No turbocharged Pulsar SSS for the US Market.

[AZhitman]

When it comes to Nissan's small FF platform, we get the Versa and the Sentra, other markets get the Tiida...

...and the Chinese market and the Aussies get the SSS Pulsar.

188 turbocharged horsepower, a 6-speed manual, and a pretty handsome package.



By my calculations, this should be a 6.5-second 0-60 car in FWD format.

Since the Juke Nismo is already slated to launch, I'm sure a Nismo-modded Pulsar (AWD, perhaps?) won't be far behind.



Word has it that the Australian-market SSS gets special suspension (think WRC-style) to handle the unique terrain.

The "SSS" name goes WAY back in Nissan's history - You all know about "Alice", our 1967 SSS Datsun Wagon.



If we weren't already aggravated enough about Nissan's decision to kill Project S16, this is just pouring salt in the wound.



I could see this in black, with a body drop and some gunmetal Volks, in my own driveway... Not willing to move to China or Australia to do it.

Is this another slap in the face from our favorite car company, or are we just asking too much?
Would this car sell in the US if it were priced in the $22,000 - $26,000 range?

[nissangirl74]

we imported one Nissan from Australia, why not one more? :

[themadscientist]

Nissan to America, "f*** you."

[float_6969]

W T F. Seriously? BAAAAHHHHAHAHHAAHHGGGAAAHHHHAHHAAHHH!!!! This irritates me. The first thing I thought of when I read that and heard the specs was, "Oh cool, this would compete with the Mazdaspeed 3!" But no. Once again, Japan thinks American's don't like Turbo's. This is so stupid.

I'm ready to start petitioning my state government to tax based on displacement like Europe. Maybe then we can start to get some friggin turbo's over here. I really don't think that the old mentality about turbo's is still there. And what's REALLY sad, is that AMERICAN companies are figuring it out. Examples?
Dodge Dart; Available 1.4L MultiAir Turbo
Ford F150, Tauras, etc.; Ecoboost V6
GM Sonic, Cruze, and Malibu; Various turbo options

And what about the Europeans? When is the last time you heard of a turbocharged Eurobox coming to the US without the hairdryer? Never. It doesn't happen.

Nissan is completely turning their image upside down, yet they cling to the idea that American's want displacement and don't like AWD turbo cars.

QUIT CASTRATING OUR CARS!!!!!!!

[themadscientist]

Look. Nissan has been off-base with their reading of the U.S. market for 20 years. Remember the 240SX? Why would we expect them to ever figure it out?

[snwbrdr435]

Another reason my next car won't be a nissan..

[krash]

If we weren't already aggravated enough about Nissan's decision to kill Project S16, this is just pouring salt in the wound.

All Nissan has been doing lately is pouring salt in the wound. I don't think they even care about any enthusiast that doesn't have the resources to spend $35k+ on a fun car. The 370z is amazing, but thats no reason to just lay in a hammock and build murano cabriolets and freaking unibody pathfinders.

[Rev_D21]

This only re-affirms my position on Nissan by Renault...they suck! I miss the days when Nissan would take chances on car we might like. It's like eating Cheerios for breakfast every morning, while they are good for you sometimes you want a bowl of Trix for the sugar just to feel like a kid again. Ghosn, I'll check out Nissan the next time I need a car I can take a nap in.

['97 S14 SE Turbo]

Nissan is not the problem. I used to think its some corporate bean counter that allows products that doesn't meet customers demand to hit the market…

The real problem is the CAFE standard. There's is a good article on thetruthaboutcars.com that talks about the reasoning behind the madness. It is also the reason why all manufacturers are pumping out crossover vehicles, including the insanity that is the Murano convertable.

It's also why manufacturers rather sell a "outback" than to sell the normal wagon version.

For the above reasons, I hate the CAFE standard … it really hurts consumers in the long run…

[MinisterofDOOM]

Gotta be honest:

I can't say I care much WHAT happens with sub-200hp FWD econoboxes. I'll never buy one, so I don't care where they do or don't sell 'em. I CERTAINLY won't loose sleep over the fact that one of them isn't making it to our shores. Too many real cars out there to waste time worrying about not-very-hot compacts.

