Help me with my Nissan case study, please!

[Kamakura kid]

Folks:

I have to do a case study on Nissan Motors, looking specifically after the Renault JV/Mr. Ghosn shakedown period. Say post 2003. I figure Hawaii based motorheads would have a pretty good insight about Japanese cars. So, your comments about Nissan/Infiniti products in the last five years would be much appreciated, especially when compared to the "old" Nissan stuff.

TKS/KK

[lois]

i am not going to be much help but i have always had Nissan products and they have never given me problems. Nissan products from the 70s, 80s, and a 2004.

let Wills chime in on what he thinks of Nissan. :D

[Act162this]

lessee -

used to have an old 510, that was a pretty cool car and had lots of parts commonalities with the first gen Z cars. easy to work on, never had any real problems. wish i still had it.

had a 99 maxima, that was a total POS. many members of the local maxima club experienced a lot of problems with their 4G maximas, and also experienced a lot of problems with at least one of the local dealerships with getting adequate or competent service. after the local nissan dealership couldn't solve the problem after a year or two of constant returns (i think i had the car for about 9 mos out of the first year i owned it), service mgr at that nissan dealership refused to lemon law it even with proper documentation.

my maxima was then sent to the infiniti dealership for work - apparently, that's where nissan corp said their most trained mechanics are. after a month (thankfully, they provided a loaner) they had replaced most of the underpinnings and drivetrain/suspension short of the motor.

i suspect it would have been cheaper to just lemon law the thing or even swap cars for another similar 99 maxima, but they were stubborn and thought they could fix it.

having said that - i would consider purchase of an S13 or S14 for my next project car w/ my son. there is much you can do to them, and it would probably be a neat build that's already well-documented. i prefer not to be the groundbreaker, especially when it comes to things like wiring and wiring harnesses.

[spike]

From what I've driven, every nissan after around 04 (depending on the model) has started dipping in quality and reliability and lacked standard equipment (the lack of standard ABS and side airbags instantly come to mind).

What I don't like is that nissan is trying to make their interiors look extravagant while using insanely cheap material. yeah it saves money and at a glance, it looks really nice. But this makes the interior feel like a mcdonald's toy sometimes. With the past nissans, they didn't try to make the interior too flashy or anything. It was what it was and it's exactly what you paid for. I would rather them save development costs and use higher quality materials with a slightly less attractive design ("simpler" comes to mind rather then "uglier" ).

Also, assembly of nissan vehicles seem to be a bit half assed dpending on the assembly line. Lots of bumper, fender, trunk and hood mis-alignment issues. This isn't a common problem but there's enough cases to really question what one of the production plants are doing.

As for motors, specifically the primarily used 4 cylinders, it seems like they have gone to crap. The SR20 and KA24 are both MUCH more reliable than the QR25. From my own experiences, the QR25 will kill itself (probably kill you too) if you don't take precautionary measures to remove the precat, loctite the butterfly valve screws and constantly check your oil levels to monitor your oil consumption.

The worst part is that the SR and KA has a much higher potential of out living the QR, even if they are already tens of thousands of miles in age.

[Nick]

I loved my SR20 powered cars.

I miss them dearly.

My current SR20 200SX SE-R is a whole load of crap since it is a slush box auto. I don't really care for the newer body designs of the Sentra, but the Z car is looking good. Even the new Maxima has caught my eye a little. But all in all, The older ones are the ones I liked best.

[beefy242]

Got an 03 Frontier... with a KA. engine runs fine, tranny feels like it will outlast every other part of the vehicle, but i have to note the paint most. on the cab, i had to primer a strip about a foot long and half an inch wide because the paint started to bubble, crack and flake off down to bare metal. same thing happened on the sides of the hood (the part thats like 1/8th of an inch wide) and honestly i just hope that this doesn't continue. its a great truck, but I think a car with a 5 speed would be more fun than a truck with a 5 speed.

