dkmura

Nissan News released the latest sales figures from last month and, as predicted, there's no joy from the holiday season. Nissan sales were off 30.1% for the month as a whole. Maxima sales were a direct reflection of this, with overall sales off 30.5%; despite comparing the outgoing A34 to sales of the new A36.

Perhaps a silver lining to all this gloom and doom was the fact that sales for Nissan North America were far stronger in the first part of 2008. When the recession hit with double digit drops in sales in the second half of the year, it dragged the total figure down to an overall loss of 10% for 2008. There are a LOT of car makers out there that WISH they only had a 10% sales loss for the year!

With banks now having sufficent funds to lend, will we see a pent-up demand for cars being unleashed in 2009? Or will a shaky market and consumer confidence continue to plague car makers?

CT Maxima

Actually, December was fairly good for Maxima sales. In comparing YOY, 3,399 Maximas were sold in 08 vs. 4,047 in 07. November was really bad (2,718 vs. 4,237). I think there were some factory incentives in December that helped sales. Nissan's forecast was for a selling rate of 6,000 Maximas per month.

Is there more money to lend. Absolutely! But what is lacking is confidence. Everyone has seen their personal assets drop in 2008 either via a house or stocks. If you think you have less money, you spend less.

I envision a tough next 6 months. But this will not be a second Great Depression. Rather, we risk in 2 years, the Great Inflation. Then we have to get Volker out of retirement to raise interest rates again to 20%.

SoonerGuy

I agree that there will be pent-up demand. Cars are ultimately a disposable item that wears out. As lightonthehill can probably attest the golden age of autos in the fifties was due as much to stored demand as it was an improving economy. I also agree that this is not another great depression- talk to someone in their late seventies or older and they will tell you that having to decide, for instance, on whether you buy a Max without the Tech Pkg. because "money is tight" is nowhere near a depression. Depression? No. Serious Recession? Yes.

lightonthehill

Small consolation that Toyota and Honda are having a very tough stretch also.

I sometimes glance at CNBC and MSNBC, and the most prevalent feelings there seem to be that the recovery will begin in either the third or fourth quarter of this year. But I'm not sure they are factoring in that millions of credit cards with huge balances will remain unpaid forever as families losing jobs declare bankruptcy.

Two and a half million people were let go in 2008. The folding of many major store chains (some of which have been around 'forever') during the next six months will easily lay off many hundreds of thousands on top of the million or so already doomed to be let go as companies cut staff to the bone.

I like to be optimistic, but this recovery will not be easy.

madlaw1071

I work in the collections biz and we havent even begun to bottom out yet much less catch a glimpse of recovery. There will be another large wave of foreclosures in the first 1/2 of 09 along with skyrocketing credit card defaults. Watch for credit card companies to seek bailout monies and a political firestorm that follows.

2LEET4U

iTrader: (4)

hahahahahahahahaahahha.......

we had it coming!

BigPete

iTrader: (2)

recession is the last step before a depression.

so saying "were not close" is def. not a wise choice in words.

321VQ35MAX

iTrader: (6)

It is getting scary.

jixxxer

I personally dont like seeing tons of maximas everywhere like you do altimas; it makes you just one in the crowd and you cant stand out as much....like now in the small town i live in; there may only be 3 new maximas at best and about 5,ooo alitmas...lol

dkmura

If you like exclusivity, these times are made for you. Here in the Denver metro area, I see A36 Maximas only once in a blue moon. With the way car sales are going, 2009 models may be a rare breed!

dkmura

Initial January sales figures can't be that much more promising than December. While I've been keeping my ear to the ground, I haven't heard of any NEW factory-to-dealer or factory-to-consumer promotions going on yet. I wonder if Nissan is just biding their time?

Mick7

It would seem the car makers would pull all stops to get rid of the huge backlog of inventory that most dealers have. I haven't seen another 2009 Maxima in the Fort Wayne area. The local dealer has moved about 2 in the last month from what I can see. They also have a ton of 2008 G35s on hand.

General Motors rebates are LESS than Toyota in some cases. oops..that was December..They need to sell some cars right now.

dkmura

Well, we're now into February and the only good news I have to report is that I did see a new Maxima on the road near my home. It's the first seventh gen car that I've noticed (believe me, I LOOK) in Denver. No Jan. sales figures posted yet, but it can't be good. The NW region has no posted incentives on the Max either, so Nissan must be waiting for that pent-up demand to come surging forward...

lightonthehill

Yes, I was around during the depression, and things were very tough. But the situation was different back then. Over half the country's folks lived on farms or ranches or in rural areas, and the barter system was the mainstay of obtaining needed goods. It was fairly normal to grow, pressure cook, and can your own veggies, as well as trade for milk from local farms with cows, and trade for meat locally from folks who had cattle, pigs and chickens. Electricity and indoor plumbing were not widespread in rural areas, and most folks in rural areas got their water from wells.

