Nissan - Are they in trouble?

varmint · December 2005

That's kinda like saying Honda has three hits with the Civic sedan, coupe, and Si. They're just variations on the same popular car.

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.

carguy58 · December 2005

"Once Nissan and to a lesser extent Mazda quit trying to out-Toyota Toyota they started to turn things around. The same was happening for Mitsu, but they got greedy by trying to sell cars to everyone that could walk through the door."

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.

lemko · December 2005

...back in the early '90s with a bunch of yuppies yammering around in a boardroom with the tagline, "Built for the Human Race." Noooo? I thought they were built for dogs and cats! The silly rocks and trees ads for Infiniti gave Lexus a huge head start from which Infiniti is only starting to catch up. Hopefully, Nissan has long since fired the ad agency that dreamed up these beauties.

andre1969 · December 2005

Chrysler really wasn't THAT bad off. The biggest problem is that the Intrepid, 300M, and Concorde had just gotten too long in the tooth, and were being phased out. 2004 sales figures were artificially low for them, because they only built the '04's for a few months, and the final one left the factory in September '03, after which they closed down to switch over to the LX cars.

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.

carguy58 · December 2005

Nissan sales were down again last month so is it time to question if Ghosn's cost cutting is leading to this decline of the past two months or has Nissan reached their peak in the Us saleswise. I know sales of their Titan pick-up did drop by 30% I think last month but than gain Toyota and Honda posted sales gains last month.

callmedrfill · December 2005

That's like comparing JT Snow to Barry Bonds!

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

carguy58 · December 2005

That's like comparing JT Snow to Barry Bonds!

"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?

dtownfb · December 2005

Nissan is fine. North America car sales have been very slow for October and NOvember. They have a strong lineup of cars, trucks and SUVs. Plus the Infiniti lineup is pretty good as well. They have to continue to work on their quality of materials and reliability. But at least they ahve cars that people desire.

callmedrfill · December 2005

I don't think you can get hotter than 'Yota, capturing a 15% share in October! :shades:

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

carguy58 · December 2005

"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!"

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.

carguy58 · December 2005

Their sales didn't decline as much as Ford's and GM's did last month. Nissan was down 7.8 percent last month. Ford and Gm were down 11 and 18 percent respectively sales wise last month. Chrysler was down 7 percent last month.

harrychezt · December 2005

had 2 of 'em, 1990 sentra xe, with automatic, and a 200sx, 1997 model.
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.

harrychezt · December 2005

http://www.uautono.com/recallsarchive2003.html

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.

callmedrfill · December 2005

I LOVE HONDA, myself, so I wasn't trying to diparage Honda in anyway.

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

boaz47 · December 2005

but like Pf_flyer pointer out earlier Nissan is leaving California. They plan on keeping their design studios here but they will be laying off 1300 people to save money. Lay offs are never a good sign of growth and while California has more than their fair share of greenies that make it hard on business it is still the Fifth or sixth largest economy in the world and people in California drive everywhere. Considering it is a decission made for Nissan by a Renault employee to cut costs it may be understandable. But Renault hasn't always had its finger on the pulse of the American buyer. I don't know if slower sales and lay offs are a sign of a sick company in the case of Nissan or not. I do know that when GM, Ford or Chrysler do the same thing it is considered a disaster.

chris47 · December 2005

My wife and I bought a new car in November  first one since our 99 Maxima. The Maxima has been so good I automatically went to Nissan to see what they had. Unfortunately it was nothing we wanted.

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 dont want. Want leather seats? That will require a gigantic package of trinkets. Want a manual transmission?, cant have most colors. Infuriating.

We bought a Saab 9-3 SportCombi. Leather seats and the manual trans were standard so we didnt 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.

blkhemi · December 2005

........Nissan is in the shape it is in now, quality wise. My brother just bought a brand spankin' new '06 Titan LE 4X4 the day after Thanksgiving. He drove it about 270 miles, and the tranny just dropped out of gear, resulting in failure of the tranny, transfer case, and front driveshaft. This, in a $37K pick-up that bills itself as the dominating force in the pick-up kingdom. To make matters worse, he picked it up Christmas Eve from the dealership after the extensive in-warranty repair and when he got it home, the gearshift selector fell apart in his hand.

