Is it just me, or does Nissan not care anymore?

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Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
The rest of their cars all seem to look alike and just seem boring to me.


All cars these days are boring to me. They all look the same and it seems like every car company sources their interiors from the same cheapy plastic factory. Gone are the days when every car company looked distinctive :^(
 
I have little interest in their products. The dealership is awful is locally so I am tainted.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
The rest of their cars all seem to look alike and just seem boring to me.


All cars these days are boring to me. They all look the same and it seems like every car company sources their interiors from the same cheapy plastic factory. Gone are the days when every car company looked distinctive :^(

Right, that's why I like cars that stand out. And then half of my friends/relatives like:are you crazy? Why did you get that @$#&, it's ugly or old (talking about 98 w140 in exelent cond and very low miles). Well at least it not plain and boring,and I always get lots of qestions about it, when was the last time someone got intereted in your car? After that question they usually shut up.
Nissan cars, I always liked or dislike most of them. Altima is ok, lady Z and GTR-give ke 2.
I would also get Cube. Again, because I like the looks and it stands out. But again I heard so many times from people I know :" don'r even think about it, its *****".
Juke - that one seems ***** to me.
 
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
More problems on the horizon for Nissan if you ask me. The brand new Altima is getting poor reviews from most auto magazines saying that the decent handling is now gone, and the new car is behind the recently introduced Honda Accord and equally brilliant Mazda 6 that just arrived.


I wouldn't be so sure. It's been proven time and time again that cars getting great reviews for handling and general feel of the car, often flop. First gen Mazda 6 comes to mind. And cars that do just well in pretty much all categories, but never excell in anything else and are often criticized in reviews for their blandness sell pretty well.

Toyota's Corolla and Camry have trailed the competition in pretty much all the categories but are still the market leaders. The new VW Jetta was cheapend down a lot and was blasted by reviewers for its cheapness and lack of that "German feel", but it never sold better than it is now.

In small and mid size segments bland, cheap and easy on gas seems to be the ticket. Hyundai seems to be braking away from bland, but everything else about their cars follows the cheap and easy on gas formula. Driving experience is nowhere on their radar it seems.
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ

Toyota's Corolla and Camry have trailed the competition in pretty much all the categories but are still the market leaders. The new VW Jetta was cheapend down a lot and was blasted by reviewers for its cheapness and lack of that "German feel", but it never sold better than it is now.


Kinda like how they say "you buy horsepower but drive torque." Everyone loves sporty cars, at least until the repairs show up; and IMO people spend more years in ages group where they prefer other things over sporty. Pure SWAG here: Most people want sporty cars in their 20's, then afterwards they are more interested in practicality (gotta move the family around instead). At least until their 50's, for maybe for a short period of trying to feel young, maybe the bug dies off by then. The last couple decades of life spent wanting comfort.
 
Originally Posted By: MBS500

Right, that's why I like cars that stand out. And then half of my friends/relatives like:are you crazy?



The Pontiac Aztek "stood out." So did the Edsel, the AMC Pacer... :-p

I think a lot of vehicles now are styled to "stand out" and nothing more. Good aerodynamics is driving all cars to a common shape, and there's not much room for variation so stylists are getting desparate and coming up with fugliness (personal opinion) like the Cube, Scion XB, Honda Excrement, Juke, Dodge Caliber, etc. Others are going retro to find something that's at least a departure from the jellybean- my Challenger, the Mustang, Mini, PT Cruiser, HHR, etc.

In any era, there are cars that can make the 'common' style look good, and others that make it look goofy. In the boxy 60s, the Pontiac GTO looked amazing, but the Chevy II and Ford Falcon were honestly pretty forgettable (even though people collect them now). In the present jellybean era (which goes all the way back to the 90s, really) cars like the Hyundai Sonata and Genesis, the long-gone Olds Aurora and Chrysler 300M, and a few others managed to go one better than the average jellybean. I think Nissan had it right there for a while- the just-gone Altima generation was a great look. But its getting S-T-A-L-E, just like the PT Cruiser did after 10 years of production. Its hard to keep styling original when its so constrained by wind...
 
