Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Warning: unvarnished opinions follow, read with that fact in mind:
Nissan nearly went away in the 90s, had quite a spectacular resurgence after their alliance with Renault, and now has slipped back into mediocrity IMO. The highly respected VG engine isn't even really a segment leader anymore- Chrysler's Pentastar v6 owes its continued existence to beating out the VG in specific power/economy testing when Cerberus wanted to kill it and work a deal with Nissan to buy engines. I think they still have greatness, but gimmicky stuff like the Juke and Cube, plus a clear stagnation of style in cars like the 370 and most Infinitis is definitely hurting them now.
That's nothing new. The 2002 Maxima VQ35 outpowered the SOHC 3.5 300M by a whopping 2 (Two) horsepower. And the Chrysler made significantly more torque than the VQ at a lower rpm.
In some aspects, I see Nissan trying. The Altima for instance. It is competitive with the Accord and Camry in virtually all aspects
In some aspects, they do not seem to be trying. Submissively accepting the Frontier's role as #2 to the Tacoma.
I do not know where the "new" Sentra fits in. It does not seem to be competitive with the Mazda3, Civic, Cruze or Focus. The Versa looks roomier and costs less.