Why is Ford doing more than Nissan?
 

Seems like ford is doing way more things than Nissan and offering more sporty cars now at a better price... Nissan needs to step their game up!

Haven't you heard.. Nissan is going to race an electric car :ughdance:

Because they are a more profitable company and can and will afford it and Nissan either cannot, or won't afford it.

Ford has the resources and has had this stuff in place for a long time. Nissan has been very laissez-faire about supporting their performance divisions. Though it seems like they are trying to step it up now.

And like IC said, Ford can afford it.

Ford pulled their head from their arse sometime after I stopped working for a Ford dealer in 2005, and actually got things rolling. They began trimming weight, developing exponentially better drivelines vs. "minor revisions" and stealing technology from one line to "kinda sorta" adapt into the other (3V heads from the 5.4L trucks evolved onto a 4.6L engine and shoved into the mustang, what crap!).

Ford is being run RIGHT, and it shows. I cannot wait for the 2015 mustang GT. I am probably going to trade my Z for the 2016 model (I just have a "thing" about first year-model ground-up new platforms).

Anyway, Ford is still recovering from the BS of their last administration. Wait until they unveil replacements for their line in the mid and latter part of this decade when they have had a chance to re-do them from the ground-up. Look at how much they accomplished in 2010 and then 2011 with the mustang!? Still using the same chassis, even. They are going to sweep the floor in their market segment.

They have the focus st, fiesta st, mustang v6, gt

Nissan has a 38k sport car barely faster than a 1998 camaro..

that i dont want.

/thread.

And Nissan cares why?
They make money and profit with their current strategy. As long as they continue to operate well into the green why should they do anything different?

So they can rebuild their performance image and make even more money. :icon17:

That would require a direction, I do see them trying with investing in the Nismo brand and attempting some racing leagues. I just hope there is an actual path & goal set, not just throwing money around.

All I'm saying is Nissan needs to stay closer to 30k for bang for your buck type cars

Nissan needs to do a better job on what they have and they will do fine. It's not style they lack but substance.

tell the world to stop f-king with the JPY then so nissan (and rest of japan) can give what they truely want on a fair playing ground.

Lets keep it real. Ford has HAD to step up on quality tremendously. Something most japanese automakers haven't had to work much on for nearly a decade. As good as american car quality has grown. Japanese cars still have a slight edge in overall quality. Up until 2008, most american cars had been complete POS's for over 2 decades. The american market performed what I call nothing short of a miracle with their Shytboxmobiles...

The american market has always known one thing the Japanese have to learn a little better... Halo cars sell all cars in the short term. If you have a flagship and halo sports car that's top notch? You will sell cars regardless. You're on the cover of C&D, motorweek, automobile, Road &Track on the reg. You will push the biggest POS out of your lot. Guys will buy in hopes of one day trading for that hot vette, stang etc.

What America has learned from Asia. Halo cars can only go so far in overall car sales in the long term. Eventually. People realize sports cars aren't as practical as they need and start demanding quality. That's where Honda, Nissan etc have been winning these two decades. America is on it's 5th model year of great featured high quality cars. But it wasn't done on purely american merit. It was done by the aid of Asian and German market. You can thank Honda, Toyota, Mazda and Mitsubishi for most of the american breakthrough's in it compact car market success. Opel, Renault, Fiat, Alfa etc have also fueled compact and midsize success... There's been a sharing of tech and it's made the Global car market more competitive. Nissan is the one of the least globalized companies right now

Ford is doing great things. Nissan is not doing as well right now. But there's a lot of political shyt going on in the market playing into that. Nissan is attempting to go delve deeper in the global market. We will have to wait till 2015 to see exactly how nissan is doing... They most of the time pull a fast one on the general public. Just when you think they are beginning to suck??? Bam!!!!

That said. What i been seeing from nissan so far scares me. lol Let's see.

Ya that's all I'm saying is what I've seen so far scares me! I mean I don't mind getting smoked by v8 mustangs that cost less but at least give us some more cars with beefier options if you're gonna be sporty.

