Why Nissan NEEDS an Affordable RWD Sports Car

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VQpwrdSE-R
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Jay's on our side!!! In an episode of jays garage he goes to the Japan and vists with Chief design officer Shiro Nakamura. Jay makes his opinion well known while he's there. He would love to see the z return to its roots with size, performance, and affordability, and design cues that compliment the z heritage.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV505LKq ... ata_player[/youtube]

If you ask me they may need to clean up that rear quarter on the fairlady z in the design studio. Jay gets up in there lovin' it strong at 5:37


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krash
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:rotfl I saw this posted on NICO bookface. Definitely a cool video.

Some of those concept drawings though :eek:

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Yeah concept drawings from pretty much every company have been junk for quite some time now. I don't understand why they get paid to dootle like that. They look awful and would no way work in the real world.

I guess it gives the cooler heads a starting point though?

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AZhitman
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This is the fellow we're trying to reach out to (discussing the Leaf battery degradation issues)...

"Frankly speaking, our engagement, particularly through Internet medium and the blog medium, we haven't done a good enough job... we need a mirror, to tell us what we're doing well, and what we're doing not so well."

Encouraging? Perhaps. But that mirror shouldn't be limited to electric vehicle issues - considering their marginal significance to market share.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1tfX7fRWPI[/youtube]

Hopefully, if Mr. Palmer is reading a tiny Nissan Leaf forum, he'll also be reading this.

BTW, Mr. Palmer, I'm "Mr. Arizona", and I think I might be able to help re-establish the Leaf's credibility here in the Valley (32-mile one-way commute)... Feel free to contact me ta arrange delivery of one of the "gently-used" buybacks. I can't promise you I won't vinyl wrap it in NICOclub livery, but it'd be good PR for both of us. :)

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Jesda
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If stodgy, moribund Toyota is selling excitement through Scion then Nissan has no excuse, especially with the chasm left by the demise of America's oldest excitement brand, Pontiac.

Also, I think Christine is on to something.



Stop slapping 4DSC stickers on to obese land barges and start building cars I want to drive. Even if Nissan doesn't build an entry-level sports car, it needs to inject fun and youth into its product portfolio.

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Another win post from Jesda. "Like"

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So according to that video Nissan never intended to have the Leaf last longer than warranty? Is that what I heard?

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Just the batteries, I guess.

superbad
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Just read the article. Couldn't agree with it more.
It's ashame Nissan put a halt on the s16. In 2-3 years my alti will be paid off and I will be looking for a sports car to put in my garage as a project. Would love a Z but with one kid and another on the way the S16 would be ideal and more realistic for me. I am/was a huge Nissan fan and even had my wife buy a rogue. But with the way things are going I might be going elsewhere.
Come on Nissan get your head out of your a$$es. You have a lot of people wanting a drivers car that is more affordable.

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As far as Nissan having a Scion counterpart, I don't see this happening unless the bring the Datsun name back life here in the states, which I'm sure every one of us would jump on, but thiz would mean pulling sales from the Parent company and from Infiniti, and that's not what they want. You can argue that it would instill brand loyalty, but people that buy scions don't really upgrade to Toyota or Lexus. Brand loyalty isn't really a thing people do anymore, most of the people I know buy cars not by brand, but by price. The only people I know that do stick to brand loyalty are those that are die hard Ford or Chevy owners, and most of them stick to one model, mostly trucks/SUV's or minivans.

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If Toyota can do it with Scion, Toyota, Lexus, Nissan can do it with Datsun, Nissan, Infiniti.

They just have to do it right.

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Chaotic_Warlord wrote:but thiz would mean pulling sales from the Parent company and from Infiniti, and that's not what they want.

This is what I don't get. Any sale is a good sale whether it be from Datsun, Nissan or Infiniti. If one model goes idle because a more exciting car is stealing the wind out of its sails only means that it should be retired for something more exciting. Trying to force us into a M35 when we want an S16 isn't going to sell more M35's just because they exist. The money all goes into the same pockets at the end of the day. Nissan will never make an Infiniti customer out of me but they could have a Datsun customer on their hands but since nothing along the lines of Datsun exists here in the US they get nothing...see how that works? Give the customer what they want and they will buy, you can't sell it if you don't have it on the shelf. There is a butt for every seat, Nissan should take that to heart.

