Nissan...What's Wrong?

Back when I was a senior in high school, I was obsessed with the Nissan Z’s. It did not matter what year it was I thought that everyone of them looked so sexy. It could have had rust to the high heavens and I would have done anything to trade it for my little ’97 Nissan Altima. But more recently I have noticed that the obsession I once had for these cars has slowly slipped away. Of course we all get tired of some things we obsess over, but this one just really upset me the way it “went out.” Usually if I enjoyed something for awhile when I came back to it, it would bring back so many memories, but now I see a clean 350z driving down the road and I think nothing of it. I truly believe this to be a crime of the new poorly designed Nissan automobiles. They have solely stolen my once beloved Nissan obsession away from me.

Their new lineup includes the new Altima coupe, Maxima, 370z, and many others. I picked these 3 in particularly due to the fact that they are the ones that truly disgust me. First off, the new Altima coupe does not in any way, shape, or form look like a sexy sports car. I’m sorry Nissan but I think that I’d rather have a Toyota Prius than drive that piece of shit. It has no real body lines to it. All it has are two doors that open up into a huge “family sized sedan” looking vehicle. Sports cars are supposed to be small, sort of like little tiny matchbox cars. And then there is the Nissan Maxima. Maybe it’s just me but does anybody else think that this new Maxima looks eerily similar to the new Toyota Camry and Lexus Ls models? I think so. Here’s the concept you need to grasp Nissan: do your own thing! Finally, we have the brand new 370z. I won’t down this car too much because I actually don’t think it looks half bad. The only thing I will say though is why it looks so much like its predecessor, the 350z. If I wasn’t paying attention I would not have even noticed a difference. Just read the comments people put on Car and Driver’s website.

When I was about 16 years old, I landed my first job at an Infiniti Dealership washing cars on Saturday mornings. As many of you may know, Infiniti is Nissan’s luxury side. At Infiniti I would drive brand new Infiniti vehicles and even brand new Nissan vehicles and they always looked very similar and I always remember telling myself that “man, these guys really do a great job of designing their cars to look like luxury vehicles without the huge price tag.” Nowadays I tell myself a completely different story. Nissan needs to get their act together and start producing the type of cars they once used to manufacture. Classics like the 300z, 200sx, and 240sx were and still are prized possessions, among car lovers, today. I guess the only good thing that Nissan has going for them right now is their concept vehicles. No worries though I truly believe deep down that Nissan will rise again.