one, in many ways not being seen as all that different, sales were slipping. The Dakota/Durango were falling off, too. But on the plus side, there was the PT Cruiser and Jeep Liberty, which were good sellers.
On the car front, around '01-02 was when the bad reputation of some of the early-mid 90's models really started to hit the fan, and those cars were often bad enough that they ensured that owners would not be returning back to Chrysler when it was time for another new car. Also, when Plymouth was finally dropped, a lot of buzz was going on about the health of Chrysler. In reality though, that was a decision that should have been made long ago, as Chrysler really hadn't put much effort into Plymouth since the 80's.
As for Nissan, another commercial I used to hate was one they had for the Maxima around 2000. On billboards I'd see big, bold lettering that read "Cars like it: 0". Now in print, it made more sense because there would be lead ins like "horsepower: 227" and other stats, where they'd finish up with the "Cars like it: 0", and the intent was to show just how unique and special the new Maxima supposedly was.
IMO though, the ads were awkward and just fell on its face. "Cars like it?" Now how could a car like anything...it's an inanimate object! Luckily, the car spoke for itself and sold well despite the clumsy advertising.
Nissan's car lineup is aging fast ( Maxima, Altima, Sentra, Z), so their trucks have to carry them, but trucks are not hot right now for ANYBODY, even 'Yota!
A new Sentra next year, and Altima (Spring '07) will fix 'tings.
DrFill
"Nissan's car lineup is aging fast ( Maxima, Altima, Sentra, Z), so their trucks have to carry them, but trucks are not hot right now for ANYBODY, even 'Yota!"
I think the JT Snow to Barry Bonds in comparing Nissan to Toyota is a little steep since Nissan has been the hottest automaker sales wise since 2002 in the US.
"A new Sentra next year, and Altima (Spring '07) will fix 'tings."
I wonder what month the Sentra is coming out in next year probably like March or April 2006?
Nissan has had a nice couple of years.
'Yota has CHANGED THE AUTO INDUSTRY over the last 15 years!
I like Nissan. Murano, FX, G35. All nice. But they ain't playin' in 'Yota's league. It's like Mets and Yankees. And I'm a Mets fan!
They were on the verge of BK, so let's keep the record straight. Can they get the surge back, and be consistent like Toyota? Honda can't even do that.
DrFill
I know this is a little off topic but I am a Yankees fan but I hope the Mets do well though. Minaya(the Mets GM) has overhauled the team completely in 2 years. They made like a 16 game improvement in win total from 67 wins in 04 to 83 I think in 05. Maybe getting Carlos Delgado might be a move that might put them in the playoffs. I think they signed a closer(Billy Wagner) so thats another good move for them.
"They were on the verge of BK, so let's keep the record straight. Can they get the surge back, and be consistent like Toyota? Honda can't even do that."
I am a big Honda fan as you probably know but they are consistent because they haven't had a Year to Date decline in Us Sales since 1993. From 1994 and up their sales have increased every year. Their market share which was around 5 or 6 percent I think in 1998 is now 9% in the US.
Both had stalling issues(much akin to the one's for the worldwide recall of Altima's, 2.3 million, if I recall correctly, what, back in 2003?).
The first was @ 7,000 miles, 3.5 months of ownership(I was in military, and lived nearly 40 miles from the base).
The tow truck got the vehicle(it was under a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty!) on Labor Day of 90. Luckily, I got out of work at the base due to car broke down, and no punishment was meted out.
The mechanic said the timing chain slipped on the timing gear, and the timing was off, and resulted in one side of the plugs burning up, turned brown.
Once they fixed this, the car was great for 9 more years, 225,000+ more miles.
Unfortunately, our 97 was not so well built.
It, too stalled out, but left me stranded at work. It was 3.5 years old, 66,000 miles.
Same stalling, chain slipped, but timing gear tooth was chipped, and this lead to ignition coil issues, and needed the starter rebuilt, etc...
After we fixed this, the engine light kept coming on, the car would be ok at times, then be sluggish, so we dumped it not much later, just in case we got stuck with more issues.
