Read this article tell me what you guys think.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/14/auto...html?hpt=hp_t4

 

Nissan as a whole took a dump after 2002 when Renault kicked in. no different than how Ford ruined Mazda and Jaguar

 

They should:

1) Dump the CVT.
2) Reintroduce the manual transmission.
3) Consider purchasing automatic transmissions from ZF.

 

Cars are becoming like what computers are now in my opinion... Throw away goods and automakers are doing anything and everything to build them as crappy as possible. Happening with every brand!! On top of this they are facing political pressure from things like C.A.F.E standards, Quebec engine tax etc etc. Bet Nissan rather get their brownie points using the CVT for better mpg ratings and as a marketing tool ,GREENER & more fuel efficient, than do either 2 or 3.

Mixed feelings on that report though... Give someone a 90s era Honda or Toyota for half a month then give someone a recent era 90s Honda or Toyota. Lets see what they say

 

Honda's reputation is in the tank right now.

 

Name a popular manufacturer that isn't lol.

I wonder how low car manufacturers will go.....

 

Not surprised.

 

-every automotive advancement (carbs to EFI, OBDII, CVT) has been in pursuit of increased fuel economy. reliability etc was priority number 2, they wont get rid of CVT

-manuals wont come back, they dont sell. 7th gen are automatic only because dealerships had a hard time selling manual 6th gens

Toyotas held up pretty decent

 

Baha their Camry got booteed from CR due to Toyota being cheap then they had to fix it ><

 

Check out the 10 best cars.

http://consumerreports.org/cro/2012/...ests/index.htm

 

Average joe can't afford any of those top cars except the Impala

Tesla Model S (base, 85 kWh)
BMW M235i
Mercedes-Benz S550 (AWD)
Porsche 911 Carrera S
Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTec
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 3LT
Audi A8 L
Chevrolet Impala 2LTZ
Audi A6 (3.0T)
Infiniti Q70
Audi A7 3.0 TDI

 

Lexus still has the least problems per 100 vehicles manufactured and Toyota is above industry average. Nissan is below industry average

 

^
Chrome91
Toyota and Lexus cars are like so bland and meh, nothing innovative about them... Maybe that's why they are up so top? Less willing to take risks on models, instead uses old tested methods with minor tweaks??

edit - Wiki says the current Camry platform is based on the Toyota K platform which dates back to 2000........ HMM

 

and Nissan hasnt made bland stuff post 2002? Nissans golden years were the mid-80s to 2001, when Renault pillaged in 2002 things went downhill

Toyota at least released the FR-S, Nissan hasnt made a small 4 banger RWD sports car since S15

 

I want something fun to drive but doesn't cost a fortune in Canada. Damn it

 

I've had the 6th gen for 3 yrs and at my breaking point in the process of replacing it with a Lexus GS 06-11 as soon as I can find a good deal no more Nissan 3 yrs and $ 8-9k dollars in repair. I'd been better off riding a donkey to work.

 

Holy moly I could have THREE 4th gens in my driveway for that money and they would ALL WORK lol.

 

7 out 10 of those vehicles are German, on a top ten reliability list. Hell must be about to freeze over lol.

 

LMAO! German cars have come a long way though... but realistically as soon as the warranty is up, sh*t hits the fan.

 

LOL.. Don't ya'll know that a Mercedes, like a Rolls Royce, will never wear out? Though your wallet will be worn out and you'll get rid of it sooner than later.

 

Those cars are higher priced than lower mileage G37 sedans in Canada ><

 

Like others have said, Nissan sh*t the bed around 2002

I feel like the only reason theyre still in business is because theyre living off their brand image now. People like to just lump Nissan in with Honda/Toyota as "good reliable japanese brands" and trust that the cars will be at least decent without doing much research. But Nissan just isnt up to par with those 2 anymore and the false association between the 3 needs to be put in the past

Nissan is a mess lately. I'm gonna get slammed for this but IMO anyone who spends 40grand on a brand new Nissan shouldnt be given 40grand to play with in the first place cause theyre an idiot

 

Pretty meaningless what CR says being Nissan sales have jumped almost 19% in the last 18 months, much of that sales coming in the last two quarters of 2014 and this last quarter isn't even over with. They have dominated sales along with GM the last two years running.

And right off the bat enough whining about the CVT, it's a great transmission and it's here to stay.

