They have their uses. And for many families modern trucks are very comfortable daily drivers, and can also do the occasional Home Depot, yard care, moving, etc. job. But, I agree that a car is almost always going to be more enjoyable to drive.

I'd rather drive my G37, but it can't do this:

 

I think the shacking up happened earlier this year, but there were still a handful of independent Infiniti dealers.

Now it sounds like those are axed as well and the mothership is on life support.

I think auto makers only have to provide parts for 10 years?
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/ask...or-older-cars/

This should be interesting.

 

Well, this is an interesting update:
https://www.thedrive.com/news/nissan...ishi-with-them

Honda FWD based cars + Nissan RWD cars and trucks might make for some fun.....

 

The comments in that article are all screaming Hell No. But personally I think this is a great idea. Honda had to reach out to GM for EV tech, when Nissan is right next door with decades of expertise. Plus any market that monopolizes will eventually collapse. Good business means strong competition, and Japan would like to maintain their edge. Keep Nissan alive and everyone wins.

In other news... the Prelude is coming back! It's not going to be ground-breaking, or a track monster, but it never was. I like the looks of the prototype. The whole "simulated gear shifts" thing is hella stupid, but only gearheads are going to mock it. 99% of the target market will think its fun, so whatever.

https://www.carscoops.com/2024/12/ho...d-gear-shifts/

 

For whatever reason, it seems the cool thing to do on the car internet these days it to hate Nissan. Typically because "CVTs are stupid" and "Altimas are for poor people!"

 

Well... CVTs aren't stupid per se, but I don't care for them much. They can be designed poorly or excellent, much the same as anything else. My beef is companies that put flappy paddles on a CVT.

And I've never felt the Altima is for poor people. The current Altima is a very nice car. In the Toyota comparison, Camry=Altima, and Avalon=Maxima.

But you're right that the industry seems to be cheering on Nissan's demise.

 

I saw this earlier today. Japanese companies rarely let other Japanese companies fail. Nissan has an excellent performance brand with the Z and Skyline. The frontier is also a solid (albeit long in the tooth) truck that Honda needs as the Ridgeline is a Pilot with a bed.

Good news is that we may be able to get replacement parts a little longer if this goes through.

 

Another interesting article: https://www.theautopian.com/why-hond...rge-right-now/

Evidently Foxconn was sniffing around Nissan. Put me firmly in the camp of that would be BAD!

 

My niece out east has a new Altima (sport?) and it’s a nice little car. Comfortable, nice looking and it’s gets out of its own way with good mileage. Agree that Altimas are more of a value based Japanese play with a youthful appearance.

Good to hear about the Prelude being brought back. Similar to how Toyota is bringing back the MR2.

i owned a 1982 Prelude that I picked up for a song when I was in the military. The AC never worked (hence the low price), but it was otherwise an excellent little car that I put lot of miles on.

Here’s one in good shape: https://www.classic.com/veh/1982-honda-prelude-jhmsn5224cc032196-nKv2Q54/

 

Well it looks like the merger between Honda and Nissan is going to become a reality. And, somehow, Mitsubishi is getting into the mix.
Merger- Car And Driver
Guessing the three will combine as one to compete with Toyota and the rest of the market. Wonder what the name will be?

 

Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision, 2.5T market cap) is already ODMing traction motors using widebandgap semis, so I'm assuming that they are also setting their sites on white labeling a standard low cost EV (the Leaf?) which leverages battery tech out of china as they are further ahead mining/developing low cost and efficient battery tech compared to the western world. Auto manufactures then buy and add their own value with sensors, interior materials, heads up displays, suspension, etc. This is really what the world needs. Low cost simple and reliable EVs for young people that are just getting started in their careers and commuting 12K+ miles a year.

Instead, they cater to people like me that drive so little that I look forward to oil changes once a year and would never consider spending as much on a soon to be technologically obsolescent depreciating asset as I spent on my first home.

How is that $60,000 1 year old Fisker Ocean Ultra working out?
https://www.newportfisker.com/2023/F...UBU22PG007534/

 

This is interesting: Nissan-Mitsubishi 2024 sales were up 5.4%, and they gained market share. But, they have too much inventory, so that isn't going to help their balance sheet. Sales growth PLUS excess inventory would seem to indicate bad management. Rather than setting realistic targets, they set targets way too high and put themselves into a bind. I've definitely seen that in the company I work for at times. It makes me laugh when some leader goes on a rampage about not hitting the impossible targets he demanded at the start of the year, when everyone knew he was dreaming.

coxautoinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Q4-2024-***-Automotive-Industry-Insights-and-Forecast-2025-Dec-17-Call-presentation.pdf

 

Don’t get me started on this topic. My industry spent 2020 charging customers premiums because of capacity shortages caused by the head fake the auto industry pulled during COVID, then we spent the next two years scaring customers into taking on 2-3x the inventory they needed. During that time, the industry built new empires based on unrealistic growth expectations based on the prior two years. Then 2023 came and customers had far too much inventory on hand, so they stopped buying. The bleeding continued through 2024 and likely through 1H25. Mass layoffs, early retirement packages and a revolving door of senior executives armed with the Steve Jobs biography promising to turn things around.by getting rid of all the “B players”.

 

Re: the Nissan trucks being ever-unchanging, I have two words: Toyota HiLux.

Sad to see Nissan/Infiniti Boeing-ing themselves towards the drain. We test drove the QX50 and quite liked it - just liked the Audi Q5 more and the prices were similar.

I've had to think about what my next personally owned car will be when/if it's time to move on from the G. At the moment, it gets like 1000 miles/year, so no incentive to trade, and I'd prefer only one car payment at a time. But... the Audi RS level sedans are nice LOL. I think I may have to wrap my head around not having a stick.

Parallel to @Rochester 's story... I got re-interested in Nissans from my RX7 phase once going to Japan with the USAF and driving a few Skylines, and the G35 was the next Skyline but available in the US. I'm ignoring the R35 at the moment LOL since I'll never be able to afford one that runs.

I have always thought that the way Nissan styling followed Infiniti by a few years (the newer Maximas look a *lot* like the Q40/50s from a distance, to me) was polluting the brand (see Altimas with very similar tail lights to the Gs) but... I'd be interested to see a Honda drivetrain in an Infiniti-styled sport sedan.

 

This is the best overview of the problems I have seen. Worth a watch: