I was focusing on the road while piloting the 2020 Nissan Sentra down the canyon roads just outside Los Angeles, yet somehow I didn’t notice the previous-generation Sentra headed in the opposite direction that my drive partner pointed out.
In fact, I had a hard time even picturing in my head what the outgoing Sentra looks like. That’s because, like the cheaper Versa, the old Sentra had become quite forgettable.
And just like the newest Versa, the newest Sentra is actually memorable again.
Buy/Drive/Burn doesn’t talk trucks very often, but today’s an exception. Today’s trio are from the very inception of Japanese compact truck offerings in North America. They mostly rusted away long ago, but perhaps you remember them fondly.
Right now, it’s 1972. Let’s go.
As Christmas looms, Nissan just placed an unwanted gift in the stockings of its U.S. employees. Sinking sales, combined with a global streamlining of its cash-strapped operation, has led the automaker to give all employees two unpaid days off of work in January, Automotive News reports.
In a memo to employees obtained by the publication, Nissan’s U.S. arm laid out the emergency cost-cutting measures in full. It seems no one gets off the hook. (Read More…)
Infiniti’s Q60 Project Black S has been been flying under the radar for a while. Debuting in 2017 at the Geneva Motor Show, the model occupied an interesting space between concept and prototype. It was basically Nissan’s answer to Mercedes-AMG C 63, a question we’re still not sure anybody outside the company ever asked. But it was engrossing and curiosity grew the more Infiniti paraded it around the globe.
Unfortunately parent company Nissan shot itself in the face several times between then and now, leaving the Black to twist in the wind. Infiniti sales within its best market (the United States) haven’t looked all that healthy this year either and the marque has pulled out of Europe to focus on China. The premium Japanese brand has big aspirations, but many are wondering what it will actually be able to achieve under the current conditions. A flagship performance coupe loaded with complicated hybrid tech seems like something bean counters would be against — especially during hard times.
In August, Infiniti said it was still deciding whether to put the car into production and needed a few months to sort everything out. Development of the hybrid powertrain had been finalized and the company said it hoped to reach a decision before 2020. That time is almost up but hope remains. (Read More…)
Nissan’s new chief executive, Makoto Uchida, believes now is the time to reassess its corporate partnership with Renault. In case this is the first automotive-related article you’ve read this year, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance is sickly. Bizarre financial scandals involving the group’s former chairman Carlos Ghosn (and others), internal power struggles, serious money troubles — the situation is rife with headaches. But Uchida says the only way to cope is to publicly recognize the elephant in the room and see what can be done.
“The alliance is critical to reach our goals,” Uchida said at Nissan’s headquarters in Yokohama on Monday. “We need to look at what worked within the alliance, and what didn’t, and decide how to go forward.” (Read More…)
Carlos Ghosn, former head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, has been allowed to see his wife Carole for the first time in seven months. Fortunately for Ghosn, the pair actually wanted to speak and had been complaining about this throughout their time apart. Indicted on various charges we’ve covered to death, Japanese courts decided last April that it was too big of a risk to let the couple interact. The fear was that the duo would somehow conspire or possibly tamper with evidence.
The suspension of their separation appears to be limited event, however. The Tokyo District Court only agreed to allow a single meeting after Ghosn’s legal council began pushing for softer bail conditions over the summer. (Read More…)
For decades, the Japanese market has loved vans of all shapes and sizes, ranging from basic kei to fully-loaded VIP luxury. Rare Rides has touched on JDM van time just once previously, with a luxurious and capable 1990 Toyota Town Ace. Today we’re taking a look at what Mazda offered a Nineties Japanese consumer of vans.
With America now fully retreated from the compact car space, Japan is left holding the bag in a dwindling market. For two automakers — Honda and Toyota — the abandonment of the compact car market has added wind to slackening sails, but their gain comes at the expense of other players. Nissan is one of those players.
With its next-generation Sentra, Nissan hopes to steal from its rivals’ plates and amass a bigger slice of the pie. (Read More…)
Nissan’s full-size Titan pickup truck has a problem that Nissan engineers, marketers, and product planners will probably never fix.
That problem? The truck isn’t built by one of the Detroit Three automakers.
Ram, GM, and Ford each have such loyal followings that it seems like the full-size truck market is simply impenetrable. It’s not just Nissan, either – Toyota’s Tundra faces the same challenge.
To its credit, Nissan seems to understand this. Company reps say that they know that conquest sales will be tough, so they’re focused on the over half-million truck buyers (their number) that don’t really harbor any brand loyalty, as well as current Nissan owners who may be looking to move into a full-size truck.
