Why is Nissan so forgettable? 

"Carbon Fiber Sasquatch" (turbopumpkin) 07/26/2018 at 22:52 • Filed to: None

0

36

Seeing the Nissan Titan article made me realize that Nissan is in almost every segment but besides the Leaf, they don’t really get a lot of attention by auto journalists and enthusiasts.

What is it about Nissan that makes them so middle of the road? Do they have anything unique about them?

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/26/2018 at 23:08

1

GT-R? other than that, yeah there is nothing interesting for me.

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/26/2018 at 23:11

2

They did sell an interesting car, then replaced it with meh. A certain member here is rather salty about it.

ttyymmnn > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/26/2018 at 23:12

0

Their cars are ugly. 

I own dead car brands only > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/26/2018 at 23:12

4

My personal opinion? I think everyone doesn’t want to admit that Nissan is serving cars that does the job well and meets our needs. Case in point: the Rogue. It honestly does its job so well and so comfortable but everyone rejects it because CVT and not enough power blah blah. I’ve had batshit fast cars before and my favorite car so far? The 5,200 lb Durango with only 295 hp. It gets up to speed just fine. Does it meet my needs? Yes but do I really need all that space and -ability? No, but a rogue would have done the job just as good and be much more economical.

Long story short, it's really what everyone needs but they don't want to accept it. 

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/26/2018 at 23:16

12

Nothing they make is an especially good value, most of it is very VERY poorly made/unreliable compared to the competition, but it sells due to their tradition of subprime lending. 

ranwhenparked > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/26/2018 at 23:18

8

Because Nissan dealers are the big box discount store of the automotive world. They will find a way to put anyone with a pulse in a new car. Volume over substance.

Will it be the best, or nearly the best, in any particular metric? No. Will it perform the job of reliable transportation? Yes. And that’s what matters to must car buyers.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/26/2018 at 23:19

0

Nissans are fine.

Not interesting, not inspiring, but fine.

Rode in the back seat of an older Rouge with two other adults and for a smallish car, there was plenty of room and it was pretty comfortable.

And yes, the CVT is garbage, but I’m not sure the normals notice?

Yeah yeah blah blah GT-R and 4Runner but...

dogisbadob > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/26/2018 at 23:23

6

Here is why:

They don’t sell the Micra in the US. If they did, people could actually afford new cars. It starts at $9999 in Canada, so they could easily make it under $9000 here. Every Uber and Lyft would become a Micra almost overnight.

Car companies are stupid, insecure, and jealous that these cars will steal sales from their more expensive cars, but that is actually not the case. Rather, these cheap new cars actually compete with *used* cars. That is, a Micra buyer isn’ t deciding between a new Micra or a new Versa or Sentra.

The Micra buyer is really deciding between a new Micra and a *used* Versa/Note/Sentra. Therefore, they actually don’t steal any sales and just increase sales.

Nissan didn’t give us the new Navara. They are not making it the new Frontier. Nope, we still get the same one from 2004.

No base model regular cab or V6 on the Titan

No more Quest

Nothing that would make you want a Sentra, Altima, or Maxima over the counterparts from Honda and Toyota.

There’s no NV1500, only the heavier NV2500 and NV3500.

Nissan doesn’t sell the NV200 passenger van to retail customers.

The ugly Z is still around? And it still looks like a cartoon and not a real car, and not in a good way, either.

The Maxima has a bad reputation for rust and shitty engine electronics.

Steve in Manhattan > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/26/2018 at 23:25

0

Why did Acura and Infiniti kinda flounder and Lexus go Straight to the Moon Alice! I can’t really say. But when the LS400 arrived in 1989, Infiniti wasn’t ready, and the Q45 wasn’t a Lexus. Good or bad? Cannot say ....

Nibby > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/26/2018 at 23:25

0

Carbon Fiber Sasquatch > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 07/26/2018 at 23:28

4

So are they like the Japanese FCA? I guess I'm just not sure what to think of them. 

dogisbadob > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/26/2018 at 23:29

1

Yup, Nissan has been referred to as the Chrysler of Japan before

Under_Score > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/26/2018 at 23:32

0

Because people on the Internet say they’re bad so people on the Internet repeat what they hear.

facw > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/26/2018 at 23:44

0

Nissan has some good sellers too. The Rogue was the 5th best selling car in the US last year, the Altima was the 14th (meaning that among non-trucks/C UVs, only the Camry, Civic, Accord, and Corolla sold better), and the Sentra was right behind at #16. Maybe these people are making terrible choices, but I suspect they are getting decent cars given what they are paying (and the financing offered by Nissan).