Sold it under 68,000 miles.
Only our "Chevy" Spectrum of 1987 ran worse.
Will we buy again? No.
That is just us, though.
Have a good week.
says something about the recalls(not Altima ???) but Sentra, and some other vehicles by Nissan , cetrain years, for stalling...
my car stalled in 90, and the other one in 2001...and they had recalls in 03 ?
What Gives? Ya think they could fix the issue after x-amount of time?
I just do not understand why it is an issue still, stalling, (or not running)?
Just posting this link to show I am not some "random" Nissan basher.... lot of cars have recalls, but this one issue 2 different models we had, same thing, 7 years apart, add the recalls?
I dunno.
Anyhow, take care, not offense.
PS: I do look forward to the Versa, and hope it sells very well, because then Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai/Kia may Up the HP of their small cars, to better match the 120HP/125 torque in the versa(if it holds these numbers I read about).
Yaris(Echo replacement) will be about 108HP(one artcile said 106), Aveo is 103("Chevy"), and Fit will be 106-108?
Accent/Rio 06 models to have 110HP/106 torque. Versa supposedly in this class has almost as much HP as the Corolla does now, a class up in size car! That is the good news for Nissan fans, and the rumored 12-15K msrp.
Competition is good for all.
My point was Toyota has grown 10% a year pretty consistently, whereas Honda's growth has been more modest, and this year is in the 2-3% range.
And, oh yes, My Mets are Back!! :shades:
Now if I can get the Jets going.... :sick:
DrFill
We were looking for a sporty station wagon with a manual transmission – a Maxima or Altima wagon would have been perfect. My wife did not like the Murano looks and I did like the fact that it was automatic transmission only. Wagons are coming back fast – Nissan would be well advised to add an Altima wagon next year. They already sell similar wagons in Europe.
I was also reminded of the one thing that infuriated me about buying a Nissan – the damn “pyramid of options” scheme. To get the options you want, you have to first buy several thousand dollars worth of crap you don’t want. Want leather seats? That will require a gigantic package of trinkets. Want a manual transmission?, can’t have most colors. Infuriating.
We bought a Saab 9-3 SportCombi. Leather seats and the manual trans were standard so we didn’t have to deal with that kind of nonsense. I still love the Maxima and will look at Nissan again next time, but they really could make it an easier process to get what we want.
On the flipside of things, when it comes to pick-ups, I have to buy all-American. I've got two Dodge Ram pick-ups, one a 2500 Cummins TD and a 1500 w/HEMI and nothing more than routine maintenance has been required, and they're both '03 and '06. My brother bashes me everytime he gets a chance because I used to be a Nissan-exclusive car owner. Remember the '89 Maxima SE(4-Door Sports Car), 240SX's, and the 300ZX's Twin Turbos(not to say anything is wrong with the ubiquitous and marvelous 350Z)? That was when Nissan was building cars with quality to back it up. That was when Nissan was the envy of ALL carmakers. WHAT HAPPENED???????
But all is not lost. Nissan still has a reputable name. My wife drives a M45 Sport, and that thing is a blast to drive and it has the usual Infinti quality tacked in. I know that Nissan is going to put more emphasis on the Infiniti brand because of the higher cache and luxury quotent, but can they just instill a little of that in their bread-n-butter Titan's, Altima's,Sentra(due to be replaced)?
Needless to say, my brother finally got Nissan North America to buy back the Titan today. I took him over to Dodge to pick up a loaded '06 Ram HEMI 1500 4X4 that is actually cheaper than the Titan and is more feature-laden.
Nissan still knows how to build a heck of an engine, the VQ series is probably one of if not the best modular engines in the business, being able to power everything from a 250hp Altima to a 270hp Pathfinder to a 280hp G35 all the way up to the 5.6 Titan/Armada/QX56 with 300+hp. All we're asking for is a little more attention to detail and more caution at the assembly line, and all will be forgiven.:)
P.S.- back in 2004, I was all set to buy a new Maxima, until I got sticker shock! $34,000 for a loaded Maxima? Let's see: There's the wonderful Acura TL(which comes one way, loaded) @ 32K, then there's the Mercedes C-Class, which can be had nicely eqipped for around $33K, then there's Nissan's own Infiniti G35, which can be had for $31K. What gives? I know the Maxima has a good value content and performance that offsets the price slightly, but I'd be hard pressed to take the Nissan over the Infiniti. I think Nissan has outpriced the Maxima out of it's league.