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.

harrychezt · December 2005

I concur with most of what you are saying about nissan from the "old days" to Nissan today.
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!

galvang · December 2005

I am not surprised Nissan is leaving Cal. Considering that nissan has had and is having quality issues, californians will punish car companies that give them problems. Ca has the best lemon laws in the country. If they can't produce quality vehicles for them well Nissan will have to send more refund checks to their pissed off customers. Not a winning or profitable strategy. :sick:

chris47 · December 2005

They are leaving CA because it is too expensive a place to employ people and do business. They will still be selling cars there and those sales will still be subject to those lemon laws.

The fact that their designers and accountants are in Tennesse now will have little to do with sales strategy.

blkhemi · December 2005

was needed, considering that in Smyrna is where the other major offices are located besides the former California office. Oh, believe me, we Tennesseeans will give Nissan plenty of gripe if they don't start producing better quality out of the plants. Just ask Saturn, who build cars in Spring Hill. They are in the process of remodeling their plant to ramp up production for the upcoming Saturn Aura and the updated Vue, in response to what most people there called their cars the millenium Yugo's.

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.

boaz47 · December 2005

The move it is the concept of the move. It is the pulling back of their forces and building a defensive fort. 1300 people will either have to move or be laid off. If all of the employees were single maybe it wouldn't be so bad but many have spouses that still live and work in California. So most will not relocate. It is an indicator of a problem with the company. Spin it any way you like. It still indicates Nissan is at the mercy of Renault. I don't have a crystal ball but I do have friends working for Nissan that will have to decide if the Husband's job is worth more than the wife's We have seen what happens when the airlines "down size". One has to wonder if this is just the beginning. It wasn't hat long ago they were ready to go bankrupt.

blkhemi · December 2005

I agree that Renault has Nissan on a tight leash, with Carlos Ghosn as the "leash holder". There is a serious problem going on in this company that should've been rectified with the Renault takeover. The North American arm of this company is in the tank and Nissan is leading everyone(including investors-myself) to believe it's all peaches-n-creme, when in acuallity it's just plain rotten eggs.

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.........

boaz47 · December 2005

sell well in France but that doesn't translate to the US. It isn't that Nissan is bad it is they are fighting on more that one front. Toyota and Honda hit them hard from the Asian side and they are out of step with the domestics. What reason does one have to be loyal to Nissan? They bailed on their public once and ditched every sporty car they made for a number of years. They let the compact truck market slip through their fingers. They got so far in debt that Renault got control of the company for 40 cents on the dollar and now they are closing plants and laying off people in their American plants. The turn around the Altima promised doesn't seem to have happened and still we are told not to worry? Time will tell it is true, but the direction right now doesn't look good. At least not right now. Remember Studebaker released the Avanti and Super Hawk just before they tossed in the towel.

carguy58 · December 2005

They are profitable. They bailed on the sports car market because of SUV"s. Toyota bailed on the sports market too. One theory could be they are laying off people because of all the cost cutting they did when Ghosn first got their with suppliers. They realize now they can;t just can't cut costs as much as when Ghosn fist got there with suppliers. Now they have to lay-off workers since they can't cut cost with suppliers anymore.

I don't think Nissan is that bad off compared to GM and Mitsu right now.

boaz47 · January 2006

at a slower rate we have to admit they are sinking. Cutting costs as it is said is an indicator in itself. Laying off people is and indicator and consolidating rather than expanding your factories is another indicator. This isn't to say they can't hold on but it does bring into question their ability to recover. Could this new series of cutbacks allow Renault more influence over the future direction of Nissan? The vital signs are flat lined for sure but the company is still sick an on an I-V. If this latest round of cost cutting doesn't stabilize the company what can they do next? Sell more of themselves to Renault? What will they have to do to get back on track?

blkhemi · January 2006

Nissan has some of the most tasteful and bold designs in the industry, car or truck. What happens is the design doesn't speak volumes in terms of quality, and this has hurt Nissan in more ways than is countable. It is going to take some serious measures of thought and careful planning to get this company back on track. Sure they're profitable, even tho losing 7% in '05. And cutting costs is just a band-aid. GM and Ford anybody???? They've cut costs so much that there isn't anything else left to do but close facilities and lay off thousands upon thousands of hard workers.

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.

jipster · January 2006

"Nissan has some of the most tasteful and bold designs in the industry"

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.

harrychezt · January 2006

see my previous posts. Plus, as I have stated before: Same recalls, 1990-2003.
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).