I think that many people don't want to sacrifice comfort for sportiness. I know that is the case for me, so I really like cars that can adjusted throttle and suspension settings to attain Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde extremes.
 
Originally Posted By: Coprolite
I think that many people don't want to sacrifice comfort for sportiness. I know that is the case for me, so I really like cars that can adjusted throttle and suspension settings to attain Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde extremes.


And that's more possible than ever before. With digital engine management, variable valve timing, variable suspension damping, switchable dynamic stability control, and so forth. My SRT is both the most comfortable and also the fastest, most capable vehicle I've ever owned. Modern "sporty cars" don't rattle your teeth at idle like a big-cammed big-block used to do, or keep you in the garage more than on the road like an old BMW, MG, Alfa-Romeo, or Jaguar would.
 
Originally Posted By: Coprolite
I think that many people don't want to sacrifice comfort for sportiness. I know that is the case for me, so I really like cars that can adjusted throttle and suspension settings to attain Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde extremes.


When I was shopping recently, I decided to look into a stripper model, but new. Don't care (much) about power windows, seats, etc; but the moment I went to adjust the mirrors for the test drive I knew I didn't want to drive something without power mirrors.

And I have to say, although I'd be fine with crank windows, I'm a bit bummed about not having auto up. Creature comforts, once you have 'em it's hard to go back.
 
440Magnum & supton,

I love the different personalities that I can dial up on the 335. My biggest complaint on that car is that it is black, believe it or not. Cujet also makes me paranoid when he posts sludged straight six valve trains, too.

Rearview camera and memory seats/mirrors are my personal addictions. Having the different driving modes is becoming a much liked option as long as the modes are meaningful.
 
in my eyes, they are slightly above mazda in affordablity and reliablity, mazda being the lowest of the japanese pack, at least in the states.

i still slightly lust over a high school friends 1987 manual maxima, what a smooth and great sounding car.
 
Their most recent generation of cars are just ugly. I think the only thing good about them is they still make a BOF SUV and a little truck.

The Sentra, Versa, Altima, Maxima were decent looking cars. Now, they are just ugly ...

I have also heard a lot about reliability problems and people having to replace $7000 CVTs
 
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
in my eyes, they are slightly above mazda in affordablity and reliablity, mazda being the lowest of the japanese pack, at least in the states.

i still slightly lust over a high school friends 1987 manual maxima, what a smooth and great sounding car.



Mazda the lowest of the Japanese pack?

Did Mitsubishi suddenly become better? Because they haven't changed much in their lineup in awhile.
lol.gif


Do you know of any company that makes a more reliable automotive Wankel Rotary than Mazda? Or Miller Cycle V6?

Is the Mexican made Duratec somehow magically more reliable than the Mazda variant of the same motor?

Most of the perceived problems with Mazda reliability are exotic engines like the rotary or Ford problems like the CD4E. I'll compare my Mazda vs any similar year/mileage Altima. All the parts that have failed on my car are emblazoned with FoMoCo. 5 coil packs, one starter and a seat belt buckle. Take out the Ford parts and the car is pretty [DARN] good
 
As a 2x Altima owner (gen1 and gen2) I have some thoughts on this....

Gen3 Altima's broader rear seemed aimed at a Euro-Merc look...stocky/sturdy beefed-up appeal to longevity.

Gen4 Altima moved from Euro lines that said sturdy/stable and began the trend, albeit in baby steps, to an Asian zoom-zoom sweeping speedy sporty looking skin...though underneath a family sedan still lived, albeit with a bit of fun at the stick...

Gen5 is Nissan's Japanese response to Korean car makers' outgoing cultural personality reflected in their swooping lines...

As for me, I jumped ship and went Toyo with the 05 Camry that seems the better, more sophisticated version of the Gen2 Altima, both outside and under the skin....sorry Nissan...

...I should also say that the Camry since 06 has made some of the same attempts at zoom-zoom as the Alti, but is more zzzz, than zoom...to this eye at least.

