Versa Convertable?

[Bergerman]

I traded in my convertable in the winter for a 08 S Coupe but now that it is warming up, I was wishing I had that old convertable again so I got to thinking abour a Versa convertable. I was thinking that if they created one, it would look a lot like a VW bug so I thought I would see if any of you had heard anything about Nissan coming up with something like this for the Versa. You know maybe someone out west has even done this. Maybve we can submit a customer enhancement request to Nissan and see it come out in a couple years. I'd definately trade up to a convertable if that came out.

[Promise Land]

I think first you would need a 2-door Versa before you'd start a conversation for a convertible. Assuming you had that, I think the price to add the convertible to an entry level car would take it to a price comparable to a high level Sentra or Altima. The 350Z/370Z roadster with the convertible top is a good price bump for the top. I think you'd have to sell a huge amount globally to even justify the R&D and tooling costs to make it viable concept.

The Altima is the highest selling vehicle Nissan makes in the world. If it would show up anywhere in the lower ranks, I would suspect that the Altima Coupe would be the next car to have a convertible. I heard of the concept a couple years ago, but it's vanished from the radar.

[VersaMG08]

I think first you would need a 2-door Versa before you'd start a conversation for a convertible. Assuming you had that, I think the price to add the convertible to an entry level car would take it to a price comparable to a high level Sentra or Altima. The 350Z/370Z roadster with the convertible top is a good price bump for the top. I think you'd have to sell a huge amount globally to even justify the R&D and tooling costs to make it viable concept.

The Altima is the highest selling vehicle Nissan makes in the world. If it would show up anywhere in the lower ranks, I would suspect that the Altima Coupe would be the next car to have a convertible. I heard of the concept a couple years ago, but it's vanished from the radar.

I agree with that statement. I see Altimas everywhere I drive here, they're like dime-a-dozen. A V convertible is not going to happen anytime soon, the V has to get it's name across before Nissan even thinks about going that route.

[ADOversa]

[-GT-R: They aren't selling at all. They will slim production down by 50% of sales don't pick up by next year. Don't expect the GT-R to stick around in America long.

-

LOL I don't know who your source is or why they would tell you something like that, but they are selling fine. In February alone 169 units were sold in the USA. For a car like that, those are good numbers. And here... I see at least 1 a week.

[rwanttaja]

I think first you would need a 2-door Versa before you'd start a conversation for a convertible.

Not necessarily. I owned a factory-built four-door convertible for about twenty years. It wouldn't be sporting to tell y'all what the make/model was, but one clue: It was NOT imported from overseas....

Ron

[blindsnyper]

Not necessarily. I owned a factory-built four-door convertible for about twenty years. It wouldn't be sporting to tell y'all what the make/model was, but one clue: It was NOT imported from overseas....

Ron

lincoln???

[feloniousmonk]

I traded in my convertable in the winter for a 08 S Coupe but now that it is warming up, I was wishing I had that old convertable again so I got to thinking abour a Versa convertable. I was thinking that if they created one, it would look a lot like a VW bug so I thought I would see if any of you had heard anything about Nissan coming up with something like this for the Versa. You know maybe someone out west has even done this. Maybve we can submit a customer enhancement request to Nissan and see it come out in a couple years. I'd definately trade up to a convertable if that came out.

370Z Roaster. Just announced at the NY Auto Show. Otherwise, no on the Versa convertible. Aftermarket rag top like this (http://www.donmar.com/sunroofs/fold.htm) is about as close as you'll get, but then it's not really worthwhile. Just get a different car if you're serious about it.

Economy is in the toilet, the last thing any car manufacturer is focused on is a "fun" car like a convertible. Almost all have focused their attention cutting cost. You could say that I'm an industry insider, and let me tell you, it has not been a fun week (and that's putting it lightly).

[Promise Land]

Reed I'd love to know your source at corporate. I assume this source is in Franklin, TN? Some of what you typed I could see, but some is not the same as I know. Not sure what you mean by "the Armada will be the QX."

Monk: If you want to be considered an insider, what do you do within the industry?

[VersaMG08]

Here are my thoughts...

Versa - Complete makeover in 2011.

Cube - Comes out spring 2009, and I may end up getting one in 2013.

Sentra - I don't see them phasing out the Sentra any time soon. It's a niche market for Nissan and it's been around since the 80s.

Altima - Obviously will stay around, Nissan's top selling sedan.

Maxima - A 6MT would be awesome. Still a great selling vehicle for the luxury accessories.

370z - New model, similar to 350z and will cater to the sports car fans.

GT-R - I saw a white one at a dealer last week and that vehicle is awesome. There are people out there who have the money to put down for it.