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Rev_D21 wrote:This is what I don't get. Any sale is a good sale whether it be from Datsun, Nissan or Infiniti.
While I agree with your sentiment in this instance, this is EXACTLY the mindset that nearly destroyed Ford and GM in the mid-90s.

post6045848.html

Nissan, though, needs to understand the difference between competing with yourself and buildling a diverse product lineup under distinct brands. I promise if you check the dictionary, "Diverse" is not defined as "as many droopy crossovers as you can imagine."

Also, Nissan needs to stow the hypocrisy before talking about lost sales. Ten years ago it was "Nissan and Infiniti must be separate things. We can't allow RWD Nissans because that's too close to Infiniti. We have to kill off the I because it's not a real Infiniti." Now it's "Pathfinder with a CVT?!?!? Slap a Mt. Fuji on that beastie and call it a JX! MORE SALES FOR EVERYONE!!!" Modern Nissan is like a blue hair in a Century: I don't give a damn WHICH lane you want to drive in, but please PICK ONE AND STAY THERE so everyone else can move on.

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Again, I'd take 1 S16 over 10,000,000,000 cross cabriolets any day of the week, zombie apocalypse included.

...and I've got cold hard cash burning a hole in my pocket.

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I wasn't trying to imply that all 3 lines sell the same thing or badge re-engineer as it is called. A 'butt for every seat' approach would have to have diversity (ie Datsun=sporty/practical, Nissan=Family/adventure, Infiniti=Up scale/sophistication/technology) and each one promote the mothership's ability to satisfy every walk of life with no redundancy between the lines. Hyundai does it every day form the Accent to the Equus and they sell each one of them, some they can't keep on the shelf. But yeh Nissan, stay away from what Ford and GM did back in the day!

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TurboFrog
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I really don't understand why there is so much hate for the Juke. I come here to feel included and talk about my Nissan but feel like everyone on this "NISSAN" forum is telling me by buying a Juke I have just flushed my money down the toilet or that I have crappy taste. I agree that the Juke is not a replacement for an S16 but for those of us that a 2-seat sports coupe is not practical, its a nice alternative for the money. Besides isn't there room for both?

Have any of you driven a Juke with the AWD set to AWD-V through the twisties and shifted the CVT(something else I'm tired of hearing complaints about) manually? It's quite capable and a lot of fun. Besides the All Mighty GT-R everyone longs for doesn't have a clutch pedal and manual transmission either. Most people under 35 don't know how to drive a manual and don't want to. Why don't they just put a small turbocharged 4 in a stripped 370Z, drop the price 6 grand, make it the base model and call it good.(sarcastically) Problem solved. Oh and in case you're wondering what age demographic I fall under I'm 30.

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TurboFrog wrote: Have any of you driven a Juke with the AWD set to AWD-V through the twisties and shifted the CVT(something else I'm tired of hearing complaints about) manually? It's quite capable and a lot of fun.
So is my 2.5 CVT, but it has a purpose. To get groceries, unfortunately.

Where the HELL does the Juke and Murano Cross Cabriolet fit though? How many SUV-things does Nissan need? Rogue and Murano are more than enough.

Nissan was simply mistaken that young people want quirky weird cars. Nissan is forcing a market, and completely ignoring one that actually exists (cheap RWD).
TurboFrog wrote:Besides isn't there room for both?
Clearly, Nissan doesn't think so. Otherwise, we'd be seeing a Nismo AWD Altima Coupe. Or the S16.

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TurboFrog
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I'm youngish and I wanted a quirky/weird car. Most cars are boring and look similar. Like the Camry but Toyota sells the crap out of them.The CrossCabriolet is the PT Cruiser convertible of Nissan, and no it doesn't fit. And why do they need all those different cars? Versa; Sentra; Altima; Maxima. I like your Altima Coupe btw. So the answer then is to make the Altima Coupe RWD and add a turbo onto the 2.5. Nismo Altima Coupe 2.5T RWD 6MT FTW.