I own dead car brands only > dogisbadob 07/26/2018 at 23:53

1

I will counter one part: Nissan still sells the frontier with a manual transmission in high trims with the V6. I recently built one on their website, I could get the Pro-4x crewcab with a manual for 33k. So realistically, probably 30k otd. Name one truck in the size class that can be had that cheap of comparable trim

HammerheadFistpunch > I own dead car brands only 07/27/2018 at 00:01

1

Thing is though, the rogue is selling like mad.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/27/2018 at 00:09

0

Their line up is okay but I would never buy one myself. However when I am getting a rental car I frequently pick a Nissan because they are better than rental Soec Hyundai and chevy things. 

boxrocket > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/27/2018 at 00:10

2

They don’t fit any particular niche.

Toyota: Stellar reputation for reliability, even if it gl osses over some of their missteps and/or the fact they use parts (admittedly highly-engineered) like switches, selectors, and engines for far longer than they could to remain competitive, but sell anyway because Toyota. To some, they can do no wrong.

Mazda: Lovable underdog with a stringent focus on overall performance that makes the entire vehicle very balanced in all key areas. Not too cheap, not too luxurious, not too weak, not too powerful; Goldilocks’ choice that can carve corners and eggs you to put more of yourself into it.

Honda: Lots of well-engineered models with lots of advertising, and while they’ve fallen down the same Ugly Design cliff that Toyota has, people allow it because Toyota & Honda. Brand name overpowers historical faults (Odyssey transmissions, funky Accord wheelbase issue for a year or two that causes the whole car to vibrate at certain speeds, making the biggest round knob on the center stack for the dinky menu screen at the top of the stack instead of volume control, etc.). Also lawnmowers and powersports.

Nissan: Ho-hum designs that blend together (quick: Spot the differences between the last gen Sentra and Versa sedans! Aaaaaand go!), with forgettable names that melt together and end in a disgusted-sounding “muh”, with slightly-better-than-slapdash quality that only betters GM on the mainstream but without the discount to make it worthwhile (e.g. Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, and Suzuki when they were here), with irritating droning CVTs, that don’t offer any performance or economy benefits to make them more appealing than the established dependable players Toyota & Honda, or the lovable underdog Mazda. I appreciate they’re trying to make their designs unique from the rest of the industry, and they certainly have the brand style sorted while looking better than the crushed-robot looks Toyota & Honda seem to be aiming for. Doesn’t make them less inconspicuous. Also, the GT-R, 370Z, and Frontier are left to rot when they could have been setting the bar with major updates instead of withering away.

Amoore100 > I own dead car brands only 07/27/2018 at 00:38

1

A CPO Frontier

Amoore100 > I own dead car brands only 07/27/2018 at 00:52

1

I think the problem for me is that they are conceptually fine, but so many little things add up to make them insufferable (to me) . Many of the styling cues inside and out are such that I just get peeved and the whole package seems so painfully mediocre . I’m sure that a CR-V/CX-5/Tucson would accomplish much the same thing with a.) a better CVT b.) a nicer interior or c.) a cheaper starting price and more pleasant design. Obviously those who are car-oblivious don’t mind the niggly little things that annoy me, but I don’t think us enthusiasts should necessarily give Nissan a pass for being so willfully insipid either.

LongbowMkII > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/27/2018 at 00:56

0

There’s a turbo Sentra with a six speed.

Yeah I didn’t know that either

Svend > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/27/2018 at 01:36

0

The Nissan Qashqai (which is or will be your Nissan Rogue Sport) still gets good reviews and a big seller and looked on quite favourably, along with the new Nissan Micra.

M.T. Blake > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/27/2018 at 01:39

0

They don’t produce what we want anymore. They almost do with the Titan XD. They need to refresh the Z. There is no Silvia. The 510 homage project was canceled. Even the SE-R stuff has sucked. Infiniti has a Q50/60 that only produces 100 more hp in top trim than the 300zx from almost 30 years ago...

M.T. Blake > I own dead car brands only 07/27/2018 at 01:41

0

We never want what we need. I only need a bicycle to get to work. You think I’m going to do that? No! I don’t want to hurt my taint everyday!!!

M.T. Blake > HammerheadFistpunch 07/27/2018 at 01:43

0

Yes. They’re nice. But it will eventually crush the auto enthusiasts soul. Any other conclusions are mute. 

Svend > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/27/2018 at 02:49

0

They do some nice stuff, nothing to write home about but interesting to look at and interesting colours.

Micra

Pulsar

RT > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/27/2018 at 05:07

1

Well, Nissan used to be one of the highest quality car brands out there.

Since 1999 or so, they had to cut back in scale in order to become financially stable again. This also resulted in an ongoing partnership with Renault, which means each company cancels each other out when it comes to anything intersting .

BigBlock440 > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/27/2018 at 07:12

0

Auto-journos don’t like to admit they review rental cars

pip bip - choose Corrour > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/27/2018 at 07:18

0

Nissan are beige like Toyota.