Pathfinder, Xterra, Rogue, Murano, Armada - Why would the SUVs go away? I see plenty of them on the roads here.

Frontier, Titan - I like their trucks, nothing much else to say about them.

Quest - Don't know much about them.

[Reed19x]

PromiseLand, yes Franklin/Smyrna plant in Tennessee. All of my dad's band members have been working there since...well, a long LONG time haha.

[manvan]

around my house they have this shop that will turn any car into a convertible... and im saying ANY, maybe you should see if you got one buy you if you want one, i saw it done to a 4dr accord, looked silly bt whatever floats your boat

[Red Devil]

Perhaps it would look like the Cabrio from Volkswagen...

http://historyofck.files.wordp...o.jpg

From my sources at the corporate offices of Nissan, here's what's on tap for 2009-2012...

-Versa: The Versa will take the place of the Sentra as the economy car. A turbo version will be added as well as other colors by 2011. Unfortunately, there are no plans to bring the turbo engine to the States.

-Sentra: Will be phased out by 2011. The Versa as I stated above will take it's place.

-Altima: Will remain as their best seller/family sedan. Facelifts (similar to those of the new Maxima) will come in 2010/2011.

-Altima coupe: Will remain until 2012, and then receive a facelift. Think "2 Door Maxima". Lobster claw headlights, sport wing, larger engine...the whole shebang. This will remain the "poor man's G37".

-Maxima: 4 Door Sports Car. So it shall remain. There was a plan for a 6MT version as well as an all wheel drive version for 2011. But these were scrapped after the auto crisis of 2008. (if you wanna call it that haha).

-370Z: Safe for now, roadster version coming later this year. Brand new car, no changes.

-GT-R: They aren't selling at all. They will slim production down by 50% of sales don't pick up by next year. Don't expect the GT-R to stick around in America long.

-SUVs: Everything is going bye bye except the Pathfinder. The Armada will just be the QX...the Rogue and Murano will be fused into a FWD Crossover by 2012.

-Trucks: Titan will be gone, Frontier will remain but will receive an update by 2011. As of now, Titans are only selling around 2000 a month...not enough to keep it going.

***RUMOR MILL: There was a 240SX concept (RWD, cheap, 2 door) that was planned to release in 2010. After the "2008 Crisis" this was scrapped and there is no plans to pick it back up.

***RUMOR MILL: There is a 2 door hatchback type thing in the works right now. Go here: http://www.nissanusa.com/futur...icles/Click on Sport Coupe. While this was originally thought to be the VERSA CONCEPT, it is in fact an entirely different car. This is slated to release in 2012/2013. Once this drops, it would be the perfect car to add a convertible/roadster version to (in my opinion) but there's no such thing as far as I've heard.

So it looks like, if you want a Nissan Vert...rock the 370Z Roadster.

Would be great to have a convertible Versa though! I'd also love to see a Versa SE-R or a Nismo Versa in the states. Keep in mind these are just things I've been told by people at the Nissan corporate offices, THEY ARE NOT 110% SET IN STONE.

Long winded but I hope this helps give you a clear vision of the future of the Versa and the Nissan family.

.........they are also 100% BS. The Titan will be a reskinned Dodge Ram for one, the Versa replaced the Sentra as the entry level, compact car and Nissan MOVED the Sentra upmarket and they've sold plenty of GT-R's. Considering the majority were spoken for at launch I find it hard to believe they aren't selling any. They would draw production down later on, seeing as it's supposed to be a limited production supercar.

Either your source is very ill informed or you're making the majority of this up.

[Bergerman]

What got me thinking about a Versa vert was when I saw a PT Cruiser with a rag top. And you are right, it might look a lot like the Cabrio when said and done but when that PT Cruiser originally came out, who would have thunk it would get a vert version some day? Not I. Based on the discussion above, I would think that the Altima Coupe would be the prime candidate for the soft top. You know, that G37 vert looks pretty nice so I just may wait a few years and pick up one of those used or if the Altima or Versa ever get a soft top, I'll trade the Versa in on a new one.

BTW, great thread!

[Rockhound]

The Titan will be a reskinned Dodge Ram for one...

I wonder what will transpire with this if Chyslerberus files C7? Was Nissan planning on buying the tooling to carry on the Ram franchise or what? I don't recall the exact details on the issue.

Also up for grabs in this instance would be Jeep, as it is pretty much the only holding of ChryCo. of any substantial value. Renault owned Jeep once upon a time (1979-1987, via Renault's controlling interest in AMC, and AMC's 100% ownership of Jeep) and it isn't crazy to think they may own them again in the near future.

Oh, and yeah, I'm just not seeing the Versa convertible. It doesn't have, or at least try to have, some sort of classic look that is given to the styling of a convertible.