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Bottom line for me, if it doesn't have a clutch pedal, I'm not buying it. I've driven plenty of CVT "mock" manual trannies, manu-auto trannies, etc and haven't found nearly the joy of a clutch pedal in any of them.
Hell, I've even driven an R35 GTR and was longing for a clutch.
No joke, if someone said "here you go, choose the GTR or your turbo Miata to live with for the rest of your life. Pick either one for free", I'd choose the Miata hands down (6 speed manual) even though it cost me roughly 80 grand less. That's a major problem for Nissan. I have no desire to own their flagship vehicle.

Why not a 370 vert you say? To be honest, I read the threads here on NICO. There's people that have had their tops wear out after a pitiful 2 years, and Nissan doesn't want to replace them. Its pathetic. Nissan just can't compete with the companies that are offering true sports cars.

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TurboFrog wrote:I really don't understand why there is so much hate for the Juke.
We're not hating on the Juke, we're saying it doesn't replace an affordable rwd sports car. A sports car doesn't scream, "hey look at how f*** weird I look!!!" A sports car is supposed to look like sex on wheels, the Juke does not say anything close to sexy. It says small SUV, so small in fact that the back seats are useless unless the driver is 5 foot nada.

The Juke appeals to some people, there's no doubt about that. But those people aren't the ones looking for a sports car...which is what this thread is about :dblthumb:

Until Nissan builds one, people are literally forced to go buy something from somewhere else. The people interested in a sports car usually enjoy the company of other like minded individuals, which in turn leads to joining other forums and or car clubs and developing a loyalty towards the brand they just purchased. By ignoring this market segment Nissan isn't just losing a sale they are killing their base of brand loyal customers and handicapping there future all at once.

Sad really.

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WD is right. I love the Juke. If I wasn't saving up to build a house, I would have bought it instead of the '04 Mazdaspeed Protege I bought to replace my '92 civic.

That doesn't mean Nissan doesn't still need an affordable RWD, 5/6MT Coupe. Obviously they sell based on the popularity of the Toyobaru and the Genesis Coupe.

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The silence from Corporate speaks volumes.

Incidentally, I was at a conference for Internet Search professionals in Las Vegas this week, and at least three people (in an unrelated industry, mind you) came up to me and commented on this article... :)

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WDRacing wrote:A sports car doesn't scream, "hey look at how f**king weird I look!!!"
I dunno about that...

Image

Image

Image

plus any number of supercars...

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AZhitman
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I only see one that screams "effing weird", and anyone who bought one should have been sterilized.

Again, Nissan's silence tells me everything I need to know - and that's sad.

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alphapig
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AZhitman wrote:I only see one that screams "effing weird"
I hope you mean the Cayman.

Otherwise I will be deeply hurt.

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I think he means the MRS.

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It's in my Top-10 Ugliest Cars in Automotive History list.

I'll be at SEMA in a couple weeks... think I might talk to some of the other manufacturer reps and see what they have in store to compete with the BRZ. I'm eager to see how far behind we'll be by the time Nissan realizes that its Product Development Manager is badly out-of-touch.

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I'm more interested in what other sports cars are coming out to tell you the truth. Nissan needs to fix their dealer network problems (and the lack of service after the sale) if they are to release something that competes. Unless of course it's an Infiniti, but then it probably wouldn't be cheap :)

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Still though, how far behind the curve is Nissan now? Even if they read this article today, and the responses to this article that have been posted all over the internet, and said, "Oh s***, we missed the boat on this one!", how long does it take to get a car from the drawing board, the the dealership? Two years? I know in 2 years, I will have already spent the money that I would like to have spent on an S16, on the Toyobaru. In 2 years, the Genesis will be due for an update. It's been out that long already.

Nissan really screwed the pooch on this one. The more I talk about it, the more disappointed I feel. But sometimes the home team sucks. It doesn't mean you bail every time they have a bad season. I'm gonna stick with them, at least as a fan. But I won't be buying any of their new fuglyness until the get back to their roots. I don't want to encourage their "behavior" anymore than necessary.

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I've been hoping for a cross between a 240z and an S15 silvia. Mix the classic hatchback lines of the 240z, with the knife edge style of the s15, redesign either a 2.4L 4cylinder (sr24det?), or a 2.4L dohc straight six ( rb24det or L24det?). That's what I'm hoping for. I'd call it a 240zsx. It's really a no brainer,Renault dumbasses! OOPs, did I write that out loud? LOL LOL :chuckle:


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