In July 1999, we were thinking of a Maxima.
23K fairly loaded. 2K off=21K
Problem was the salesman talked trash about other makers, and the sales mgr seemed to be sort of "take it or leave it" mentality.
we did not get the Maxima, although it was a nice car(190HP , correct, up from 160 a few years earlier?).
Anyhow, I agree, the prices today are insane.
Like I said, the old SE-R was praised to the hilt, by owners and reviewers a like. The new one?
I don't see the rave reviews very much.
I recall Maxima's being about 16-20K back around early 90's.
Anyhow, At least your brother got Nissan to buy back the thing.
I see same, similar recalls for 1990 cars as for 00's, so far, on some models(see my previous posts).
This new Nissan Versa Might be interesting, since I have read it is basically a Renault Megane(fairly decent car?), might be interested, but if I were buying a 14K car, between the Versa and the Suzuki Reno, Reno would win on basis of warranty alone, for now.
PS: have in-laws, both have Suzuki products(Trackers), one was a 92, lasted 212,000+ miles w/o any break downs. mother in law has a 97 tracker(Suzuki), 80,000+ miles. Zero troubles.
They are solid, but NVH is the worst!
The newer vehicles are getting better. The Trackers lasted better than our 1997 200sx Nissan ever did!
The fact that their designers and accountants are in Tennesse now will have little to do with sales strategy.
Considering that the Canton, Mississippi plant where the Titan/Armada/QX56/Frontier/Xterra's/Pathfinders are produced has been operational only for 2 years, there is something seriously wrong with the way Nissan is assuring quality, just by taking a look at the full-size and mid-size trucks with mediocre quality.
Hopefully with the move to TN, the company can better take care of the facilities and start infusing some of that good-ole Nissan reputation for unmatched quality.
Nissan needs a reality check, and needs to happen sooner than some may think. Sure we've got new product coming, especially the new SKyline-based supercoupe, but it takes more than just new product. You have to find a niche to keep your current customers happy in order to stay afloat, and that is what Nissan has been lacking for quite sometime.
On the other hand, Renault sells cars in France like Charmin sell toilet paper, everybody has to have it.........
I don't think Nissan is that bad off compared to GM and Mitsu right now.
I for one know that it starts with the upper management and works itself downstream. Case and point: Before Rick Wagner came to GM, they didn't have as many problems as they are experiencing now. Sure they had some serious quality problems, but he was supposed to be a key motivator in changing these problems. They got worst. Carlos Ghosn may no how to resusitate a company back from a near-death experience, but the comapny will be brain dead and living on life support until a major miracle occurs.
I would agree with that in reguards to the Nissan Altima. I think it is the most stylish and sharp looking family sedan on the market.If Nissan can get it's quality and reliability up to par to it's designs...then look out.
Even Hyundai learned by now! Never repat the same problems/issues(and I won't buy from the right now, due to uninteresting designs, IMHO).
http://blogs.edmunds.com/.ee8e57c
Rocky
Nissan Motor Co. expects profits to rise for a seventh consecutive year as it steps up model launches in the lucrative U.S. market after a long lull.
But Japan's second-largest automaker, transformed into an industry powerhouse by CEO Carlos Ghosn, is struggling to deliver earnings growth amid increasingly tough competition in the crucial U.S. and Japanese markets.
Nissan has slowed U.S. output of large vehicles, such as the Titan pickup and Armada sport utility vehicle, due to weak demand and has boosted incentives to more than $2,600 per vehicle, according to Autodata Corp. -- considerably larger discounts than its Japanese rivals.
Although Nissan's U.S. sales rose 6 percent in the fiscal year ending March 31, its operating profit in North America slipped 8 percent to $3 billion.