Nissan just don’t give a shit

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/27/2018 at 08:21

0

Probably because the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance doesn’t really need nor have many models that truly suit the US. L et’s face it, if the Nissan USA assembly plants are at or near capacity then what is the problem for the RNM A lliance ?

Captain of the Enterprise > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/27/2018 at 09:29

0

Probably because they take forever to refresh models

fintail > Amoore100 07/27/2018 at 09:35

1

The bucktooth grille bugs me.

That, and Altima/Maxima drivers, who too often behave like the BMW stereotype.

SaigaShooter - He's got an Impreza > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/27/2018 at 09:35

0

We’ve had a 2017 Nissan Altima SV for a rental for the last two weeks and will for the next week as well.

From my experience, there really isn’t anything wrong with the car, and that’s great. The problem is there also isn’t anything remarkable about it. In a sea of automakers, N issan is just kind of there.

The engine has enough pep, Steering is Ok, the CVT is a CVT. Bluetooth works pretty well, even though you can’t disable the autoreply no matter what you try, and the stereo plays music.

Sure, there are issues with fit and finish, the shift “boot” is a thin piece of rubber, the interior materials are largely plastic and feel cheap, the steering wheel controls are a bitwonky and pushing down on the up/down selector is not the most intuitive.

The real issue, I think, is that the car has no personality. The Altima has styling but it fits squarely in the “Look at me I’m sporty too!” category. T he engine makes a noise, but it’s not inspiring. Everything about the car just kind of is, and that’s just not enough.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/27/2018 at 11:29

0

My latest rental is a Maxima. There are several quirks that make a car I wouldn’t buy. First is the seating. The proportions are off for this chubby American. I can’t find a good seating position without feeling like I’m being dumped into the back seat. If I get the seat to pedal distance right, the seat to steering wheel position is wrong. When I adjust the steering wheel position to something comfortable, I lose sight of the gauges. To get the seat to pedal to wheel to gauges right, I have to tilt the seat backwards and I feel like I’m lying down.

This next one may be petty, but it’s a pain. Nissan doesn’t want to give me a 12V outlet without burying it in the bottom of a compartment. This means I need a ridiculously long lightning cable so I can mount my phone on the left side of the wheel. Either that, or connect it to the provided USB slot which also connects it to the infotainment system.

The engine is a respectable 300 hp, but it’s connected to the front wheels. Romp the gas and the front end lifts up in a weird way. It’s not like the weight shift of the Challenger. It’s like someone stuck a jack under the front bumper.

It’s hot. Like holy crap it’s hot in here and there’s no relief in sight. It doesn’t help that the car is black on black. It absorbs the heat and just radiates it back, overwhelming the poor little a/c unit. They do provide a rear-window retractable sun shade which helps, but they don’t provide them on the rear passenger windows, negating some of the benefit. If you’re going part of the way, you might as well go all the way, right?

The car is also louder than I’d expect from the luxury model. Where I could talk on t he phone in the Challenger, the Maxima has a lot of background noise to contend with.

There are some things that it gets right, but I’ll save those for a standalone post.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/27/2018 at 14:40

0

weird designs, milquetoast quality and/or performance, propensity for playing practical jokes on their own buyers...

Joke, er, I mean Juke... YUCK!!!! but people bought it. Sure, it is a car, and it rolls under it’s own power, but such an ugly design.

Cube. Just think about the warped sense that made a car the shape of a crate, that has all huge radius curves and rounded details... and an asymmetrical door and window layout... yes, the geometric definition of a form with 6 identical sides, Nissan made it asymmetrical.

Murano Cabriolet. Despite the closeness of the name to Moron, the cabriolet truly was moronic.

370Z... taking a car that needed a bit of an update to stay competitive, but looked OK... they gave it the opposite... a very small mechanical and engineering update, but a BIG makeover into something that looks like a vampire frog.

GT-R... Godzilla... lots of sequel model years, no change in storyline, and the tickets keep getting more expensive to see the reruns.

Frontier... one of the few compact trucks that remained... but let’s see how impossibly long we can let it go without ANY attention whatsoever... and still sell it for the same or more money.

Leaf... under-delivered and first gen cars prone to early shutdown before their rated range, slow, and generally falling short of expectations.

They should have just hired David Leisure to become Joe Nissan, Joe Isuzu’s cousin, or something.

Nissan excitement? They’re Lying.

(I say this as a Nissan Titan owner, who is generally satisfied with it, actually... but I know it isn’t a cowboy Cadillac .)

Joe6pack > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 07/28/2018 at 10:04

1

I became a bit of a Nissan fanboi after I got my LEAF. However, since then they’ve pretty much done nothing stateside that’s compelling. Even the new LEAF is pretty toned down. The 370 is old and bloated and the Maxima is overpriced as is the Armada. They sell a ton of Rogues which is generic for small SUV.

Putting that aside, they are very well run and could probably survive a recession like a cockroach could survive a nuclear winter.