I sure as HELL would not spend $25k on one.

[float_6969]

Well I don't share that sentiment. If that car was here, now, AWD, and turbo, I would SERIOUSLY consider a car loan. And this is coming from someone's who's only debt has been his house, student loans, and a single credit card that doesn't carry a month-to-month balance for a few years now. I hate being in debt, but a car like that, if built in the SSS fashion, would be worth the 3 years of living under a Banks thumb.

Ofcourse I feel the same way about the S16.

Seems like the only cars I'd be willing to get a loan and buy are cars that Nissan deemed weren't worth making. Funny how that works....

[Gold Digger]

Why not bring back the GTi-R name? I don't see the Pulsar as a sedan, as the moniker implies. It's a 5 door hatch.
I've not seen any Pulsar sedans in my time here in Japan, and they continued making the Pulsar for quite a while. The GTi-R was a wolf in sheeps clothing and, even mildly built, were nasty little bishes.

[themadscientist]

Real quick till they started cracking transmission bellhousings.

[RicerX]

I will say this - at 188HP and priced at $22-26K they would move very few in the US market. That is pricing territory for the GTI (200-ish HP), Mazdaspeed3 (263HP), Subaru WRX (260HP) and the new Focus ST (250-ish HP... I can't recall).

That is a damn good looking car, IMHO. One of the few things from Nissan recently that is actually attractive to me. Go figure they'd find some way of f-ing it up.

They could have a really good competitor there. Find a way to pump even 220HP out of it and 30MPG and they'd sell in droves. Once again, whoever is in charge of Nissan's product portfolio for North America is asleep at the wheel. Maybe to them, it's ok to be asleep at the wheel considering they're working on driverless cars instead of cars that invite drivers with levels of consciousness above that of a coma.

[Jesda]

There's a market for this kind of vehicle as proven by the Mazda 3, Chevy Sonic, and Hyundai Veloster.

I'd be inclined to call out Nissan for not having any guts but this is too practical, obvious, and marketable to be gutsy. Bring it here and it will fly out of showrooms.

[float_6969]

I will say this - at 188HP and priced at $22-26K they would move very few in the US market. That is pricing territory for the GTI (200-ish HP), Mazdaspeed3 (263HP), Subaru WRX (260HP) and the new Focus ST (250-ish HP... I can't recall).

That is a damn good looking car, IMHO. One of the few things from Nissan recently that is actually attractive to me. Go figure they'd find some way of f-ing it up.

They could have a really good competitor there. Find a way to pump even 220HP out of it and 30MPG and they'd sell in droves. Once again, whoever is in charge of Nissan's product portfolio for North America is asleep at the wheel. Maybe to them, it's ok to be asleep at the wheel considering they're working on driverless cars instead of cars that invite drivers with levels of consciousness above that of a coma.

I agree with you about the power. I drove by a '13 Mazdaspeed 3, light blue, white wheels, white grill. It was awesome, but a bit loud for my taste. If I had to choose between the two, for the same price point, and the Nissan had less power, I'd get the Mazda. If they had the same power, or the Nissan was a bit cheaper (but had aftermarket support), I'd get the Nissan, purely out of loyalty and the slightly less obnoxious/ricer looks.

[AZhitman]

Once again, whoever is in charge of Nissan's product portfolio for North America is asleep at the wheel. Maybe to them, it's ok to be asleep at the wheel considering they're working on driverless cars instead of cars that invite drivers with levels of consciousness above that of a coma.

It brings me no joy to agree with you on this.

Have I spent 12 years cheerleading for a company that's determined to "throw the game" in the 4th quarter?

[krash]

I think its time we all sat down and had a talk about the details of a takeover of NNA by NICO.

[float_6969]

I'm in!!!

[AZhitman]

Not while they have that stupid dress code in place.

I've met SO many awesome people who work for Corporate... these issues genuinely baffle me.

[King Ranzo]

What the tits man. Seriously? First, they scrap the S16 project. Now they're giving everyone else this bad a** little car? I'm highly enraged.