[lois]

i had mean rust issues with my 87 around the cowl to the point where support was lost (i guess, i'm not a body person) where the bottom of my windshield had a hairline crack.

of course i took my truck fishing every weekend right smack dab on the Waianae Coast, so the salty air could have exacerbated a fundamental problem.

[ikeyballz]

had two 280z's from the late 70, early 80s..

just sold em.

both started up after a bit of work..after sitting for 10+years. gotta say something for those cars! :)

still could do two tire fires too..lol


rusty as fkkkkk though! so shietty quality metal used on them, i think..not refiend enough...just learning about that stuff in corrosion!

[lois]

oh yeah now i remember. the paint WAS kinda shitty. almost as if they let GM paint thier cars :hihi:

paint delam was a big issue but i had a bf at the time who repainted it for free and even put pearl in the paint. teh cherreh.

[Nick]

I'd like to do a SR20 powered 510.

Yeah, my Sentra SE-R's had paint problems. I think they used some crappy clear coat cause that shit always faded then flaked off.

[Kamakura kid]

From what I've driven, every nissan after around 04 (depending on the model) has started dipping in quality and reliability and lacked standard equipment (the lack of standard ABS and side airbags instantly come to mind).


Interesting. The case says how during the immediate pre-Ghosn timeframe, Nissan was obsessively focused on quality without any profitability considerations, and how that mindset had to change or the company would go under.

Sounds like you hit the nail on the head.

[Act162this]

I'd like to do a SR20 powered 510.

Yeah, my Sentra SE-R's had paint problems. I think they used some crappy clear coat cause that shit always faded then flaked off.

iirc, i think people used to use the buick V6 motors for swaps back before the sr20DET motors gained popularity. the turbo V6 buick motors were also popular.

they beefed up the suspension with 240/60/80 suspension bits and brakes, too.

dunno how they actually handled, but they must have been a handful to drive.

[spike]

Interesting. The case says how during the immediate pre-Ghosn timeframe, Nissan was obsessively focused on quality without any profitability considerations, and how that mindset had to change or the company would go under.

Sounds like you hit the nail on the head.

So all Nissan did by this is delay their demise. After my Altima, I probably will never buy another new Nissan again unless their old mind set comes back. I know of a lot of people who are thinking the same thing as I am.

I understand sacrifices need to be made but if they know how to manage their resources, then I don't see how it's a problem. Honda and Toyota make quality cars (well...Honda still does anyways) and they are far from going under.

Offtopic but yes, I do have a beef with Toyota too, but that's for another thread ;)

[Nick]

iirc, i think people used to use the buick V6 motors for swaps back before the sr20DET motors gained popularity. the turbo V6 buick motors were also popular.

they beefed up the suspension with 240/60/80 suspension bits and brakes, too.

dunno how they actually handled, but they must have been a handful to drive.

I bet they were a handful. I'd really like to build a SR20DET 510 and probably make it a DD. I like the look of the 510, and I think it would really make it a very good dual purpose vehicle.

[Nick]

Interesting. The case says how during the immediate pre-Ghosn timeframe, Nissan was obsessively focused on quality without any profitability considerations, and how that mindset had to change or the company would go under.

Sounds like you hit the nail on the head.

Unfortunately, that was their niche. Poor design didn't help with their sales either. They made good cars but they had to compete with the likes of Honda and Toyota, where quality and reliability made their names. Nissan wasn't always known for reliability, but they worked on it. Now they have drivetrains that outlast the vehicles that they are in. As for the Ghosn era, take a look at where the parts are made and it will tell you a lot. A lot are being made in America and Mexico. Their quality is as equal as buying a GM car, sometimes they're good, and sometimes you'll get crap. Cost to produce in America cheapens the vehicle and that is where they make profitablity.

[spike]

Yeah my engine block is made in mexico, internals made in the US and japan, electronics from japan and china, and interior plastic from mcdonalds.

I don't know about the rest of the current gen nissans but the 3rd gen altima's (02-06) drive train is garbage. There have already been problems where the car would not shift into drive or reverse, get stuck in neutral, or have the shifter lock stay on permanently. The transmission also slips when going up hill.