OriginalWheelman wrote:Numbers building cars is one of the things Bob Lutz credits with the downfall of GM. Nissan seems to be headed that direction.
A lot of you guys being vocal call yourselves "loyal Nissan owners" but how many of you have bought a NEW Nissan? A car manufacturer can't focus on used car sales. They need to focus on what sells new.
With that said, one thing I think they overlook is, kids become adults. Brand loyalty basically allows you to get away with a lot when you're selling a product. The used Nissans many of us fell in love with 10 years ago, when we were kids buying fun cars, made us want to buy new Nissans now that we're getting to the age where we are adults. As we look to buy our first new cars, many of us are looking elsewhere because the type of car Nissan made us fall in love with is not built by them anymore. We have to go to Subaru, Toyota, or (how the hell is this even an option) Hyundai. Those cars are going to go on the market when we are done with them 10 years form now. Subaru, Toyota and Hyundai are going to be the cars they look at when they buy a new car 10 years later. With a long term mentality, (something MANY corporations lack, not just car companies) it makes more sense to keep making exciting cars. IMO corporations are looking too hard at quarterly profits and not enough at the long term survivability. Nothing Nissan makes is exciting today. They are building boring family sedans. But I'll tell you what, when I was a kid beating on a 12 year old Caprice, it didn't make me want another Chevy. When i beat up on an Olds Cutlass, it didn't make me want an Olds, but when I beat that first 240, and it took it and came back for more, it made me want another Nissan. I was, in fact a die hard Ford guy when I drove my first 240. It wasn't even mine, it was a friend's Dad's car. I drove it for a weekend, and it made such an impression on me I stopped making fun of Japanese cars, and when the opportunity presented itself, I bought a 240. I haven't owned an American car since. (excluding a hand em down pickup) However, now that NXER and I are considering our first new car purchase, we aren't looking at Nissan. They just don't make the type of car we fell in love with anymore. I love the Z, but it is prohibitively expensive. Nothing else Nissan makes even popped into my head when I considered buying a new car.
REALLY good points. The first 240 I bought is still running. The second 240 I bought went to my brother, and now to James, and it is STILL RUNNING; well at that! It may burn oil and some coolant, but it still takes abuse on the auto-x track. My point is parallel to yours- the car impressed me enough to look at Japanese vehicles. They have longevity, looked good, and last even when used and abused.
Hell, two of my cars are Japanese. Not for nothing, but as boring of a car as my '91 Corolla is, I'd never hesitate to buy another one if I needed an econobox. That 170k mile engine burns oil, but takes abuse and long drives with stride and never has any issues. I swear that the transmission was built with tighter manufacturing tolerances than the freggin' space shuttle.
Note this- the 240’s I and my brother had made them both NEW Nissan car buyers. One bought a Versa just because it was cheap and he wanted a reliable economic car while he finished his rotations, the other bought a decked out Altima SR with the V6 and (sadly) a CVT.
Either way you look at it, that 240 that James has now made an impression on them to buy a NEW Nissan.
Nothing, aside from a 300zx or an older 240sx, will get a younger person interested in a Nissan. And there is a huuuuuge gap from 1998 to the present year that will give them a good experience without having to fix it frequently. The 240's in my family weren't any older than 10-12 years old when purchased. Thats plenty of time for the car to have issues and not be reliable for the owner. However, these cars held up! My point is that because these cars are so aged, they won't provide the same ownership experience. And nothing in the current line up looks, acts, or fills the role for Nissan like the 240 did when it was new. The legacy is fading.
Rex wrote:OriginalWheelman wrote:... how many of you have bought a NEW Nissan? A car manufacturer can't focus on used car sales. They need to focus on what sells new.
With that said, one thing I think they overlook is, kids become adults. Brand loyalty ...
Great points.
I'm not their target, I've only bought 2 new cars ever in my life (89 CRX, 91 Civic Si). They've got to build to attract the buyer, not appease the (used) car enthusiast.
And you're right, kids become adults, then adult become adults with more mean$. Or said another way
Chevy, Buick, Cadillac
Scion, Toyota, Lexus
Civic, Accord, Acura
That's why they need to focus on an entry point "assortment". And I don't think the Sentra & Juke make a complete assortment.
Fantastic assessment.
My Miata makes me think about how much fun a new MX-5 would be.
My Trans Am has been such a fantastic vehicle from the day I purchased it that I'm interested in the CTS or a used CTS-V.
The Corolla just defines reliability and boringness, but if there were ever a need for a non-enthusiast wife (eep!) in my picture or (bigger eep!) a child- thats definitely the car brand they're getting.