I'd honestly buy one of those. I'd willingly finance one, just so I can drop it, toss a lip kit on it, few minor bolt ons, a set of Work Equips, and tinted windows. This thing would be sick, especially if they do come out with an AWD variant.

GAH. Why do we ALWAYS get the short end of the stick? WHY? Even AMERICAN companies give Europe better cars. Look at the friggin' Focus RS for Chrissake. Oh. Here. Have the ST. It's close enough right?

[float_6969]

Oh, you don't know? Everyone in America wants land yachts. Welcome to 1960.

[Looneybomber]

Oh, you don't know? Everyone in America wants land yachts. Welcome to 1960.

I may be the minority, but I want SUV's to have a body on ladder frame. I want 4-6" lift kits available at the local parts store. I also want some crash activated flame throwers mounted all around it so they can incinerate anything around me, guaranteeing I will be the only person walking away from the accident...so long as they don't get in the way of my gun racks. Wait, what was this thread about again?

Oh that's right, small cars. Don't we have enough of them already? What's the point of a small car? Gas mileage, and cheap price. Why make an expensive small car that get's OK mileage, but has performance on par with, or behind a mustang GT? Seems to defeat the purpose.

[Looneybomber]

There's a market for this kind of vehicle as proven by the Mazda 3, Chevy Sonic, and Hyundai Veloster..

And Ford focus ST, and possibly dodge dart (if they put out the SRT4). The market for hot hatches is there, but it's saturated. The Neon SRT4 was an excellent bang for the buck performer, but still didn't work. People want either good MPG econoboxes, trendy crossovers, or trucks, with a few going after mid/full size sedans/coupes.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Sorry guys...I'm just not seeing the appeal. "There's a market for it" and "I want one" have NEVER EVER EVER been the same thing for the enthusiast.

Torsion beams are not good. FWD and engines in front of axle centerlines are not good. 60/40 weight distribution is not good. Rear seats that you can't actually use are not good. (WHY HAVE THEM IF YOU CAN'T USE THEM!? JUST BUY A DAMN COUPE INSTEAD.) Cars built to be as cheap as possible above all else is not good. A TINY BIT of power doesn't change these. A LOT of power wouldn't change it, either. 300hp wouldn't make a Versa appealing. 900hp wouldn't do it. The power is not the issue. The CAR is what matters.

If adding power to a hatchback is all it takes to make a "hot hatch" then hot hatches suck. The ones that are worth driving, like the Mazda 3, the Focus, etc....those are worth driving because the WHOLE CAR was engineered right FROM THE GROUND UP. And you'll find that those ones, the fun-to-drive ones worth actually owning, are the ones that are fun WITHOUT a lot of power.

It is NOT a matter of adding power, adding boost, adding a clutch pedal, adding any of that. I've said it a million times and I'll say it a million more if I have to: crappy cars are crappy cars regardless of power output.

0-60 times are for Monte Carlo drivers with Nascar stickers. I demand a little more--Hell, I demand OTHER THINGS ENTIRELY--from my cars.

"Hot Hatches" like the new Pulsar are for kids with attention span problems. If Toyota were to build a 2013 Corolla that makes 200hp would you guys get excited?! If it's this easy to impress the modern car buyer, no wonder our selection is s***. No wonder Nissan doesn't need to sell anything interesting.

It'll take a LOT more than a rebadged Versa with a turbo and not even very much power to get my blood pumping.

I'll admit, more options is always a better thing. And the fact that I don't care about it doesn't mean it shouldn't exist. But I just don't see the source of excitement, or disappointment, or any kind of emotion at all.

['97 S14 SE Turbo]

Again, look up CAFE standards… The regulations in places forces manufacturers to offer products that better cater to a formula than to really fullfill each market segment.

[RicerX]

Again, look up CAFE standards… The regulations in places forces manufacturers to offer products that better cater to a formula than to really fullfill each market segment.

While I agree with you to a point on CAFE standards being the problem, I believe that CAFE standards are going to separate the automotive manufacturers with true desire to innovate and diversify from those who simply just want to sell something in every rental car category.