I bought my 2014 Maxima SV sport/tech in late summer this year not only because Nissan had the best rebate and discount deals but because I test drove and researched everything under the sun in the mid-size sport luxury class and beyond. From the top CR autos of the year list someone here linked I test drove two of those, the Audi A6 and the Chevy Impala 2LTZ. The Audi was about 26k more and while it's a great car as I owned a 2005 with 335 hp for three years it in no way is 26k better than the maxima and honestly I wouldn't have picked it if it had only been a few thousand more as they become a nightmare over 100k. The Audi was a 2014, the 2015 2LTZ was my second choice overall and I would of grabbed it had Chevy given any deals on the price which they did not. I still test drove it and the extra 15 hp compared to maxima 290 was unimpressive although it drove like a dream and was very quiet. But the dealer wanted full sticker no budging so the extra 5.5k made me walk away.

Lets just forget about CR being they are one entity who is on record as not being the best authority on automobiles, toasters and tv's maybe, but not autos.

I also test drove the following and yet I ended up with the new Maxima with the dreaded CVT which I love, let's find out why.

I used USNews for my research as it's thee best automobile review site IMO. Just to start off with the bad, the main gripes of Nissan and in my research on the Maxima was it wasn't redesigned yet, of course the hated CVT and the interior was just OK. And surprise surprise it was the two Nissan haters Consumer Reports and Kelly Blue Book that went after the CVT and claims the top Maxima models, which I have, were over-priced compared to it's competitors. Really? Is that why I paid 6k off sticker price because the Maxima top line model was over-priced? It's the MAIN reason I went with the Maxima!

I test drove-

2015 Cadillac CTS because I've always loved Caddy's. But the 30k difference in price, 18k difference just to get Maxima performance, was too much for me. I'd probably buy a used caddy before a new one.
2015 Acura TLX. Almost identical to Maxima hp and handling at top tier models but inventory was thin and Honda dealer almost never goes below sticker price. This was my third place choice, very close to grabbing had they had the model i wanted.
Infinity is nissan so I'm not going to bump up in price for one of the ugliest cars of 2015 with a unimpressive 300+ hp engine and it's a REAR-WHEEL DRIVE! Are you kidding me? If I wanted a rear-wheel drive I'd buy a muscle car. They wanted 9.5k more than the Maxima for the Q50 and the REAR-WHEEL DRIVE! Hate AWDs.
The Q60 would be nice but it's a two-door and a REAR-WHEEL DRIVE! WTF?

Being we actually have a Volkswagen dealer in town I decided to check the CC out, the tiny interior and underpowered engine was easy to walk away from.

I did test drive a 2014 and 2015 Lincoln MKZ even though the looks weren't something that got me excited and the performance and handling was worse that the looks. Next.

I did go outside of my class, according to Kia at least, with the K900. I just loved the look and had to test drive it. Super fast! Super luxury! Interior pretty good but a total ahole of a salesperson. No relief on sticker, they wanted 58k. I kinda knew it was a bit much for me anyway so I tried the Cadenza and it was pretty nice but it was a Kia, and the guy was a jerk, and I still would of paid 7k more for the options the Maxima had. Next and last.

The Hyundai genesis. Only reason I stopped in was because it was on the way back to the Nissan dealership and my mom had called me to see how it was going and she said her friend bought a Hyundai and had good things to say so I pulled in. I knew nothing about Hyundai other than they are Kia on opposite ends of the city with 10 years more manufacturing history. The Genesis was the closest to what I was looking at. As soon as I heard 420 horsepower and under 50k I got aroused, then as soon as I got ready to dive into the wonderful I was told REAR-WHEEL DRIVE! It had to have been somewhat comical for the dealer as I literally sat in the seat heard it was rear wheel and got up and out. He said we do have an AWD model and while I'm not as fan of mandatory 4x4 24/7 I was interested and then as soon as I got ready to be happy I was let down hard with the news that the AWD had 300 something hp and not 420. Thankfully I didn't even make it to the car before I learned this. it was the strangest test drive meet of the last few days and the last.

Nissan it was.

If you truly plan to research a auto avoid CR and I unfortunately have to say this, avoid forums. While I would think the majority here love their Nissan's I see enough hate, mostly from people who think track and street racing is top of the prerequisite list for a daily driver. I have owned four Nissans in my life, 91 pu, 95 pathfinder, 2004 altima and now the 2014 maxima and they have been then most reliable least problematic autos I have owned and I've owned a little bit of everything in my 40 something years.

Yes to Nissan!

 

Actually do some research and you might get a clue.