[Red Devil]

I wonder what will transpire with this if Chyslerberus files C7? Was Nissan planning on buying the tooling to carry on the Ram franchise or what? I don't recall the exact details on the issue.

Also up for grabs in this instance would be Jeep, as it is pretty much the only holding of ChryCo. of any substantial value. Renault owned Jeep once upon a time (1979-1987, via Renault's controlling interest in AMC, and AMC's 100% ownership of Jeep) and it isn't crazy to think they may own them again in the near future.

Oh, and yeah, I'm just not seeing the Versa convertible. It doesn't have, or at least try to have, some sort of classic look that is given to the styling of a convertible.

There's no market demand for a Versa convertible.

FIAT is supposed to be buying a majority of Chrysler. Hopefully that means the Fiat 500 will be brought over. Hopefully that'll also include the option for the Fiat Abarth 500 SS too?

[rwanttaja]

Not necessarily. I owned a factory-built four-door convertible for about twenty years. It wouldn't be sporting to tell y'all what the make/model was, but one clue: It was NOT imported from overseas....

lincoln???

The Lincoln did have a four-door convertible, but it wasn't my car. Three more clues:

1. It WASN'T a conversion (production model with almost 100,000 built)

2. My stating "It was NOT imported from overseas" was perfectly true, but deliberately misleading.

3. A Versa owner would understand #2.

Ron

[Promise Land]

I wonder what will transpire with this if Chyslerberus files C7? Was Nissan planning on buying the tooling to carry on the Ram franchise or what? I don't recall the exact details on the issue.

Nissan was planning to have Chrysler reskin a Ram out of the Saltillo, Mexico plant. It was cheaper to have Chrysler do that than redesign a new truck for 2011. Gov't regulations changed for 2011 models.

[Red Devil]

lincoln???

The Lincoln did have a four-door convertible, but it wasn't my car. Three more clues:

1. It WASN'T a conversion (production model with almost 100,000 built)

2. My stating "It was NOT imported from overseas" was perfectly true, but deliberately misleading.

3. A Versa owner would understand #2.

Ron [/QUOTE]

Do we get a model year?

[blindsnyper]

The Lincoln did have a four-door convertible, but it wasn't my car. Three more clues:

1. It WASN'T a conversion (production model with almost 100,000 built)

2. My stating "It was NOT imported from overseas" was perfectly true, but deliberately misleading.

3. A Versa owner would understand #2.

Ron

a thing!!!!!!!!!

[rwanttaja]

a thing!!!!!!!!!

That's right...VW Type 181. When I put it up for sale about 15 years ago, I had guys lining up at the door ready to buy it....

Built in Mexico (like the Versa), imported to the US for only two years ('73 and '74). I bought my '74 model in '79 for $500, sold it about 15 years later (fairly well rusted out but running) for $1500.

High in the "cool factor," but really wasn't much of a car. Only about 40 HP, no structural stiffness at all (when you slammed the doors shut, the whole side of the car would shake back and forth), and some parts (like the rear brake drums) were oddballs and could not be found for love nor money. The stitching in the convertible top rotted away at one point, and I re-sewed it with fishing line.

The last ~5 years I owned it, it spent most of its time in the garage, only coming out on nice summer days to drive around with the top down.

Ron

[rwanttaja]

That's right...VW Type 181.

Funny thing is, when you DO an exercise with a convertible Versa, the top ends up looking that that of the old "Thing," for the same reasons.The Thing needed a odd articulated structure to cover two whole rows of seats without any intermediate support. When the top was unfolded, the structure formed a sort of rectangular frame parallel to the car, at the height of the windshield. The windshield wasn't even needed to support the top (in fact, since the windshield itself folded down, you could drive with the top up and the windshield down...fun to see how long it took for people to figure out where the "draft" was coming from...).

The Versa Convertible would need an almost identical structure, thus ends up looking quite a bit like the old VW.



Unfortunately, the body would need some fairly serious changes (beyond just those to regain strutural stiffness. If you want a conventional convertible window line (e.g, with the top down, the windows roll down below the sheet metal), the back doors have to be narrowed. The Versa has a fixed window behind the one that goes up and down, and the door basically will have to end just behind where the moving window is. This will make getting into and out of the rear seats more difficult.

The solution would be to move the rear seats forward, losing some rear-seat legroom but making it easier to go out the narrower doorway. It will also give more space behind the seat for the top to sit when folded. The hatch would be pared down to just a narrow rear-facing door, very difficult to load anything of substantial size into. However, there's the opportunity to seal it away from the rest of the car (like a normal trunk) so that you'd have some locking storage that would take more than a utility knife to break into.

