It’s safe to say there’s some baggage with Nissan’s attempts at mainstream minivans. The first and second-generation Quests, widely considered underpowered also-rans among people carriers, rode on a platform shared with the Mercury Villager. After a two-year hiatus, the nameplate returned on a bulbous, Nissan-specific van known for its otherworldly interior with center-mounted instruments and jarring exterior lines. For its idiosyncrasies, however, the Quest never rose to the top of the segment. Continue Reading →
Tag Archives | Nissan
Nissan Confirms Limited Production Juke-R Will Be Available In US
Nissan stunned the world earlier this year when its European engineering department developed and built the Juke-R, the worlds first and currently sole super crossover vehicle. This unusual version of the Juke was created by shoehorning the all-wheel drive system, 3.8 liter V6, and the stout six speed dual clutch transmission from the GT-R super car into a modified and reworked Juke body and chassis.
Nissan May Revive Datsun Brand
Speaking of reviving dormant nameplates, word from Japan’s Nikkei business daily newspaper is that Nissan is considering a revival of the Datsun name. The report has not been confirmed publicly by Nissan, but the key point is that unlike the last time we had a Datsun brand, this time it won’t be sold in North America. It will be sold in Russia, India, and Indonesia.
Review: 2012 Nissan Versa SL Sedan
By Kevin Miller
Nissan’s Versa has been a solid entry in the low-cost, entry-level car segment, with a base version of the first-generation Versa sedan actually claiming the title of cheapest car available with its $9995 base price. While that price didn’t include much standard equipment (like air conditioning or a radio), more expensive versions with more generous equipment levels (including features like keyless entry/go and leather-wrapped steering wheel) were available, though with such an inexpensive starting point the Versa was always a Spartan vehicle.
Will GM Again Kill the Electric Car?
By Chris Haak
There is more than a little chatter over the past week or two in the autoblogosphere about the Chevy Volt. Normally, in these media frenzied times, that would be good news for GM’s environmental halo vehicle, but perhaps there *is* a such thing as bad publicity.
You see, the Volt seems to have a bit of a problem with catching fire following crash tests.
Auto Enthusiasts Start Petition To Change Federal Grey Market Exemption Period
By Carl Malek
A small group of dedicated automotive enthusiasts have begun a “We The People” petition to try and urge the federal government to change the way it enforces “Grey Market” vehicles entering U.S shores. For folks that are unfamiliar with the term, these are vehicles that are legally imported from other countries through various third party channels other than those of the official manufacturer in question.
Do Ford’s High Fleet Sales Make the Tundra Look Bad?
By Chris Haak
Last Friday, I received a comment on our article that asked “What happened to the Tundra?” from Jason Lancaster, administrator of TundraHeadquarters.com that prompted me to take a closer look at whether I was missing an angle in my high-level annual sales analysis of the full-size pickup market from 2007 through 2010. In the original article, I noted that Ford has been eating everyone else’s lunch, and that Toyota in particular has taken it on the chin. Jason’s contention is that I painted with too broad of a brush when drawing my conclusions about the Tundra (which, by the way, I never said was a failure; I just want to know what happened to it).
What Happened to the Tundra?
By Chris Haak
Way back in the 2007 model year, you may recall that things looked quite different in the auto industry. Neither GM nor Chrysler had declared bankruptcy; GM was still the world’s largest automaker. Ford had just bet the company that its latest restructuring would fix their problem once and for all. Toyota was on a seemingly unstoppable roll, with month upon month of increasing sales (often at a clip of 10 percent over the year-earlier period).
There were certainly storm clouds on the horizon for the Detroit Three. GM, Ford, and Chrysler were losing money, the credit markets were drying up, and there was a major threat brewing against the last bastion of US automakers: the full-size pickup.
New York’s New Taxi Will Be a Nissan Van
By Chris Haak
Decades ago, when you travelled to the Big Apple, there was but one kind of taxi: the ubiquitous Checker. Beloved by many because of their spacious interior and incredible durability – not to mention timeless shape – the last Checker retired from active taxi duty in 1999. It was not unusual to see a Checker’s odometer tallying a million miles before the car was finally retired. In more recent years, the taxi of choice in New York was the Ford Crown Victoria. Though it’s still a big car, the Crown Vic was never as great of a taxi as the Checker; it had far less interior room than its outward size would suggest, and it’s just not as graceful to enter and exit as the big Checker was.
New York 2011: Nissan Reveals 2012 Versa
By Chris Haak
Nissan’s Versa, which competes against subcompacts such as the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris, has the value proposition of being the “big small car,” and indeed, the current Versa is a relative value. It’s a good car that accomplishes the rare feat of “small on the outside, big on the inside,” but is saddled with oddball looks, as if its designers spent a little too much time with its French cousins from Renault.
Today in New York, the Japanese automaker showed its next-generation Versa (also known as Tiida in other parts of the world). It’s clear that the 2012 Versa’s designers tried very hard to give the car a more fluid, dynamic, upscale shape. It’s not clear, however, that they completely succeeded.
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Ernie: I should add one scarry thing about snapshot is, w...
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charly: we cant get it here because americans hate the die...
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Tom D.: Cool! And fun, VW should do stuff like this now....
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Kevin Gordon: George, it sounds like you've experienced the sam...