"We still make 60 percent of our profit in the United States, and in 2005 we had zero new models in the United States," Ghosn said at a news conference in Tokyo.
Kicking off the annual earnings season for Japan's carmakers, Nissan reported a 1 percent rise in annual net profit to $4.6 billion.
For the fiscal year begun in April, Ghosn forecast a 1 percent profit rise, with most of the gain expected to show up in the second half of the year as the company registers the benefits of nine product launches.
"Growth will be hard to achieve in the first half," he said. "Volumes will be down, and our operating profit will be lower. In the second half, however, we expect our operating profit to accelerate."
Nissan is rolling out new Altima and Sentra cars for the U.S. market, a redesigned Infiniti G35 sedan and a Versa subcompact.
The automaker faces even bigger challenges in Japan, where it suffered a drop in sales last year, although it had launched six new models in the market. "We need to understand and change the way we're operating in Japan to get better results," Ghosn said.
Honda Motor Co. will report its annual earnings today. Toyota Motor Corp. is scheduled to issue them May 10.
A Japanese newspaper said Toyota is expected to report annual operating profit in excess of $15.7 billion, up over 8 percent.
So the question is Nissan are they in trouble ?
YEP ! I guess Ghosen isn't a genius like the media protrays him. :P
Rocky
GM and Ford should be so lucky to get a CEO like that. This guy is a winner.
This article from the Freep illustrates what I was talking about in last night's post.
In person, I can't stand the Maxima's interior, but I think that picture above does show it at a flattering angle. And I think black is one of those colors that tends to show off an interior better. Black, dark charcoal, and the right shade of tan/beige tend to be flattering. A gray interior will usually show off every cheap part of a car, though.
As for the G35, I don't like the way its gauge cluster blends in with the dash, either. It looks like it moves up and down with the steering wheel, which might be a good thing, but from that view, it just looks half-baked. Otherwise, the only nitpick I can find is that the gap where the door and the side of the dash meets looks really sloppy. That's an Achilles heel for many cars, though.
I like the Altima though, in spite of its interior. I'd probably take one over an Accord or Camry. The interior seems downgrade compared to those other two, but I could still tolerate it.
I think part of the idea is they're supposed to look like motorcycle gauges. Definately non-traditional, but none of the "new" Nissans can really be called that, even to a fault. My folks do love their Quest, but my wife wouldn't entertain the idea of buying one. She didn't like the center stack at all, which they did fix for '07. She's a Ford fan, though, who are a lot more traditional in their buying habits.
You can't see it in the pic above, but the Maxima also has this rat-fur, wanna-be-suede accent that runs along the door panels and across the dash,
Actually, it is kind of hard to tell from the pic, but it's gone for '07. Can't really tell what they replaced it with, though. I completely agree, that was the big turnoff for me as well on the '04-'06 Max interior.
Kind of getting off topic, but I really hate beige and gray interiors. They're a pain to keep clean, and gray always looks bad. That's one lesson I learned with previous cars, I will only ever buy a car with a black interior. I went to a mom and pop car dealer the other day - they had an '03 G35 that had the right price attached. One look inside, and no thanks.. beige. Too bad, else I might be posting in the CCB forum with my latest sin. :P
I test drove an '02 Altima S back when they were new. It was a light green with kind of a beige/sandstone interior. I thought it was a nice color combo, and it seemed just the right shade to hide some of the cheap bits. One detail about the Altima I appreciate is that they still put cloth on the door panels, something that seems to be a rarity nowadays.
I would think a black interior would actually be harder to keep clean? I've had a few cars with black interiors, and they seemed to show every speck of dirt and dust. And the charcoal interior of my Intrepid is similar.
I will agree with you on the gauge cluster on the 02-06 Altima. I don't care for it. I like the way Nissan had their gauge clusters on their 1990's cars better.
"In person, I can't stand the Maxima's interior, but I think that picture above does show it at a flattering angle. And I think black is one of those colors that tends to show off an interior better."
