Altima

Mid-sized sedans, hot in 2012, cool off

5:11 pm U.S. ET | May 1, 2013
For the third straight month, a different car has topped the giant mid-sized sedan market, a segment that has significantly slowed this year as competition intensifies. Sales declined in April for seven of the 10 top mid-sized cars. Overall, mid-sized car sales fell 1 percent in the month and are up just 2 percent so far this year.... Read More »

 

Nissan cuts prices on 7 key models to score in Web searches

10:48 am U.S. ET | May 1, 2013
Jockeying for better position in Internet shopping sites, Nissan will cut the manufacturer's suggested retail prices on seven key models, effective Friday. The price adjustments affect vehicles that represent two-thirds of the brand's sales volume in the United States.... Read More »

 

Nissan brand sales rise 25% amid shift to retail

3:38 pm U.S. ET | May 1, 2013
Redesigned core models gave Nissan a boost in U.S. sales in April, pushing the brand 25 percent ahead of April 2012. Nissan Division posted sales of 80,003 for the month, pumped by its restyled Altima, Sentra and Pathfinder.... Read More »

 

Nissan recalls 123,308 Altimas for spare tire issue

9:36 am U.S. ET | April 29, 2013
Nissan is recalling 123,308 Altima sedans in the United States to adjust the inflation of the spare tires, which could be over- or under-inflated.... Read More »

 

Mid-sized crown up for grabs

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 8, 2013
The Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion have entered the thick of the mid-sized sedan sales chase -- long a battle mainly between the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord -- leaving the rest of the pack a few laps behind.... Read More »

 

How the Altima topped the Camry

12:01 am U.S. ET | April 8, 2013
"You knew this day was coming," boasted Nissan brand's U.S. sales boss Al Castignetti after hearing the news that his Altima had eclipsed the Toyota Camry to become the best-selling car in America in March. "You just didn't know when it would happen."... Read More »

 

U.S. sales climb again, reach volume last seen in '07

5:08 pm U.S. ET | April 2, 2013
In the highest-volume month since August 2007, automakers broadly advanced to sell 1.45 million light vehicles in March. That's only 3 percent higher than strong year-earlier results. But the seasonally adjusted annual selling rate of 15.3 million made March the fifth straight month above 15 million and signaled a continued industry rally.... Read More »

 

Accord fuels Honda gains in March

4:40 pm U.S. ET | April 2, 2013
Boosted by strong Accord sales and new Acura products, American Honda's March sales of 136,038 units rose 7 percent over last March's numbers.... Read More »

 

Fleet shift cuts into Nissan volume

2:06 pm U.S. ET | March 1, 2013
Nissan Division's pullback from fleet sales this year was partly responsible for a 7 percent sales decline in February.... Read More »

 

Nissan profits dented by China slump, lagging sales of key U.S. models

Feb. 8, 2013 10:34 CET
Nissan reported a 35-percent drop in third-quarter profit after sales tumbled in China and new models trailed rivals in the United States.... Read More »

 

Nissan profits dented by China slump, lagging sales of key U.S. models

4:34 am U.S. ET | Feb. 8, 2013
Nissan reported a 35-percent drop in third-quarter profit after sales tumbled in China and new models trailed rivals in the United States. Net income fell to 54.1 billion yen ($581 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, from 82.7 billion yen a year earlier, Nissan said today. The results illustrate how a territorial dispute between China and Japan is overshadowing the benefits from a weaker yen for Nissan.... Read More »

 

LINDSAY CHAPPELL

On the mpg front, 2012 had some fizzle

12:01 am U.S. ET | Dec. 28, 2012
This was supposed to be a big year in the push for better auto fuel economy. Electric vehicles and hybrids were supposed to make giant strides in 2012.... Read More »

 

Nissan recalls new Altima in U.S. on loose steering bolts

10:32 am U.S. ET | Oct. 22, 2012
Nissan is recalling 13,919 of its top-selling Altima sedans in the United States because bolts that may not have been tightened properly during production could fall off, increasing the risk of a crash, according to U.S. safety regulators.... Read More »

 

9 Japanese autos, 8 U.S. make N.A. Car/Truck of the Year short list

2:54 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 3, 2012
Japanese companies placed nine vehicles and U.S. automakers placed eight on the short list of entries in the running for the 2013 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year awards.... Read More »