The folks hardest hit by the great depression were urban dwellers, who depended on soup lines to keep from starving. Many lost their homes, and almost all lost their life's savings. Most folks think the great depression began in 1929, and gradually eased throughout the early1930s, but this is not true. The full depression didn't really begin until around 1931, and although there were many false 'recovery starts', truth be known, some folks consider 1938 to be one of the worst economic years in U.S. history. WWII finally brought us out of that terrible malaise. Of course WWII also brought strict rationing, and there were no cars, tires or gas available, and many goods from sugar to shoes could only be purchased with a government issued ration coupon.

But back to the present. Macy's announced 7,000 layoffs Monday - over 800 in Atlanta. Georgia's unemployment has gone from 4.2% in December 2007 to over 8% in December 2008 and rising every day. There were conflicting sources, but on Monday January 26th, U.S. companies announced between 30,000 and 70,000 layoffs. In one day.

There will be no third quarter 2009 recovery. Millions of jobs were lost in 2008, and millions more will be lost in 2009. The earliest turnaround I can envision is at least a year away, with full recovery several years after that. The scary part is that folks these days are not prepared to live off the land, and the barter system barely exists.

Put another way, the millions of folks who lost their jobs will not be buying a vehicle. And many folks who did have savings are now spending those savings helping family members and relatives who no longer have jobs. Those folks are not visiting their local auto dealerships either. Many other folks go to work each day not knowing if their job will still be there; those folks won't be buying a new car either.

Add to all that the widespread miserable weather we have had this winter, and I expect sales totals for all auto brands to be abysmal for the first few months of 2009.

Many of us will be driving the only '09 Maxima is our neighborhood, but that joy is somewhat dampened by the heartache and desperation we are seeing all around us.

bk2k3max

Man, I've been seeing plenty of 09 Maximas on the road here. It seems almost everyone in this town has a new car, everyday I see at least 2 or 3 09 Maximas (maybe they are the same cars I'm seeing everyday).

I've seen at least 3 Radiant Silvers (mine is too), 2 Super Blacks, 2 Winter Frosts, one Tuscan Sun and 1 Precision Grey.

I guess the economy here isn't that bad or ppl are just extending themselves beyond their credit limits-either that or dealerships are just selling cars to anyone.

lightonthehill

Your town is an exception. Most posters here on the ORG are seeing very few '09 Maximas on the road. I live just four miles from a big Nissan dealer, and I am seeing NO '09 Maximas on the road (except mine).

rkurlander

I got mine in July - haven't seen another one in Charlotte.

maxspeed96CT

iTrader: (9)

It costs too much IMO no mattter what the economy, maximas sold so well before cause they were a good bang for the buck..

Now if you want one loaded its in the mid 40's.... i wouldnt spend that on a maxima....

e...

I'm from the Bay Area, and have only seen one around here.
(I've seen one by the dealership where I test drove one previously)

I got mine in October, and the only other time I have seen another one was when I was in Las Vegas back in December...

lightonthehill

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Someone here is VERY VERY badly informed. Base Maximas are available from many Atlanta dealers at around $24,800. I even saw one for $23,990. Folks here on the ORG are driving LOADED NEW '09 Maximas off the lot for under $35K. In fact, I did exactly that a month ago. Premium plus Tech/nav packages. A few here have gotten totally loaded '09s for under $34K. I didn't miss that by much.

When all features plus reliability are considered, this '09 Maxima is far more of a bargain that any of the ego-exotic German makes. As I said in another post - this '09 Maxima is a luxury car with a pedestrian nameplate.

dkmura

The latest sales figures for January '09 are in and the news remains grim. Nissan sales are down 31% from a year ago. While new models like the 370Z and four cylinder mini-SUV Rouge sales are up, they are the only two models mentioned. No details on how Maxima sales are going, but they can't be good...

110 white collar jobs were eliminated last month at Nissan North America as the company restuctured its dealer sales support network for certain parts of the country. Unless sales improve this year, there may be other cuts coming. It's hard times for everyone right now.

-Sin-

Looking at trading my 05 for and 09 but waiting for better deals, hopefully they'll start having better incentives.

MaxMus

They don't have sales figures for the Maxima in January? It has to be down because 09 TL sales are way down.

gen2000

There are maxima figures for January here. http://www.nissannews.com/assets/att...2009_Sales.pdf

There is Manufactuer To Dealer cash http://www.edmunds.com/incentives/Re...7&popuppage=on

lightonthehill

At least Maxima sales this year are down less than all Nissan products except the econoboxes (Versa, Sentra, Rogue).

I hope the economy can begin to turn around this year, because Nissan is not quite as well positioned financially or product-wise as Toyota and Honda (who both have gas/electric hybrids ready for market).