Thursday, May 8th, 2008 |
A 660-cc, three-cylinder engine provides a whopping 50-horsepower. That sliding side door must be a huge selling feature.
n CUBE: Made in Japan, Cube looks like . . . a cube. The payoff is an amazingly spacious interior and a huge back door allows maximum use of it.
A 1.5-litre, four-cylinder engine offers 107-horsepower and spirited performance. A stretched version, called the Cube Cubic actually offers three rows of seating. Rumour has it that Cube is coming to the US for the ‘09 model year.
My favourite Nissan Mini car. Made in Sunderland, England, Micra is currently Nissan’s best-selling car in Europe.
Built on the first shared platform within the Renault-Nissan Alliance, it comes in three and five door hatchback models, as well as a two-door hard-top convertible called the C+C. A fun little car to drive, Micra buyers have a choice of four small engines, including a diesel.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance goes back to 1999 and the lopsided partnership between the two companies appears to be working. Renault owns 44.4 per cent of Nissan, while Nissan has a 15-per cent-stake in Renault.
The alliance shares common goals and has led to platform and powertrain sharing, plus combined purchasing advantages, yet both companies have distinct identities and brands.
How well is it working? Combined Renault and Nissan vehicle sales were a record 6,160,046 units or 9.1 per cent of the global automotive market in calendar year 2007.
Among those on show at 360 were two new ‘09 Nissan models, the just-released Murano and yet-to-be-released Maxima.
The second-generation Murano offers new exterior and interior styling and it’s built on a new advanced D-platform, first introduced on the 2007 Altima.
A VQ-series 3.5-litre V6 rated at 265-horsepower provides power and it’s mated to a second-generation CVT (auto transmission) with ASC (adaptive shift control).
The ‘09 Maxima is the seventh generation of Nissan’s flagship sedan. Made in Smyrna, Tenn., the Maxima is designed to be a four-door sports car.
Nissan calls its new exterior-design theme “liquid motion” and describes as “a powerful and beautiful surface, like the undulation of a wave.” A new Elite Package includes a fixed, full centre console that creates four seating positions.
The km/litre fuel consumption figures used in this article are based on a Japanese government test. They may differ with Canadian fuel economy test results, which are expressed in litres/100 km.
That’s it for this week. Ever heard of a Wingroad, Clipper, Elgrand or a Kubistar?
These vehicles and more, including Nissan’s new performance superstar the GT-R, are reviewed next week.
Bob McHugh is a freelance automotive journalist, writing on behalf of BCAA.
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Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 |
Domestic automakers found themselves on the wrong side of the market in April, as consumers shunned pickups and SUVs for fuel-efficient cars.
Truck sales last month fell by double digits at GM, Ford and Chrysler as gas prices pushed near $4 a gallon. Considering that Detroit’s Big Three are heavily into pickups and sport-utility vehicles, this pushed overall sales down 16 percent at GM, 12 percent at Ford and 23 percent at Chrysler.
Trucks also were down at Toyota and Nissan, but the Japanese Big Three, including Honda, build more cars, sales of which rose in April, giving all three gains for the month.
“What we did not count on is oil being nearly $120 barrel,” Mike DiGiovanni, GM’s sales and market analyst, said in a conference call with analysts and media. “It caused a significant shift [in buying habits] that came very quickly.”
Nearly 47 percent of GM’s sales last month were cars; at Ford it was 40 percent, both up from last year. Cars accounted for 62 percent of Toyota’s business; 65 percent at Nissan. A computer problem prevented Honda from releasing its numbers, but the company estimated a 6 percent increase on the strength of its Fit and Civic small cars and the midsize Accord.
Gas prices are limiting consumers’ ability to afford large vehicles and forcing businesses to defer purchases of large pickups, which were down nearly 25 percent at GM and 21 percent at Ford.
Toyota’s Tundra full-size pickup suffered its first decline since the current model was introduced in February 2007. Toyota said it had about an 85-day supply of Tundras, double what is usual, and has slowed production in Princeton, Ind., and San Antonio.
“We have to adjust too,” said Toyota Senior Vice President Don Esmond, citing a 15 percent decline in pickup sales in the first quarter. “But we haven’t laid anyone off at either plant and have no plans to.”
Erich Merkle, an analyst with industry forecaster IRN Inc., said the domestic automakers weren’t blind to the need for smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles, but he said it was hard for GM and Ford to switch to small cars when both were racking up profits on truck sales of more than 1 million annually apiece.
“How do you stop producing what the market wants, especially when, until recently, it was difficult for them to make any money on small cars produced in the United States,” Merkle said.
But a government mandate to increase fuel economy to an industry average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020 shifts the focus to cars.
Ford is responding with plans to build the Fiesta, its new global subcompact, in the U.S. for sale starting in 2010. GM will introduce 14 new or refreshed products in the next 18 months, with 13 cars or crossovers.
In the past, consumers spooked by high gas prices returned to large vehicles once the pain at the pump eased. The jury’s out on whether that will happen again.
Ford sees pickups stabilizing at 11 percent to 12 percent of the total vehicle market, down from a peak of more than 14 percent in 2000.
“The consumers who still are buying pickup trucks really need a truck,” said Jim Farley, Ford sales and marketing chief.
If gas drops to less than $3, Merkle thinks consumers will behave the same as before. “People will forget very quickly,” he said. “We had the same problem in the early 1980s.”
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