nissan buying 34% stake in Mitsubishi

[dawp]

they're saying by 2020 there may be just 3 automakers left out of the current 8 in japan.

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/aut...t-stake-scandal-hit-mitsubishi-motors-n572581


wasn't sure where this belonged, here or p&n

 

[JulesMaximus]

And thus begins the demise of Nissan.

 

[thesmokingman]

The only thing worth saving is the EVO and the Dakar Pajeros.

 

[dawp]

The only thing worth saving is the EVO and the Dakar Pajeros.

I think the eclipse could be resurrected and be good.

there was some talk of the evo getting the axe.

 

[gorcorps]

And thus begins the demise of Nissan.

Hah, I hope not. Still seems like an odd move for them though. I don't see anything that Mitsubishi has that Nissan doesn't do as well or better, so I don't understand this move.

 

[gorcorps]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/nissan-to-take-34-stake-in-mitsubishi-motors-1463038142

A little more info

 

[SearchMaster]

I think the eclipse could be resurrected and be good.

there was some talk of the evo getting the axe.

I loved my OG Eclipse GS Turbo, but the market segment is not an easy one and not a growing one. Depending on the price point you'd have 370Z, Genesis Coupe, BRZ twins, plus the FWD hot hatches. And really that's the problem with Mitsubishi - no innovation in a long time and being outshined by virtually all competition. So then it's a race downward to an attractive price point and that doesn't work when your reputation is poor quality.

The original Eclipse was innovative - high powered attractive sports coupe at a great price. The 3000GT was very innovative, twin turbo AWD for a price people could afford. Then they used the Eclipse AWD platform on the Galant and made a sleeper family sedan...it didn't sell well but it was unique.

 

[cbrsurfr]

I think it makes a lot of sense. They already partnered up on Kei cars.

Bring the Evo back to slot between the 370 and GTR (which has gone up in price significantly over the years).

Outlander Sport looks good and sales have been increasing. Maybe replace the fugly Juke with that.

Could be interest in the Outlander Hybrid drivetrain. I heard it's selling surprisingly well in other countries.

Mirage could take the Note's slot while the Note grows up into more of a Focus/Mazda 3 competitor. Add 1.6L as an option to the Mirage. Give the new Note the 2.0L engine and maybe 1.6L turbo.

Redevelop the MIEV to slot below the leaf to be the more affordable option. Use Leaf tech to increase MIEV range so it's more usable.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Hah, I hope not. Still seems like an odd move for them though. I don't see anything that Mitsubishi has that Nissan doesn't do as well or better, so I don't understand this move.

Other than the GT-R, of which they sell very few, Nissan hasn't really done anything well in the past 10 years.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Nissan sales globally on the rise. Could be a play for additional manufacturing capacity on the cheap.

 

[SearchMaster]

Other than the GT-R, of which they sell very few, Nissan hasn't really done anything well in the past 10 years.

The Altima is a solid family car, and the new Maxima really is a very well done car that nobody seems to know about. The Juke isn't awful even if the front end styling is abysmal (I appreciate them taking a chance though). The Z is still great but very long in the tooth. Others (Murano, Sentra, Rogue, etc.) are not very appealing.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Others (Murano, Sentra, Rogue, etc.) are not very appealing.

Murano and Rogue sales volume says otherwise. They are both in the top half of their respective segments. Might not be appealing to you but a bunch of other peoples money says otherwise. Nissan is selling all they can make of these as well as Altimas (10th highest sales of all vehicles) and Sentras (18th).

Source: http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html

I agree with you and don't like the new Murano at all and think there are better choices than the Rogue, Sentra, and Altima as well. I suspect low prices and attractive finance options are pushing Nissan sales higher than their mediocre cars deserve.

 

[Squeetard]

The Koreans have taken a big chunk of the import market from them. Kia and Hyundai are putting out some good offerings these days.

 

[JulesMaximus]

The Altima is a solid family car, and the new Maxima really is a very well done car that nobody seems to know about. The Juke isn't awful even if the front end styling is abysmal (I appreciate them taking a chance though). The Z is still great but very long in the tooth. Others (Murano, Sentra, Rogue, etc.) are not very appealing.

The Altima is a decent car, I'll give you that. The Maxima is just plain ugly. It has been ugly for a long time now and I don't think they sell very well.

 

[LTC8K6]

The new Maxima....

Sometimes I think it looks awesome, and then I'll see it again and think it's ugly.

 

[thesmokingman]

The Altima is a solid family car, and the new Maxima really is a very well done car that nobody seems to know about. The Juke isn't awful even if the front end styling is abysmal (I appreciate them taking a chance though). The Z is still great but very long in the tooth. Others (Murano, Sentra, Rogue, etc.) are not very appealing.

My 11 yr old showed me this...

 

[cbrsurfr]

My 11 yr old showed me this...

Convertible crossover, nothing could possibli go wrong.

 

[JulesMaximus]

My 11 yr old showed me this...

Is that the new Nissan Donk?

 

[herm0016]

Mitsu actually has some great commercial stuff, maybe Nissan is going to leverage that?

the Fuso and Canter lines are great workhorses around the world.

 

[gorcorps]

The Altima is a solid family car, and the new Maxima really is a very well done car that nobody seems to know about. The Juke isn't awful even if the front end styling is abysmal (I appreciate them taking a chance though). The Z is still great but very long in the tooth. Others (Murano, Sentra, Rogue, etc.) are not very appealing.

New murano redesign is pretty slick, and the new maxima is nice too.

Nissan is held back by sub par infotainment systems IMO. If it was better I would have went new murano instead of highlander.

 

[darkswordsman17]

At first I was baffled. Then I assumed it was just an cheap way for Nissan to get more factory output while Mitsubishi is on its last legs.

Will be interesting to see how it goes. Considering that Renault is being investigated over emissions as well, seems a bit curious. Only thing I can think is their engines need pretty significant updates and they're making the case that sharing development resources will help out substantially with that. Not sure how Nissan's engines and platforms are (I know they have a shared development thing where they're using some engines and maybe shared platforms with some of the lower Mercedes).

Mitsu actually has some great commercial stuff, maybe Nissan is going to leverage that?

the Fuso and Canter lines are great workhorses around the world.

I'm guessing this is about the automotive division itself. Their industrial vehicles are actually run by Daimler. Not sure how the overall company is, as I was thinking they were almost completely separate companies that just shared the name, kinda like Subaru with Fuji Heavy Industries (which recently changed its name to Subaru, so I don't know if that's true of them eithe really).

Although that actually might be partly why Nissan made this move as Nissan/Renault have a partnership with Mercedes over some development.

Both automotive and commercial vehicles are so convoluted its tough to know what exactly is what any more.