 

NEWS ANALYSIS

Detroit automakers face crunch time in heated mid-sized sedan market

12:52 pm U.S. ET | Sept. 21, 2012
The recovery of Detroit's automakers is about to face its stiffest challenge yet on an unlikely battlefield: The sizzling market for mid-sized family sedans, as GM and Ford square off against Japanese, Korean and German rivals.... Read More »

 

Honda cranks out new Accord at record pace as mid-sized sedan melee builds

12:34 pm U.S. ET | Sept. 17, 2012
Honda is building the new Accord sedan at a record rate so dealers can start selling it this week as competition with mid-sized models from Toyota, Nissan and Ford intensifies. Since the start of output on Aug. 20, no new Honda model has been built at a faster pace and with fewer flaws, Honda says.... Read More »

 

Altima launch lifts Nissan brand 12%

3:36 pm U.S. ET | Aug. 1, 2012
Nissan Division's three leading sedans -- the Altima, Versa and Sentra -- helped push the brand's U.S. sales in July to a 12 percent gain over July 2011. Nissan Division sold 86,722 cars and light trucks for the month, up from 77,191 in July 2011. U.S. sales at Infiniti, the Nissan Motor Co. luxury brand, surged 57 percent to 11,619 cars and light trucks in the month, up from 7,410 in July a year ago.... Read More »

 

Carmakers dangle spiffs to clear out 2012 stock

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 16, 2012
Auto marketers are stepping up efforts to clear out remaining 2012 models to make way for the 2013s -- and to regain or hold on to market share.... Read More »

 

MID-SIZED IS BIG

A fast-changing segment is the industry's hottest

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 9, 2012
Lower fuel prices, attractive incentives and a batch of eye-catching, redesigned models here and just around the corner are lighting a fire under mid-sized car sales. Combined U.S. sales of the top six mid-sized cars shot up 37 percent in June, compared with gains of 25 percent for all cars, 19 percent for light trucks and 22 percent for the industry as a whole.... Read More »

 

LINDSAY CHAPPELL

Moving old Altimas will take some quick footwork

4:59 pm U.S. ET | July 9, 2012
The next couple of weeks will be tense ones for Nissan retailers, owing to the expected appeal of the 2013 Altima. The nervousness will be over whether Nissan engineers and planners did too good a job redesigning the car. Nissan is eager to clear out the remaining inventory of 2012 Altimas to make way for a new Altima that is being pitched as superior on several fronts.... Read More »

 

Nissan, Infiniti surge despite slow floor traffic

4:27 pm U.S. ET | July 3, 2012
Higher factory output of the Nissan Versa and Infiniti JX crossover helped push combined Nissan North America sales ahead by 28 percent in June compared with June 2011.... Read More »

 

Nissan shifts Altima ad dollars to Web

12:01 am U.S. ET | June 25, 2012
Nissan will double the share of ad dollars earmarked for digital media in the launch of the redesigned Altima sedan this summer. Digital media, including Facebook ads and YouTube videos, will receive 24 percent of the new Altima's ad budget, compared with 12 percent of the funds that supported the 2007 Altima launch.... Read More »

 

REMARKETING

Retired rentals likely to hurt some used-car prices

12:01 am U.S. ET | June 25, 2012
Tight used-vehicle supplies will buoy used-vehicle prices in general through 2012, but a rise in the number of retired rental vehicles entering the wholesale market will drag down some models' prices, an NADA Used Car Guide analyst predicts.... Read More »

 

Next-gen Chevy Malibu priced at $23,150

12:01 am U.S. ET | June 21, 2012
GM will nudge up the price of the base model Chevrolet Malibu when the next-generation family sedan goes on sale in August. The 2013 Malibu, which features GM's new 2.5-liter engine, will have a base price of $23,150 , including a $760 destination charge. That's a slight increase from the base 2012 model, which stickers for $22,870 with destination.... Read More »

 

Nissan's innovation pitch now 'excites' as Altima spots roll

11:19 am U.S. ET | June 19, 2012
Nissan is tweaking its “Innovation for All” advertising tag line as it launches national marketing today for the 2013 Altima. The new tag line -- “Innovation that Excites” -- is more than wordplay. Nissan North America is bowing to a change made this year by the automaker's European subsidiary.... Read More »