Nissan is swirling the drain

[jhynesrockmtn]

I bought a Titan XD Cummins new in 2017. I was sucked in by the promise of a reliable Cummins for towing our TT and steep discounts. For 7 years it mostly held up very well and towed like a freight train. It was built like a bank vault. I only put 50k miles on it during that time as I had another DD. My plan was to hold it for another 7 years. Despite a good extended warranty, I traded it in early this year after what should have been a minor issue with the coolant tank. Parts were hard to come by and the dealership techs were few and far between. It sat waiting for parts for 10 days. Nissan had discontinued the diesel after 2019. I traded it in early this year.

[rfuerst911sc]

I think Nissan spent a lot of $$$ on designing the Titan pickup . Their goal obviously was to make a major dent against the big three and Toyota . They never achieved that goal . They somehow took a rock solid Cummins diesel engine , incorporated it into the Titan and turned it to crap .

I think that strategy really hurt the company . Along with cost cutting and plain Jane designs the death spiral began . Covid hit the automotive world market hard and many supply chains still are struggling to recover . If Nissan goes under or is bought out/merged it won't be alone . There are some tough years ahead for the entire auto industry .

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Not a surprise to many , their quality and sales have been going down steadily .

https://www.motor1.com/news/742467/nissan-12-to-14-months-left-to-survive/

I did a bunch of research on this topic a few months ago. They just didn't rebound as well as some other automobile companies post Covid.

Covid or what happened after was the biggest separator of the haves and haves not, but it all bottle-necked in the Great Recession first.

May 6, 2015
https://www.epi.org/publication/the-decline-and-resurgence-of-the-u-s-auto-industry/


April 18, 2024
State of American Auto Manufacturing Report
https://allamerican.org/research/auto-manufacturing-report/

[berettafan]

you guys remember the 'dogs love trucks' campaign? THAT was Nissan in their best times.

[slow&rusty]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Mercedes was the gold standard of high quality for many decades. Then they bought Chrysler, and started selling Mercedes with very poor reliability, and very expensive repairs. They had a real downward spiral for many years. I think they finally are reversion that, but we don't own a Mercedes anymore.

This is not a true statement.

MB did not buy Chrysler it was a JV to share technology and developmental ideas. As part of that agreement, MB also platform shared with Chrysler the W210 chassis as the design basis to develop the 300C, Magnum/ Charger/Challenger platforms.

The MB reliability issue that you reference actually is mostly part of the new generation of ABC (and I guess Airmatic) suspensions that MB employed in the E-Class and S-Class. If you followed MB's recommended service, you did not have issues, but owners thought they were smarter than the manufacturer and pushed their cars ignoring the service intervals. This led to sometimes catastrophic failures and VERY costly repairs which were sensationalized online on forums and YouTubers looking for "clicks", and owners with a "woe is me" attitude.

Simple if you cannot afford a new S-Class for $150k new in the early 2000s, what makes you think that buying a 15-year old one for $10k is not going to nickel and dime you?

During this time, MB did not have any engine issues except a few cases with their odd 5.8L V12 that replaced the bullet proof M120 V12, but again mostly sensationalized. Transmissions have always been bullet proof even when neglected.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by slow&rusty

Maybe we should start a "Datsun - Nissan" picture tribute thread?

To get it started I'll tell you how Datsun got its name.
The bigwigs at Nissan were looking for a great marketing name for their cars, so they went to a German marketing firm. They figured with names like Mercedes Benz and Porsche, a German could come up with a great name. They called the German marketing firm and said, "We've got a motor show coming up and we need a new name for our cars. We need it this week!"
The German guy said, "A week? Dat soon??"

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by KC911

I know they can't, but I would pay bigly bux for a Datsun 240Z ....

Nissan tried that.

Back in the late 1990s, they planned to buy up 200 first-gen 240Zs, have them restored back to factory specs, and then sell them with a 12K mile-12-month factory warranty. The MSRP was around $27K, which proved to be too high for potential buyers at the time and only about 37 were actually built. One of these factory-commissioned cars sold on BaT for over $100K.

That being said, an original 240Z can still be had, but expect to pay around $50K+ for one that's in exceptionally nice condition.