I feel you.

I see the v6 and v8 mustang
Then comes the Focus ST and soon to come RS
The fiesta is even getting sporty.
The next gen mustang will probably make this current one look pu$$y.

Meanwhile, our versa is bytchier
Our altima is larger/ yet lighter??? CVT and GRAVITY??? anyone?
The altima coupe is up in the air.
The sentra is duller with NOT even a real fact about a possible SE-R
The maxima? No news either.
Hybrid infiniti Q50 as the higher end G doesn't inspire sport confidence.
The Z's refresh is the laughing stock of the sports car world.

All i can say is keep hope alive.

Yeah but seriously... we're getting an electric car in Le Mans!!:inoutroflpuke:

Lol... Please Don't Remind Me.:barf:

I agree, nissan needs to step up with the Z, currently the only competitive sports car they have is the GTR, the z turned into a GT cruiser, overpriced and under-powered. I remember reading an article in 2002-2003 when the 350z was deemed a Japanese mustang, now it seems that the new Japanese mustang got caught in a time loop and can't come out of early 21st century.

Personally I would love to see a detuned gtr engine in the next gen Z, yes yes I know the r35 engine is an expensive thing, but the VR38DETT evolved from the VQ35/37, so I don't see why we can't have some convergent evolution and fabricate a VR38 derivative with maybe less boost/ revised internals to fit the 35k segment.
I don't know if it would be cheaper then going to a full or half aluminum chassis, but I do know it would have the same effect, nothing wrong with 3200lbs and 450hp/420tq and limitless tuning potential, this surely would put the Z back in the lead :)

Problem: GT-R engine is horribly inefficient weight/power wise. They would do better shoving an LS7 under the hood, unless you want a 4,000# car, maybe they could call it the 4000Z, LMAO!

I don't think it's underpowered, but transmission and suspension tuning should have been done to improve acceleration. also they should have moved to a more aggressive tire. they just totally missed the bus with simple improvements that could have made dramatic changes.

Honestly, I don't have any issue with the suspension for acceleration. The high 12/low 13 second 1/4 mile times point to others doing well with it when using it at the drag strip, too.

My issue is with the suspension where the road turns and/or a bump is encountered. Nissan left a LOT on the table, here...

I really hope Nissan builds the next Z to compete with the 911 Carrera, and the Nismo variant to go up against the Carrera S. I'm such a fanboy that I'll pay $70K fora 420+ hp, 3100 lb, NA V8 or TT V6 Z. That would then open up the segment for the new Silvia; slotted exactly where the Z has been all this time.

Nissan is a relatively poor company competing with a relatively well-off company, and a government backed company. They cannot afford to do such grandiose things as move a car up an entire segment and create another one to fill its place. That is industry-shattering, and Nissan doesn't have near the oomph in their pockets to even contemplate it.

Yeah, but we can all dream :tup:. That would be awesome though ... a more exclusive Z with over 420 hp from the factory. Match it with timeless lines similar to the Z32, and I'm sold..

It would cost a ton. The 370Z already has too much horsepower for the car as it comes from the factory, and they have cut a lot of corners in quality on it.

I agree, but in forward accel, the Z can push mid 12's with a better forward suspension and better tires. I've pulled 12.9 on the drag. When i do some better susp mods i expect 12.6

Z34 blows out the Z32 in looks. I say just smooth out and advance the current look.

Agree to disagree.

At the cost of handling a corner. I'll pass. NA V6's make shitty drag racing cars.

I have read through a lot of this thread. Basically, I think they're just different companies. Nissan isn't doing poorly, in my opinion. As much bashing as there is on the Z, it's still a lot of fun to drive. It'll still get your heart pumping and give you RWD thrills with gorgeous styling. It has its flaws. Maybe it's overpriced for what it is? I don't know. I still think it's a hoot at that price.

