Dan Martin

The worst part about it is that an anti-theft kit is probably worse than if they were to just leave the lights alone. It's not like a thief is going to know which cars are equipped and which ones aren't. Chances are they'd cause more damage trying to get the anti-theft protected units out than they would if they had just stolen the lights to begin with.

Should be interesting to see how this lawsuit shakes out. It's kind of like suing a house builder because they didn't put locks on the doors. Then when a bunch of customers homes were broken into they offer a lock kit to prevent break ins.

kiteboy

I think the lawsuit is a bit silly, but Nissan made a mistake by making available the anti-theft kits, and also forcing owners to pay for them. W/o these kits, the suit really would have nothing to stand on.

It's like suing Acura because the red A-badge on ITR's keep getting stolen. You can't fault the manufacter for making an appealing product, whether to consumers or theives.

DEVO

what other cars do these headlamps fit on? i mean if you have the fancy light and they only fit on a certain car and if all the cars have the lights... where is the market?

SmokeTL

the 02-03 maxima head lights fit on 00-01 with out xenon. or they could retrofit the bulbs and balast on other cars since it all came out at once. same with acura. the headlight assembly didn't fit anything, but the bulbs and balast did with a little altering.

gavriil

Ghosn to oversee Nissan N.A. operations - - Reuters / March 23, 2004 - - Source: AutoNews

TOKYO -- Nissan Motor Co. said on Tuesday that CEO Carlos Ghosn will directly oversee its North American operations as part of preparations for its new three-year plan.

"The United States has had fairly good success for the past few years and the challenge there is to add momentum, which Ghosn is the best person to handle," said Nissan spokesman Gerry Spahn.

Owned 44 percent by France's Renault, Nissan, like most Japanese automakers, gets the bulk of its earnings in the United States, where it is in the middle of a product offensive.

While remaining CEO and based in Japan, Ghosn will hand over his current responsibilities for operations in Japan and China as part of the management reshuffle.

Executive Vice President Norio Matsumura, who oversees North America, will take over Nissan's Japan operations and Senior Vice President Toshiyuki Shiga will assume full management control over China operations.

Nissan's Japan operations have made strides in improving profitability but most of the gains have been through cutting costs, and it needs to make more improvements on distribution.

"In Japan, Matsumura who has global sales experience in the United States and Europe, has the ability to work hands-on with the dealers," said Spahn.

Having eliminated all of its automotive debt and secured an operating margin comfortably above an eight percent target, Nissan's only remaining task under its current business plan is to boost global sales by about 40 percent, or one million units, in the three years to 2005.

It will announce a new three-year business plan on April 26.

Leaping from near-bankruptcy in 1999 to Japan's most profitable auto maker by operating margin, Nissan has become the darling of financial markets, with the charismatic Brazilian-born Ghosn the toast of the global car industry.

Ghosn, who was sent from Renault, is due to become Renault's CEO in April 2005, while still keeping his post at Nissan.

Nissan has raised its sales target in the U.S. by 2.1 percent to 870,000 units for the business year to March 31, reflecting a better-than-expected performance in the world's biggest car market.

In contrast, a poor product mix and fierce competition in Japan has prompted the automaker to cut its domestic sales target by 3.5 percent to 837,000 cars.

gavriil

I was reading in the WSJ about this 3 days ago. It said that the main reason for Ghosn doing this is because the sales for the Qwest and Armada numbers. They are at 55% of target. It said, they believe the main reason is faulty marketing strategy.

titan

Yeah. I read the same article. I thought the Quest and Armada were doing a little bit better. I'm happy he's coming over to personally oversee Nissan here before taking over Renault in France. I hope he does decide to go ahead and introduce Infiniti to Europe in three years also.

98AccordEx

New Altima SE-R coming soon.

http://www.newstream.com/us/story_pu...41.157.214.222

ABP-CL9-TSX

The 6spd manual, HID, and Navi were reasons why to jump up to the similar size Maxima, but now that the 2005 Altima has them, I fail to see the point of having the Nissan Maxima anymore.

TonyFresh

copycats

NocturnalEvo

the maxima was a great car... I duno why they're just killing it off basically..

phile

I've also read that the G35 will get a revised interior and hp jumps to 300hp.

Habiib

I wouldn't call it competition. What does the SE-R Altima compete against??? .....Nothing, except for the Maxima. This car would be nice if it had AWD, but I know whatever power it has is going to be driving the Front Wheels resulting in more torque steer. What a joke.

dom

leftride

iTrader: (1)

not a fan of the looks (no TSX), but I bet this thing is going to be pretty quick! the 3.5 was pretty fast itself.

captainjack

Competition in speed maybe but not QUALITY. This is a mid-life refresh so the interior will probably still be plasticky junk.

AND the headlights look like ass.