Look at Ford's performance oriented vehicles and look at Nissan's. Both are subject to the same CAFE standards.

Sports cars: 370Z vs. Mustang (for the sake of this argument, we can add the Nismo 370 vs. the Boss 302 version as well to even this out. This also includes the convertible versions of each, so we can basically say they're par here.)

Niche performance vehicles: GT-R for Nissan (1).
Ford has the GT-500, SVT Raptor, Focus ST, Taurus SHO (4).

BUT... look here: CROSSOVERS.
Nissan: Rogue, Cube (? ... the ? is for me not knowing WTF the cube is supposed to be, so file it under crossover), Juke, Murano, CrossCabriolet, Pathfinder (6)
Ford: Escape, Flex, Edge (3). (You could say 4 if you threw the Explorer on here, which is up for debate)

Ford has prioritized meeting their CAFE standards with functionality while not sacrificing fun options from their lineup (each performance version sells reasonably well in my area - I see plenty of each... already seeing Focus STs on the road after only a few weeks of them being on sale).

Nissan has decided to create a soda fountain's variety of crossover vehicles (the Cube being the root beer float of the soda fountain... is it a soda or is it a dessert?!) while snubbing the American market of fun cars, and if they justify this in the name of meeting fuel economy standards, then it reaffirms my stance - Nissan's product planners have ZERO imagination for how to achieve CAFE standards other than using crossovers to do so, and it's time for them to start building subway cars instead as they have very little enthusiasm for designing automobiles for anything more than a simple, personal form of transportation.

If any enthusiasts scoff at them for this CAFE crossover solution, they point to the GT-R, which less than 5% of Americans can reasonably afford, and their "affordable" alternative is the $40k 370Z, which maybe 30% of Americans can afford, and less than half of those 30% can justify the expense for a two seater, especially when benchmarked against its competition (basically - the 370 sells to the purists clinging tightly to the heritage of that car, and not without alienating many of said purists, but that's another argument for another day).

CAFE is making it more difficult to keep cars exciting, but not impossible.

Even Mazda, a much smaller company, injects much more exciting vehicles into its lineup than Nissan. You toss away the GT-R from the argument (because it is $100K now), and you have a 370Z vs. a Mazdaspeed3, an RX-8, and a Miata (a sports car with a pedigree that rivals the Z).

Even Nissan's economical vehicles aren't as good as some of Mazdas. The new Sentra isn't anywhere near as good as the Mazda 3 Skyactiv (fuel economy is less in the Sentra, Mazda has much better suspension, similar technology options, and a 6MT available across its lineup) and the Rogue is a joke compared to the new CX-5, but the Rogue is due for a refresh soon, so we'll see if it meets or exceeds the good in the CX-5.

Feel free to blast me or debate me with any of this. Won't hurt my feelings. My feelings on the matter is that Nissan needs to step up.

[float_6969]

Agree'd. IMHO, Mazda has the exciting department cornered in the Japanese market right now. They are obviously showing that you can still build exciting cars in this market.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Ford: Escape, Flex, Edge (3). (You could say 4 if you threw the Explorer on here, which is up for debate)

I'm pretty sure there's no room for debate on that one. The Explorer is a crossover. It is a rebodied Flex. It's a Taurus with even MORE FAT. It's FWD, sideways V6-powered, unibody FAIL. It's as much a crossover as any Murano or Highlander. Except neither of those weighs 5000 smegging pounds.

[RicerX]

I'm pretty sure there's no room for debate on that one. The Explorer is a crossover. It is a rebodied Flex. It's a Taurus with even MORE FAT. It's FWD, sideways V6-powered, unibody FAIL. It's as much a crossover as any Murano or Highlander. Except neither of those weighs 5000 smegging pounds.

Gotcha. When I looked at the new Explorer for the first time I thought it looked very different as far as its stance but I never looked up the specs on it. So we've lost another body-on-frame SUV.

Now that Jeep is planning to outsource all production to China, I wonder how long until the Wrangler becomes a unibody? lol