 

Their cars are selling like hot cakes compared to Toyota and Honda...

 

LOL i've done plenty of research... One example being the article posted in OP's link... Which clearly states that thousands upon thousands of NISSAN OWNERS hate their cars.

You're just providing weak anecdotes about your own test drive experiences. I've owned 2 Maximas of my own, and they were both lemons which only ever broke down and stressed me out. My anecdotes VS yours?

You sound like youve just got buyers remorse or something, desperately trying to justify that money you spent on your 2014 Maxima.

Nissan is pooched nowadays. They're right there with Mazda and Hyundai in the 'pretending to be reliable asian cars' club

 

My views still stand, I will always buy older cars! I would be tempted to pick up a clean 4th gen if I ever came across one...

 

If the experience has been that bad, why not move on and find something that brings you happiness instead of bitterness and misery?

 

Out of curiosity, why? I would practically demand it if I lived in Minnesota. Adding AWD is the one thing Nissan could add that would give me cause consider another Maxima.

 

The 6th gen is good in alot of ways and bad in alot when the timing chain was out i'd hate to get caught in a bad neighborhood at night. All that popping might scare the wrong midget and set off a hail of gunfire.

 

As far as durability is concerned, really nothing can beat Nissan: this report pales in comparison of Nissan platforms that are on the road right now. Apparently it is more about aesthetics then the bottom line with both the consumers and Consumer Reports:

Hyundai first came out with some fugly-looking cars. Now look at their lineup. Nissan really need to bring in fresh faces to evaluate their design concepts.

 

Gonna take alot more than a design team to get Nissan back on track. Nissan is way behind it's gonna be 10 years or more before this automaker gets back to where it was in the mid 80s early 90s.

 

I am sorry several folks here are having reliability problems with their Maximas. But every auto reliability study I have seen rates the Maxima as either average, above average or much above average in reliability.

I have owned nothing but Maximas since October 1984 (and Nissan product Datsun before that), and they have all been reliable. Were they giving me trouble, I would have changed to another make. Some I drove over 200K miles. My 2000 SE, 2004 SL and 2009 SV with premium and tech have all been exceptionally reliable. I go to my dealer for scheduled maintenance, but otherwise, my '09 Maxima never needs any work.

Speaking of dealers, that is another reason I love my Maxima. The three nearest Nissan dealers to my home are all owned by the same person, and he sometimes rotates employees among the three dealerships, so I know most of the folks at all three places, and sometimes just drop by to chat. They have always been very nice to me, will beat any price I find elsewhere on batteries, tires, or anything else I might want. I have test driven other makes (especially Infiniti), but can't get nearly the deal I can get from my dealer.

 

Nissan will never get back to where they were in the mid 80s-early 90s. economy and such were great in Japan at the time, hence why so many automakers made such great sports cars and luxury cars (FD3S, Z32, BNR32, JZA70, JZA80, Soarer, Celsior, Crown, Cedric, President). Nissan made arguably the best sports car of the era, BNR32

nowadays theres not nearly the market for manual transmission sports cars, what can you do

 

+1

 

lightonthehill All these cars have problems Maxima just caught the bad end of the stick with the last two generations the 6th gen transmissions have a mind of their own and the 7th gen sounds like a goat screaming on a roller coaster when you punch it (CVT) were all in the same boat I haven't met one person around who is satisfied with what Nissan is doing lately everytime you step on the gas the CVT sounds like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIdq-Bn6trM

 

Murano werent much better for CVT, have had a few come to work with blown trans and we just tell them to go to Nissan to get the trans done under warranty

 

I'm not sure why all the hate of cvt transmissions. I absolutely love the cvt in my murano. Nothing like driving a car with no shift jerks (6th gen 5 speed auto hint hint). I do understand that the cvt is not for a sports car but nissan does not really build cars for track. The majority of their line up, ie the versa, sentra, altima, maxima, murano etc. are basic grocery geters. They fit the bill perfect for 95% of buyers. The cvt really does get better mileage out of the same engine, therefore it is not going away.

 

its because the traditional automatic transmission has been perfected for how many years now, and everyones moving to CVT for increased fuel economy while theyre nowhere near as good as traditional auto trans. the jerking of shifts most people like, thats why some manufacturers have to simulate the jerk with CVT. people were complaining about not feeling the jerking

CVT are fine in Sentra, Versa, whatever with like 100hp. anything V6 like a Maxima theres no place for CVT

 

CVT whine in the rental Sentra made me want to abuse the car even more ><