Vans

Just like every single honda and acura ever made..........

justinjsw

He is talking about one car and you are talking about the entire Honda/Acura lineup? I didn't know the S2K and NSX were FFDs.

scb147

It's weird, you look at the specs and the 2.5 S w/ SL pkg., 3.5 SE and 3.5 SL all have a Navi option, but the top of the line 3.5 SE-R does not have this option.

I'm confused...

dom

I guess its to be considered Sport, but then again does'nt the 350Z have a Nav option?

Vans

the point was obvious - he rails on a fwd from nissan that has some power yet almost every single car from honda and acura that has some power is fwd...

iNteGraz92

whats the point of buying a maxima if the altima se-r comes out? hondas and acuras don't overlap in hp

Lung Fu Mo Shi

But, what you fail to see is that every FWD Nissan has SERIOUS torque steer issues whereas most Honda and Acuras do not have hardly any, or is much milder with the same amount of power.

xizor

I saw something about the Altima SE-R yesterday and think its a pretty cool car. Decent exterior (only comes in red supposedly!?!?), who knows what its like inside, I hate all Nissan interiors from the Altima to the 350Z.

I think the problem for it is, it doesn't fit anywhere. Its an expensive pocket rocket. The highest Altima is as much or more than a TSX. I read the pricing will be under $30k, but its not much luxury for that price. You're better off w/ an AWD Evo for less $$ if you want the power. And better off w/ a TSX or similar class car for the luxury. Who knows about the handling.

kiteboy

It needs to be way under $30k, otherwise it's too close to the G35.

phile

And for that price, I don't blame anyone for choosing the G35. You get a better performing car, about the same size, and the Infiniti customer care, which I've heard is pretty good.

xizor

Well considering the pricing of the Altima already it probably falls between $26k-$30. It probably doesn't have a navi to cut costs, but i'd say $28k is probably right. Still to much for a real "tarted up econo box"

pocketkiller

That's exactly what people say about the TSX being a tarted up ACCORD...too much money.

justinjsw

Nissan North America Reports November Sales [Dec. 1, 04]


GARDENA, Calif. (December 1, 2004) – Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) reported November total sales of 80,376 units for its Nissan and Infiniti divisions, a 31.0 percent increase versus November of last year.

NISSAN HIGHLIGHTS
- It was the best November in Nissan division’s history
- November sales for Nissan-brand vehicles were up 29.8 percent when compared to last year, with 68,795 units sold
- Altima (16,345 units sold) and Murano (6,028 units sold) had their best November ever
- Armada (3,617 units sold) had its best month ever
- Calendar year-to-date sales are up 25.2 percent with 774,801 units sold

INFINITI HIGHLIGHTS
- It was the best November in Infiniti’s history
- Sales for Infiniti were up 38.2 percent from last November, with 11,581 units sold
- G35 sedan (4,158 units sold) and FX (3,153 units sold) had their best November ever
- QX56 (1,399 units sold) had its best month ever
- Calendar year-to-date sales are up 9.4 percent with 118,920 units sold

NNA INFORMATION
- It was the best November in Nissan North America’s history
- Combined November sales for Nissan and Infiniti totaled 80,376 units, a 31.0 percent increase over last year
- Calendar year-to-date sales are up 22.8 percent with 893,721 units sold

In North America, NNA’s operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. More information on NNA and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.nissannews.com or by contacting the corporate media line at 310/771-5631.

Nissan Sales

biker

G35 is doing quite well - I'm sure the revamped 05 had something to do with that.

The new M can't come fast enough for Infiniti.

DEI99662

I am interested in seeing how the numbers for both the Titan and Frontier will be like next year. They have made a lot of redesigns for next years models. I was hoping that they would try to improve the Sentra design.

keg1997

I have an '01 Pathfinder (also had a G20) so I frequent the freshalloy boards as well. Man...you ought to hear some of the venom spewed at Acura (just a nice Honda...not a true luxury brand).
I'd like to think that all car makes are valued here and that people don't get so caught up into names/brands and make such broad strokes...

biker

dabuda

def good news, there should be a lot of preowned infiniti g35s for sale the next few years as well

ABP-CL9-TSX

I wish they bring the new Nissan Teana over and sell it as a new I35. Its sad to see 2004 the last year of that car.

Precision Crafted

Do you have a pic of that car? Where would it slot in Infiniti's current line up?

ABP-CL9-TSX

Here are some pics of the Teana, its front wheel drive and sold as the new Maxima in other countries. This car looks way better than the US version Maxima. I wish they sell it as the Infiniti I35 here. It would priced slightly below the G35 I would guess.

heyitsme

Rather see a new rwd 'g20' type car to go against the tsx.

fastg11

Infiniti's plan is to only sell RWD/AWD cars so the Teana would never make it here as an Infiniti.

biker

I have a feeling that when the G35 get re-done in 07 (based on the V36 Skyline) it will have a lower level configuration - a la the new IS250/350 for Lexus. I'm not sure if they will call it a G25 - I guess it will depend on which engine they will stick in there. The new JDM Fuga (M) is already available with a smaller engine than the VQ.