That may just be PR speak – putting a positive spin on things is their job, after all. Then again, perhaps it isn’t. While the Titan doesn’t have the built-in brand loyalty of its Detroit rivals, it’s not a bad truck. It’s not on par with the segment’s best two – Ram’s 1500 and the Ford F-150 – but it’s ready to tangle with Chevy and GMC. On its own merits, it’s plenty competent.
Fulfilling earlier promises that the company had hit a wall and might require several years to recover, Nissan reported a 70-percent decline in quarterly operating profit on Tuesday. It also pulled back its full-year operating profit forecast by 35 percent to 150 billion yen, representing the automaker’s worst annual performance in 11 years. The business now expects to see global retail volume somewhere around 5.2 million vehicles (down from estimates 5.5 million).
“We are revisiting all our assumptions, and as you can see that is why we revised down our forecast for sales volume for the full year,” incoming CFO Stephen Ma explained to Reuters after releasing its first-half results for 2019 (ending September 30th). That was swiftly followed by the announcement of an extraordinary shareholders meeting to decide on proposals for current directors leaving their positions (Hiroto Saikawa, Yasuhiro Yamauchi, Thierry Bolloré) and the new director nominees. (Read More…)
The modern sedan is, sadly, a slowly dying breed. With most of Detroit exiting the segment faster than that black cat ran off the field at MetLife Stadium, the selection of large four-doors is smaller than ever (if you haven’t heard Kevin Harlan’s call while said cat was on the field, you *must* take the time to listen).
However, the manufacturers that remain committed to sedans are plowing plenty of development dollars into their creation. When the build & price for the wild new Hyundai Sonata becomes available, you know it’ll be featured in this series, for example.
Nissan has decided to re-up its spacious Altima for 2020, offering American customers a variety of powertrain and trim options. In fact, no fewer than a dozen choices stare shoppers in the face when they visit the Altima corner of Nissan’s website. Let’s see what the base S has to offer.
After teasing us with the most rudimentary sketch we’ve ever seen at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Infiniti has followed up with a secondary teaser of its coupe-styled QX55 crossover.
While there’s a hint of mystery surrounding the vehicle, most of that concerns the exterior. Based on the QX50 SUV, the 55 is likely to be mostly the same, with the largest aesthetic change being a swept-back roofline. That’s probably why Infiniti focused so heavily on that singular aspect in its marketing materials, making us wonder if this this particular fashion of automotive striptease has run its course.
Heavily obscured silhouettes work when there are oodles of hype already surrounding a distinct-looking vehicle. The same cannot be said when an automaker pursues an increasingly common industry trend — like a sloping ceiling. But this isn’t an issue unique to the Infiniti brand or even the automotive sector. Companies know they have to chum the waters more often to excite the ever-fickle media cycle. Unfortunately, with everyone now hip to the practice, it’s rapidly losing its effectiveness. (Read More…)
Celebrating 30 years of existence, Infiniti announced it was time for a sea change this week. While sales have improved since the recession, last year saw a modest decline in volume that carried over into 2019 in a big way. Year to date, Nissan volume is down 6 percent, with Infiniti posting a 17.1-percent loss — we discussed this earlier in the day, if you’re interested.
Most of this saga is occuring in the United States, where Infiniti sources the bulk of its sales. China and Europe are footnotes for the manufacturer. Yet Infiniti would very much like to improve its global appeal, so it’s banking on EV adoption as being the next global consumer craze.
Considering how many countries are embracing stringent emission goals, Nissan’s premium arm could be making a wise choice. However, the U.S. hasn’t been quite so eager to push (or embrace) automotive electrification — meaning Infiniti could be endangering the one market that’s keeping it afloat. Unfortunately, the status quo doesn’t seem to be working, either — encouraging the automaker to adopt alternative powertrains and design cues in the coming years. (Read More…)
You have to hand it to Nissan. Despite holding a continually declining share of new-car sales in the U.S., the automaker is sticking to its plan to firm up its financial footing.
That means holding the line on incentives and fleet sales — a practice it once revelled in back when the company pushed volume above all else. (Read More…)
As it moves forward with efforts to streamline its operations and reverse a dismal financial situation, Nissan is reportedly mulling the sale of two of its European plants. One cranks out Infiniti vehicles for a region soon to be devoid of new Infiniti vehicles.
Along with these possible cost-saving moves, the automaker could be thinking of dropping its overseas Datsun brand. (Read More…)
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