PF_Flyer · January 2006

Small cars are BIG! The 2007 Nissan Versa is the latest entry into the pocket cars. Sure, Scion is out there with the cute xA and the Honda Fit has been anxiously awaited by the adoring public. So what does the Versa have to offer? A compelling price tag starting at around $12,000.

http://blogs.edmunds.com/.ee8e57c

bumpy · January 2006

I think the Versa will hit it big since it's larger than any of the other subcompact entries, and the new Sentra is a clunker in the styling department (though the optional VQ25 may redeem it somewhat).

rockylee · March 2006

Infiniti brand is doing very very well in most of it's segments, but Nissan is doing pretty poor. They are doing so bad as a brand they might have to offer employee pricing to justify someone buying there non-competitive junk. :surprise:

Rocky

rockylee · April 2006

Earnings rose 1% in year ending March 31; Ghosn sees new models fattening bottom line.

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

lweiss · April 2006

Nissan and its CEO Carlos Ghosyn will get it right. He is one of the sharpest business people around. I would not count them out at all. They didn't have any new models for 2005 for the North American market, but for 2006 and 2007, the parade of more attractive new models will boost sales figures. The Titan and Armada are relatively low volume for them and no company bats 1,000, Nissan included.

GM and Ford should be so lucky to get a CEO like that. This guy is a winner.

perna · April 2006

Learning the Canton Lesson

This article from the Freep illustrates what I was talking about in last night's post.

andre1969 · April 2006

One thing I tend to not like about Nissan products is the gauge cluster. In the Altima and Maxima, they just look tacked on as an afterthought. 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, below the windshield base, which just looks tacky IMO. It seems about the same texture as you'd get if you let the crushed velour interior of a 70's pimpmobile get drenched.

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.

perna · April 2006

One thing I tend to not like about Nissan products is the gauge cluster. In the Altima and Maxima, they just look tacked on as an afterthought.

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

andre1969 · April 2006

can definitely make a big difference how an interior looks. For instance, I always liked the charcoal interior of my 2000 Intrepid, but a couple years back, one of my friends had an '02 or '03 Intrepid for a rental, and it had this taupe/putty colored interior, and I thought it looked just horrible. Well, that and it turns out Chrysler decontented the interior a bit for 2002, stripping the cloth and carpet off the doors, and a few other bits here and there.

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.

carguy58 · April 2006

"One thing I tend to not like about Nissan products is the gauge cluster. In the Altima and Maxima, they just look tacked on as an afterthought."

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.

perna · April 2006

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.

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:

socala4 · April 2006

Nissan pros:

-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.)

akenaten · April 2006

I had a 2003 Frontier until I recently traded it in on a GMC Sierra(I needed a bigger truck).It was a good truck except it blew its air conditioning compresser in its first year.The real problem that developed was the dealerships laughable service department. They were awful,especially about getting things done on time.And I had observed other customers there(one woman was almost in tears)upset about various problems they were having with that department.My last time there I got my keys and left after waiting two hours for them to change my oil and rotate the tires( they were NOT busy at that time). I ended up writing a letter of complaint to Nissan of North America with copies sent to the dealerships' General Manager and Service Manager. I never got an acknowledgement from any of them. Not even an fu..y..
And of course that same dealership still ocasionally leaves commercials on my answering machine and sends me "service reminders". :mad:

perna · April 2006

The real problem that developed was the dealerships laughable service department. They were awful,especially about getting things done on time.

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.

PF_Flyer · May 2006

Now and then I have to remove posts with photos that are simply too large. If you add a photo to your post that's wider than 500 pixels, it forces the message area under the right side videos and creates a few problems.

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.

chrisducati · May 2006

I like nissan styling with the exception of the grill textures. The only thing that could really hurt them is the US assembly plants and poor build quality. Maybe building them here isn't such a good idea.

carguy58 · May 2006

"I like nissan styling with the exception of the grill textures. The only thing that could really hurt them is the US assembly plants and poor build quality. Maybe building them here isn't such a good idea."

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.

perna · May 2006

I like nissan styling with the exception of the grill textures. The only thing that could really hurt them is the US assembly plants and poor build quality. Maybe building them here isn't such a good idea.

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.

perna · May 2006

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.

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.

chrisducati · May 2006

No offense taken.

I do not put them on a pedestal at all. I just remember what my Father drove, which was small european cars. My mother always had the Yank Tanks. I know the brands I listed have had some horrible products. In the Sixties American cars were just as bad or worse then the European makes. Just from experience that is. :shades:

merc1 · May 2006

Nissan may not be in trouble but I think their progress will slow in the coming years. For some reason the new Almtima and Infiniti G35 don't really look like all-new cars, but more like facelifts of the current models. Seems like a cheapout redo IMO. The Altima hybrid will only be sold in 8 states? Whats with that?

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

Nissan - Are they in trouble?

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