finding the signal in an industry filled with noise
Nearly two decades ago the Honda/Acura NSX shook up the performance car scene.
This year, the Nissan GT-R is said to be doing the same.
But could the two cars be any more different?
Looking at this picture I stumbled across on the web – is the NSX is too much like a Formula 1 car or is the GT-R is too much like an SUV?
I’m seriously impressed by what the GT-R accomplishes, and it serves out ferocious performance for the money. I get it. But I just can’t love it… The GT-R is too heavy and too computer controlled for my taste. Editor MacKenzie recently blogged about a similar drive in the new BMW M3 coupe and preferred it to Nissanzilla. I drove the same BMW the day before and arrived—independently—at the same conclusion. I’ll take its sonorous, high-winding V-8, its live, lithe feel, even more useable interior and trunk, and elegant look. The M3 gives up a smidgen of performance edge to the GT-R, but it’s a far more harmonious package and better satisfies my urges as a driver. - Matt Stone, Motor Trend
the Maxima still doesn’t feel quite like a sports sedan; it’s more of a sporty sedan. It feels huge, which is good for comfortable riding but is a bit of a downer for spirited driving… looking across the cabin can feel like you’re sitting in a Hummer H2. The steering is quick, building effort nicely off center, albeit disconcertingly light and nervous at first, But feel is faint, never more than a whisper from the bottom of a deep well. The sporty mindset means a stiff suspension for the Maxima… but one that also means a less than serene ride over broken pavement. And our tester wasn’t even equipped with the Sport package, which adds stiffer dampers and a thicker stabilizer bar. We’d be wary of tightening these suspenders any more, as the Maxima is respectably agile for a large, front-wheel-drive sedan, and further stiffening seems unnecessary… Sports sedan? Not really. Sporty sedan? Yes. Although we’d ask for more communicative steering and a smoother ride… – Car and Driver
Reuters reports that Nissan has warned owners that its intelligent key can be rendered useless if placed in the same pocket as a cell phone. (For those of you who don’t know, this is Nissan’s version of the new generation of car keys that allow you to get into and start the car so long as the key is on your person). When your hotel room key forgets who you are, help is an elevator ride away – this might mean you’re forced to spend the night in a hotel.
No word on whether other brands’ similar keys are vulnerable but you might want to get into the habit of dedicating pockets.
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The internet is abuzz with speculation regarding the upcoming Skyline, but I’m wondering if they’ll be able to capture what made the car an icon all these years: the chassis’ unerring poise that can only come from a long evolutionary process. Will a V6 engined, FM platform based Skyline do the name justice or is this just more platform/badge engineering from cost-conscious Nissan?
After a series of half baked products with shoddy build quality, refinement, and dynamics, I hope they get this one right. They’ll certainly sell every one they make regardless.
... and now Nissan’s produced a version of the 350Z (a car we don’t necessarily care for) that we won’t be getting. (Remember standardized tests? 350Z S-Tune 2 is to 350Z as 330 is to M3. In other words a 350 Z with the knob turned up to 11).
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Driving the new Altima, I was impressed by Nissan’s acuity in adressing the last one’s issues so ingeniously – the attempts at nulliying torque steer have been effective, meaning you can roast your front tires evenly. But what was most impressive was the CVT transmission – not so much when left to its own devices (its too reminiscent of a powerboat in the way the engine speeds up and the car follows suit) but rather when in its sequential manual mode where shifts are quicker and smoother than even VW’s famed DSG gearbox (I drove one just after to confirm).
First drives of Mitsubishi’s new Lancer with CVT note that shifts are quick and shudder free – could CVTs, programmed with 6 or more ‘fixed’ ratios be the future of the transmission, combining the smoothness of the autos we know with the slack free response and right now shifts we crave?
(*As for the Altima it would be a far better car were its steering not electric* – the ride quality says sports sedan but the steering says nothing at all).
That’s the phrase BMW’s design head used to describe the old way of building cars. He was of course defending his decision to make each BMW look like it came from a different womb and was subtly knocking rival Mercedes.
Ever since the last generation Altima and Maxima came out I’ve been wondering what Nissan marketers are thinking. (When my ex’s insisted on paying more for an Altima in drag I realized that was not a family I would have much in common with). Now that the new Altima sits on an improved platform (30% stiffer, less torque steer, improved interior) you have to wonder who is going to buy the Maxima, especially with the G35 crowding in from above.
There’s now a lot of overlap lower’ in the lineup as well. Looking at the Versa at the Indianapolis Auto Show and then the new Sentra sedan, it seemed that there was too little difference in size to justify the difference in cost. Yes the Sentra looks more proportional, but when you consider that neither has stability control and the Versa is purported to drive with more composure, the Nissan product matrix gets more baffling.
(Click here).
Commentary: Sure its long on value, but like too many modern Nissans and Infinitis it’s short on refinement – you can tell it was pulled from the developmental oven too early.
You get what you pay for…
A number of recent advancemens in automotive engineering are inspired by natural phenomena, the most recent we’ve heard of being Nissan’s pioneering paint that ‘heals’ itself when scratched.