Uh, the Maxima's interior for 07(the pic that perna had) is different from the one in the 04-06 Maxima's so thats why the pic looks flattering to you compared to the 04-06 Maxima's interior.
"I like the Altima though, in spite of its interior. I'd probably take one over an Accord or Camry. The interior seems downgrade compared to those other two, but I could still tolerate it."
Nissan has upgraded the interior platics in their brand new 07 Altima. I don't have a big problem myself with the interior plastics in the 05-06 Altima's but I have to say the 02-04 Altima's do have a cheap interior. Nissan did upgrade the current generation Altima's interior in the mid cycle refreshened 05 models that came on the market early in 04. The 04 Altima's had a shortened model year.
IMO, the law of interior colors is the opposite of the exteriors. Light paint is easy to keep clean, but dark colors are impossible. Black interiors, OTOH, really only show dust, and even then only when the sun is shining right on a surface. I went with a black interior for the Maxima, and unless I move to Arizona, that's the color I'll stick with for life. It ALWAYS looks good. :shades:
-Some strong styling in key segments, including Altima (mid-sized sedan, very important in the US market, G35 (near-luxury sedan, decent margins in a relatively popular segment, 350Z (image leader/ halo car)
Nissan cons:
-Cost cutting has come at the expense of inconsistent reliability. Americans are often highly unforgiving of unreliable cars, and a bad reputation is hard to shake off.
-Not all styling exercises are successful, i.e. Sentra is arguably a weak competitor in a very competive segment.
Conclusion: Nissan is in a strong position to prosper, but inconsistent reliability could be the Achilles heel for American customers who find reliabilty to be highly important. QC needs to be consistent, and some short-run profits might need to be sacrificed in order to increase content and improve reliability. (The former is being addressed, not so sure about the latter.)
And of course that same dealership still ocasionally leaves commercials on my answering machine and sends me "service reminders". :mad:
Find a new dealership. Did you ever just try calling Nissan corp? That's how my folks got the ball rolling on their Quest.
Some dealership service depts are just BAD, regardless of make.
If you have an image that's wider than 500 pixels that you want to share, simply add a link to the photo in your post. That way, everyone will be able to view it in the new window that will open when they click on the link, and we avoid the margin issue.
No, building Nissan cars here has nothing to do with it. I mean the Altima has always been built here and I still see alot of 93-97 Altima's running around. It was in my opinion a combonation of too much costing a few years back when Carl Ghson decided to cost cut and opening a brand new truck plant in Mississippi that has exhibited terrible build quality on the current generation Quest, Armada and Titan. I mean looking back at it why did they decide cost-cut and than go and open a new plant in the US. In my opinion thats a condictory(spelling) move to go and do both. Finally, Consumer Reports even has terrible reliability ratings on the Quest, Aramada, and Titan. CR even went as far as criticizing Nissan;s interiors for being cheap in some of their cars. Finally, the QX56 has awful reliability ratings by CR also. Nissan does not have any experience in building a big truck like the QX56 in my opinion, thus leading to its horrible build quality.
From your profile:
Small car Freak here. I grew up around them (VW and Renault, Saab and Fiat were ones I remember best from my childhood) and dislike big cars. My favorites are air cooled VW's and 1960's european cars.
I say this tongue-in-cheek so please don't take offense, but anyone who puts old VW :lemon: , Renault :lemon: , Saab :lemon: , and Fiat :lemon: :lemon: cars on a pedestal really has no business talking about auto quality.
Hey, I loved my Jetta when it wasn't in the shop, but I harbor no illusions about VW reliability. I'd rather depend on a Nissan preproduction car as my daily driver than any VW or Saab.
IMO, it wasn't the cost-cutting that did them in, it was unleashing 3 brand new models from a brand new factory using brand new employees. That was an undeniably stupid (and arrogant) move on Nissan's part, and I doubt it will be repeated.
Now I'm reading where they plan to sell Infinitis in Europe by 2008. Good luck because Lexus has had a hard time there since day one. They're going to need some good size diesels to make it in Europe hopefully they won't repeat Lexus' mistakes concerning diesels.
M