Why is Ford doing more than Nissan?

nuTinmuch

You entirely misread what I had to say. Try again:

Perhaps I should've added "for me" at the end to emphasize I was speaking for myself.

As has been repeated many times in this thread -- yes, the Altima is a good car. It is impressive. But it is not a car I would buy as it is not a segment I am interested in.

But -- even past that -- I don't see how it is innovative. That 38mpg number is nice, but is it really outside of the ballpark of what other manufacturers are giving on their brand new sedans? The Camry is 25/35, the Fusion 22/34 (with 47/47 possible in the hybrid), the Accord is 27/37, and the Optima is 25/35. This makes the Altima a class leader, but if we're realistic all of these numbers will be within +/-1 of each other in the real world. Is this innovation?

The argument that "the Z wasn't made to compete with X" is ********. Who cares? When I drove the Z I wasn't comparing it to a Porsche. I can't afford a Porsche. I was comparing it to the Camaro, Mustang, Evo, STi, 135i, 335i, Genesis Coupe, etc.

The only comparison in the real world (for me) is price. If it costs X, I'm comparing it to other cars that cost X.

Which brings me to...

You missed the point, sort of. My point wasn't that they are comparable performance wise, but that the GT-R's innovations 5 years ago aren't enough to sustain the entire company. Some people in this thread just shout "GT-R!" whenever Nissan is challenged. Yes, yes, the GT-R is awesome. It is my favorite car. I want one. I want five. But who cares? The GT-R isn't what makes Nissan who they are.

Also, yes, Ford does have its bad apples... but let's be realistic -- most are holdovers from their darker days. Likewise, the Boss was beaten -- but it was beaten by a car that was released and developed a year after it was. The 5.0 GT also stomped on the Camaro -- but it also had quite some time to do so. I mean, duh. That's how the pony wars between Chevy and Ford work.

This is purely my opinion... but you're insane. If money was no object and I wanted a car to cruise in, I'd buy a Challenger in a heartbeat. That car is gorgeous.

The new Corvette is gorgeous. The Camaro was an aesthetic darling for a while. The new Chevy line is handsome (the Impala looks pretty good, imo -- as is the Cruze).

The CTS-V sedan and wagon are incredible looking -- the CTS (and ATS) are two of my favorite modern cars purely because of their aesthetics.

There really is no winning in this discussion, though. I think a lot of people are reading my posts as if I'm some huge Ford fanboy. I've never even owned a Ford, nor has anyone in my immediate family. I just think Nissan could be doing a better job -- and I also think that a lot of people in this thread (and forum) have blinders on when it comes to Nissan.

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