I included a sort of roll bar mid-car; this also includes the tracks for the front and rear windows.

Ron

[Red Devil]

Funny thing is, when you DO an exercise with a convertible Versa, the top ends up looking that that of the old "Thing," for the same reasons.The Thing needed a odd articulated structure to cover two whole rows of seats without any intermediate support. When the top was unfolded, the structure formed a sort of rectangular frame parallel to the car, at the height of the windshield. The windshield wasn't even needed to support the top (in fact, since the windshield itself folded down, you could drive with the top up and the windshield down...fun to see how long it took for people to figure out where the "draft" was coming from...).

The Versa Convertible would need an almost identical structure, thus ends up looking quite a bit like the old VW.



Unfortunately, the body would need some fairly serious changes (beyond just those to regain strutural stiffness. If you want a conventional convertible window line (e.g, with the top down, the windows roll down below the sheet metal), the back doors have to be narrowed. The Versa has a fixed window behind the one that goes up and down, and the door basically will have to end just behind where the moving window is. This will make getting into and out of the rear seats more difficult.

The solution would be to move the rear seats forward, losing some rear-seat legroom but making it easier to go out the narrower doorway. It will also give more space behind the seat for the top to sit when folded. The hatch would be pared down to just a narrow rear-facing door, very difficult to load anything of substantial size into. However, there's the opportunity to seal it away from the rest of the car (like a normal trunk) so that you'd have some locking storage that would take more than a utility knife to break into.

I included a sort of roll bar mid-car; this also includes the tracks for the front and rear windows.

Ron

Eww.......reminds me of the terrible PT Cruiser.

[justmerging]

While the versa convertable my not be realistic you could always have a reputable custom shop put in one of those oversized fabric sunroofs. I've seen a number of xB's with them and when installed correctly they look decent.

[Red Devil]

The problem is you'd lose what a main selling point of the versa is, useable space.

[rwanttaja]

The problem is you'd lose what a main selling point of the versa is, useable space.

Hmmmm. I think someone who is *looking* for a convertible is probably not putting "usefulness" high on their selection criteria (speaking as someone who has owned three convertibles...).

So: Let's get a bit freer in modifying the Versa Hatchback design. Same wheelbase, same dimensions, but let's cut up the Versa into a two-seat roadster instead. Eliminate the rear seats, larger doors, metal turtledeck behind the seats all the way to the back, add a "real" roll bar, and put a trunk lid on the new metal.



You end up with a large storage area behind the seats (or maybe room for a child seat) and a fairly good sized trunk.

Not bad looking, but I couldn't come up with a convertible top design that looked halfway decent when up....

Ron

[MinisterofDOOM]

-Maxima: 4 Door Sports Car. So it shall remain. There was a plan for a 6MT version as well as an all wheel drive version for 2011. But these were scrapped after the auto crisis of 2008. (if you wanna call it that haha).

...No...The 6MT disappeared in 2007 so that Ghosn could push his new CVT on the world. Intention was to continue that with the 7th gen. Then later they began wondering if the CVT was up to the expected ~400 ft-lb output of the 2011 diesel Maxima (the answer to that question, btw, is no. It is not up to it). THAT is where the 2011 6MT that might happen came from. Ghosn's determination to force people into CVTs is why the 6MT went away. It has nothing to do with the "auto crisis" or 2008.

SUVs: Everything is going bye bye except the Pathfinder. The Armada will just be the QX...the Rogue and Murano will be fused into a FWD Crossover by 2012.

Trucks: Titan will be gone, Frontier will remain but will receive an update by 2011. As of now, Titans are only selling around 2000 a month...not enough to keep it going.

Why would Nissan combine the Murano and Rogue? They NEED to remain separate entities. It is entirely counter-productive to merge them. There are very solid markets for BOTH vehicles and Nissan NEEDS to retain both distinct vehicles. Everyone is expanding their crossover lines now to offer MORE options. Why would Nissan do the opposite? And they are already FWD crossovers.And what do you mean "the Armada will just be the QX?" They're already the same thing.

And I can guarantee that the Versa is not replacing the Sentra. They are entirely different cars. The Sentra may be redesigned or even replaced, but it won't be by the Versa.

And as for the Titan not selling well, it's not really an Issue. Nissan's profits from the Altima are good enough that they can afford to take a hit building the Titan. The Titan was never expected to sell phenomenally in the first place.

The Titan will be a reskinned Dodge Ram for one

Not likely anymore. Those plans are on indefinite hold, even if Dodge manages to pull through.

[IMHungry]

It'll never happen.

The car's a price leader made in Mexico for a very specific reason.

BTW, if some of you think the fuel economy sucks now, imagine what it'll be like with all the extra weight needed to make a ragtop.