
Originally Posted by
Mustang_Boy
Thats odd about Nissan, generaly I see them being more geared towards enthusiast drivers, compare Toyota's lineup against Nissans and you'll see what I mean.... I should know myself since I've owned a few (and still own 1) Nissans- an '88 Maxima that I still have that still runs, back then it compared favorably against BMW's.... it was fun to drive and it's 3.0 SOHC V6 was a revvy engine that gloriously sang up to it's redline and produced an impressive for the times 160 hp, plus being virtually indestructible as well.... I still have that car. Next I owned an '01 Frontier SE-V6 Desert Runner with the 3.3 SOHC V6 and the 5 speed stick. It only made 170 hp, but again it was fun to drive, durable and rugged, had personality- it even had touches of the Nissan Skyline GTR in it's interior- the gauges perfectly mimick the R34 GTR's. Getting rid of that truck was one of the stupidest things I ever did. I traded the Frontier for an '02 Maxima SE 6 speed stick. It was fast and fun BUT very fragile. That one did not last past 100k like my previous Nissans, the engine was fine, but everything else was done. I traded that one for my current '06 Mustang GT.
The reason why I quit buying Nissan was the fact that while they were either fun to drive or out and out fast (or both) BUT at the same time they had Toyota-esque reliability and attention to detail, I really do believe Nissan over-engineers their engines in the belief that at some point they will be used in racing duty... I mean the shit I put the '88 Maxima through is proof of that, it basically said "thank you sir, may I have another?" anytime I neutral dropped the trans into drive from redline, no complaint. I would regulary hit the car's 116 MPH top speed, again no strain. E-brake J-turns? Sure why not? Overrevving the piss out of the engine for no good reason, yup no problems there. The Frontier I treated much nicer, but could it be the same way, I wouldn't doubt it really. The '02 Maxima was a completly different story, yes it was fast- I think the top speed with the 6 speed is around 160 MPH (though I hear it's a very scary experiance in that car) but it just didn't feel really well built- lots of squeeks and rattles, really ticky tacky interior trim and I hit a pothole did a bunch of damage, my other cars had no problem with the same pothole. The '02 just didn't hold up which is a shame really... it had the hardware.
I got a bit off topic, but maybe Nissan has changed from what it consistantly delivered; enjoyable yet reliable cars to just another 'blah' car company, that new gas pedal only adds credibility to my theory.....