Nissan is a mess. Really.

"El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First!" (lightningzone) 04/15/2020 at 12:55 • Filed to: None

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Nissan was repeatedly the company that kept people on their heels. It’s what they did best.

From the tarmac of Le Mans to the dirt of WRC and the unforgiving Dakar, they did it all.

Now, they mimic racing.

The last Pathfinder was a global, flexible and potent off roader. Sold globally.

The new one is a bloated, school runner. They won’t even bother to sell it in places like Europe or Japan.

The Kicks is a laughable effort.

They are at least trying in other parts of the world with the new Juke.

The Murano was nice at first but it aged horribly.

The sedans look decent but are boring and the interior quality is bad.

When they were new, the Z and the R took on Porsche(and Nissan made sure we knew it).

Now, they feel like they were produced alongside the Titanic.

They’re lineup is a mess. Their technology is a mess. Their dealers are a mess.

What happened?

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/15/2020 at 13:03

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Complacency 

Jim Spanfeller > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/15/2020 at 13:04

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Everybody: Nissan, make this please!

Nissan: We would, but nobody wants that.

Everybody: But... no....

InFierority Complex > Jim Spanfeller 04/15/2020 at 13:07

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I c an’t really blame them for that. People said they wanted it but I’m sure when it came time to buy 90% would have found an excuse not to, or best case would buy one used several years later.

Grindintosecond > Jim Spanfeller 04/15/2020 at 13:09

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Nobody: “We don’t want that!!...wait... ”

Jim Spanfeller > InFierority Complex 04/15/2020 at 13:10

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That is the problem, isn’t it? We all want manufacturers to build the cars we want, but most of us are unwilling to buy anything new. We want the used cars of our dreams to just magically happen...

412GTI > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/15/2020 at 13:12

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Nissan now is like all of the subprime selling, meh cars as FCA with non of the character.

Who gets excited to buy a Nissan anymore? Maybe the person who couldn’t get approved on a CR-V. They just don’t bring much innovation and uniqueness to the table.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Jim Spanfeller 04/15/2020 at 13:26

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The car debuted in 2013 (wow) and it still looks 2033. Even if they had to make it a four door, that was exactly the new blood that Nissan needed at the time and still is lacking today. Their stuff from the 2000s was actually pretty distinctive looking and that aesthetic has aged better than most of the aero-oval shapes of other manufacturers, but somehow their designs have gotten worse since then.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Jim Spanfeller 04/15/2020 at 13:36

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No.

fintail > Jim Spanfeller 04/15/2020 at 13:37

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This is what you really want, and what you will get:

jimz > InFierority Complex 04/15/2020 at 13:39

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Yep.  when car companies hear “I would buy that” they understand it really means “I wouldn’t actually buy it, but please waste billions making it anyway so I can argue with people about it on the internet.”

RacinBob > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/15/2020 at 13:41

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I think in new cars, the differentiator is what you spend on development. And the payback of well developed cars is that you can sell them for outsized premiums, allowing you to be a profitable company (and funding more development). If you don’t develop your cars, you fall more and more into the commodity range where you can’t sell at premium and you are not even sure you can sell at a profit. That’s why you see so many Nissans at rental car counters.

I think that there are too many car companies for the market and Nissan is a laggard and will be culled from the field. Perhaps due to this downterm more suddenly than we think......

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > fintail 04/15/2020 at 13:43

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interstate366, now In The Industry > Jim Spanfeller 04/15/2020 at 13:48

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I’d buy an S660 if Honda sold it here in the US. I can afford it, going by what they cost in Japan. But it’d never survive here.

fintail > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/15/2020 at 13:50

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OK take your pick:

Just Jeepin' > RacinBob 04/15/2020 at 13:58

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It’ll be interesting to see how this crisis impacts the fleet refresh cycles for rental car companies; that alone could doom Nissan in the U.S.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/15/2020 at 15:39

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What happened? Time is what happened...

RacinBob > Just Jeepin' 04/15/2020 at 15:57

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It may well doom Nissan and put a crimp in Fiat Chrysler. I think it will take years for corporate travel to recover.

Nom De Plume > RacinBob 04/15/2020 at 16:32

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Might have to rely on large road  cases.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/15/2020 at 18:22

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Nissan is merely the primary North American face of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.

If the North American market continues to satisfy the current manufacturing and sales targets of the Alliance then what YOU are offered by the Alliance and YOUR opinion of these products is immaterial...even in the face of history.