...and neither no longer offer a stick shift....
 
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Originally Posted By: KitaCam
...and neither no longer offer a stick shift....


And sadly this is where I abandon ship as well. I love Nissan, to my core I'm a Nissan guy through and through, but take my third pedal away and I'm going to look elsewhere. For me, in the segment you refer to anyways, my money is on a 2013 Accord with 6 speed, no doubt about it.
 
SLCraig:
Yes...if I were buying new I'd get that Accord...but buying used, I chose Camry figuring that a Camry owner is more the frugal stick shifter whereas the Honda owner is more the enthusiast...and the former is a safer bet when buying used...at least in theory...

...theory blown out of the water by Kitacamry's PO who blew the clutch in 90K miles and whose indie mechanic's replacement failed, pushing the owner to trade it away to the dealer who put in a new clutch (and master/slave cylinders) prior to putting it on the lot...just my luck! (ps. my 1st Alti didn't need a clutch when I sold it @ 172k miles, and the 2nd finally needed one @ 180k miles...well done Nissan!)
 
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The 1998-ish Maxima SE is still a favorite of mine. It is amazing how much the cars have grown since then. The current Sentra looks bigger than that Maxima.
 
Nissan sure has some goofy vehicles. Murano CrossCabriolet anyone? Even their full size cargo van is just odd looking. I do give them credit through for diving into the full size van market, I don't think any foreign competitor has tried that market yet. I wouldn't count the Mercedes - it was more designed for the European market than American. The '89-'94 Maxima was my favorite Nissan.
 
Nissan sure doesn't seem to care... about their engineers! Yet another good engineering house castrated and brought to ruin by accountants. What happened to the RB's, CA's, SR's?
The VQ is the best they have now, and it's getting long in the tooth.


Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
in my eyes, they are slightly above mazda in affordablity and reliablity, mazda being the lowest of the japanese pack, at least in the states.

i still slightly lust over a high school friends 1987 manual maxima, what a smooth and great sounding car.



Mazda the lowest of the Japanese pack?

Did Mitsubishi suddenly become better? Because they haven't changed much in their lineup in awhile.
lol.gif


Do you know of any company that makes a more reliable automotive Wankel Rotary than Mazda? Or Miller Cycle V6?

Is the Mexican made Duratec somehow magically more reliable than the Mazda variant of the same motor?

Most of the perceived problems with Mazda reliability are exotic engines like the rotary or Ford problems like the CD4E. I'll compare my Mazda vs any similar year/mileage Altima. All the parts that have failed on my car are emblazoned with FoMoCo. 5 coil packs, one starter and a seat belt buckle. Take out the Ford parts and the car is pretty [DARN] good


http://www.caradvice.com.au/143268/consu...a-honda-on-top/
Say what you want about CR, but they're probably one of the least likely to- "accept sponsorships", unlike say JD Power, if you know what I mean.
21.gif


But Mazda's languishing reputation is really just an American thing. Mazda North American Operations IMO is a joke, they really don't seem to care about the brand. Go to Germany and ask around, people will say Mazda is one of the most reliable brands. In fact ask anyone in any of the EU countries and Australia and you'll hear the same thing. Pretty good for an underdog with minimal liquidity to play with, and I respect that.
 
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Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
in my eyes, they are slightly above mazda in affordablity and reliablity, mazda being the lowest of the japanese pack, at least in the states.

i still slightly lust over a high school friends 1987 manual maxima, what a smooth and great sounding car.


My mother had a Maxima of the same generation 85-88 and so did many friends.
Nissan put them together hastily, and as a result, nearly everyone had:
1 starter
1 alternator
1 P/S rack
2 batteries
2 CV axles

After 5 years. All repairs were more expensive back then than they are now.
However, the engines were excellent if the timing belt was replaced on schedule.
I loved that car because of the Tron and Knight Rider features, but that didn't make it a good car.

Nearly all other Maximas were good cars. The 1989-1994 shared a lot of stuff with the 85-88, but the weaknesses were either corrected or reduced in severity.
 
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