Ford is making quality motors right now, but each of its performance cars have some flaws, too. I don't like the way the v6 and v8 Mustang are listed separately. Just talk about the entire Mustang range. They're all bang for buck performance-wise. But I'm not 100% sold on them. They're big and ugly. If that's your thing, then cool. And yes, they're very fast and handle fairly well for their size.

The Focus and Fiesta ST are too small for me inside. I drove the Focus ST, and the Fiesta is bound to be even more cramped. They're pretty quick, but I'd rather buy a WRX in that segment. In fact, I did. And while the Fords are somewhat well-appointed in fancy designed interiors, they're still built with cheap materials underneath. You're paying for the performance.

All that said, I don't believe any of this bears a conclusion on the directions of the brands. Nissan is still selling Joe Public his Altima Sedan with CVT and making a huge buck off that. Ford is still selling base Focuses and pick-ups to Tom, ****, and Harry, and they're both doing well.

I agree with the quality comparo. But your taste in Fiesta's and Focus is seperate from the fact that at least Ford is taking affordable fun seriously throughout the range while this past 2 years. Nissan has been making snoozers. (Except Z and juke)
I have no complaints with the Z as a whole. but I have a problem with the low progressive, useless updates we are getting and the lack of enthusiam Nissan has shown for a GREAt car. ITS far from Bashing cuz the Z is an awesome car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of the best out there...

But for the price increases and some of it's inherent weaknesses its had since fall 2008. nissan could have done more where it counted. Great car but it needed some things that nissan could have afforded to do but chose not to for what reason? I don't know.

PS. History proves Im NOT a Ford fan at all, but a spade is a spade.

Ford is saddled with the sins of the father regarding a lot of their current chassis designs and layouts. Look for them to sweep the floor this decade (2014-2018).

The oil cooler was nice...I've never gotten my car hotter than 225*F even in 100*+ weather. So much for the theory that my rotors warp because I'm abusive. :rolleyes:

Oil cooler came 3 years too late. That's my gripe. Too late with everything. nissan's refusal to take care of issues immediately caused the current demise of Z sales more than economy.

Has anyone seen the new Sentra? Those look genuinely nice. I wouldn't even consider the corolla if I was looking for that type of car.

Eagerly waiting for the next Mustang though. My wife has already been notified that if I like it I'm getting it.

I fall asleep behind the wheel when i see one. lol

Yeah, honestly I don't get it.

Nissan has two performance cars, both of which are fairly impressive machines. While the 370z hasn't aged that well (performance wise), I think many people forget where it was when it first came out. There really wasn't anything comparable to it. It was good. Reviewers liked it. They only turned against it when (logically) better options came out on the market.

Then there is the GT-R -- and really, I don't think I have to say anything about that.

Now, I see a lot of complaints that Nissan hasn't updated the 370z, but I honestly don't think anyone expects them to. They don't have the R&D money that Ford has, nor do they have the racing wing that they do. I mean, now they do, with Nismo moving more in that direction, but before? Not really.

Nissan is essentially a company between Toyota and Mazda, both in volume and in goal. Mazda arguably bakes "fun to drive" into every car they make, even if it is a SUV. On the other hand, Toyotas are slow and boring (at least right now).

Nissan might not sell as many cars as Toyota, but they also aren't as boring, either. I'm not saying an Altima or Maxima is the height of driving excitement, but put them next to a Corolla or Camry and they are suddenly a lot more interesting.

But -- unlike, say, Mazda -- they really aren't trying to appeal to the enthusiast. Because doing so isn't a good business plan. We are a dying breed, and pandering to us is stupid. Ford can afford to do so because of who they are. So can GM, for that matter. But Nissan can't. Especially not after the sales disappointment of the 370.

Well maybe they can fix the fuel starvation (never had that, but plenty of you who actually DO drive their cars hard complain) and the rotor issue (I must drive my car too hard, but never got it hotter than 225 or fuel starved it, maybe if we take the rotors from your car, and put them on my car, we can have a decent car? One with a good oil cooler, fuel system, and rotors. WIN!) before the 2015 GT?

You are joking right