[Arizona_928]

I had a girlfriend in the early teens that bought a new altima. Nissan did not field test them in Phoenix and she went through a transmission every 7,000 miles or so. Was told it was a known defect at the dealership. She ended up getting rear ended one night in Tucson and that finally ended that nightmare ended.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by kach22i

State of American Auto Manufacturing Report
https://allamerican.org/research/auto-manufacturing-report/

One can easily name events that were not so forgiving by each manufacturer.

Simple fact, outsourcing and carb killed a lot of brands.

[Steve Carlton]

I think the expression is "circling the drain." Swirling the drain sounds like a gay bankruptcy.

[oldE]

I mentioned in another thread my disappointment with a Nissan Pathfinder I rented a couple of weeks ago. Mostly around the design of the shift interface.

As for Mercedes, there was a problem with the sproket on the balance shafts on the 3 liter V6 . Supposedly they fixed that by 2008, but my C 280 had the issue. Fixing it would have been an engine out job.

Best
Les

[sc_rufctr]

Thinking back to when SAAB became defunct. They still have a following with companies providing support with spare etc.

If Nissan goes the same way???

[A930Rocket]

Originally Posted by oldE

As for Mercedes, there was a problem with the sproket on the balance shafts on the 3 liter V6 . Supposedly they fixed that by 2008, but my C 280 had the issue. Fixing it would have been an engine out job.

Best
Les

We had that engine issue with our R350 and Mercedes wanted $10,000 to fix the issue. We traded the car in as is on a VW Tiguan.

Later on we got a letter there was a lawsuit and or Mercedes said they would fix the issue.

We’ve never bought a Mercedes since.

[thingmon]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

As a total outsider to the car companies, it just amazes me that any manufacturer with a reputation for high quality would abandon that and cut corners and make a unreliable car.

Mercedes was the gold standard of high quality for many decades. Then they bought Chrysler, and started selling Mercedes with very poor reliability, and very expensive repairs. They had a real downward spiral for many years. I think they finally are reversion that, but we don't own a Mercedes anymore.

Much like home appliances, our 26 year old refrigerator works great. My wife bought the dryer we still use back when she bought her first house after college. The washer we use is 26 years old. Now days, and new appliance is lucky to go 4 or 5 years without major repairs.

2006 Dodge Magnum…. 230k. Not complaining.

[red 928]

The only thing worse than nissan vehicles is how
customers are treated by nissan dealer service managers.

I'll tip a glass on the day they go out of business.

[slow&rusty]

Originally Posted by red 928

The only thing worse than nissan vehicles is how
customers are treated by nissan dealer service managers.

That's disappointing to read.

[billybek]

Originally Posted by red 928

The only thing worse than nissan vehicles is how
customers are treated by nissan dealer service managers.

This.
My wife's Nissan was only a couple of years old and was into the shop for a battery drain issue.
I picked up the car from dealer service only to have the service manager tell me that we needed to disconnect the battery if we were going to leave the car sitting longer than 2 days....
The conversation that followed was not a pleasant one for him and the other customers picking up their vehicles were quite entertained.

I called that SUV "The Last Nissan".

[kevin993]

Two thoughts:

We've never owned a Nissan but often rent a Rogue or Altima when traveling. We've put a lot of miles on them and had good experiences. Oddly, we never crossed the line of saying, "I like this enough that I can see us buying one." Never drilled it down more than that, but been a consistent sense.

Looked a lot online at the Z when it came out. Was almost impossible to find one in person and never drove one. Seemed like it was pretty close, but just missed the mark slightly. Could have been great. $55k for a "performance version" was too much. The NISMO performance version was even more money and had no manual transmission option. They thought the performance numbers were more important for the NISMO version than the driving experience. That's a bad sign.

[kevin993]

One other thought - a relative who bought domestic for decades finally tried a Titan. He mostly wanted it for long trips where he towed a trailer. He eventually got rid of it because it made too many decisions for him. It wouldn't let him do things he wanted to do or adjust settings, like adjust mirrors when reversing. Its sensors were confused by the trailer. It seemed like he was constantly fighting with the car rather than having the car help him. That's a design philosophy problem that fails to think from the perspective of the driver (or at least an American driver). Too bad because he liked a lot of other things. Fwiw.

[1990C4S]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

As a total outsider to the car companies, it just amazes me that any manufacturer with a reputation for high quality would abandon that and cut corners and make a unreliable car.

CEO's make a conscious decision: invest in the products and let margins suffer, or cut corners and pinch pennies. The latter can lead to enormous corporate bonuses almost immediately.