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Midsize Sedans Comparison Thread - READ ONLY

12297 messages,  Last post on Apr 13, 2007 at 12:55 PM

You are in the Sedans Forum.

What is this discussion about? Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Volkswagen Passat, Mazda MAZDA6, Ford Fusion, Subaru Legacy, Saturn Aura, Sedan

Messages Page 78 of 1230

#769 of 12297 Re: gmc truck [gmctruck] by alpha01

Aug 09, 2005 (8:27 pm)

Right, my point being that its NOT REAL SAFE (your own words). Also, that you have one friend who did it once.... doesnt really represent a significant slice of the market.....
 
Max- I may be wrong, but I can only recall that the Altima saw heavy incentives (meaning the $1500 rebate currently available in the NE region) as the 2004s were being cleared off the lots. The 2005s originally didnt carry the rebate (logically), but after about 3 months, they picked up with the rebates of the 2004s that were being cleared (and presumably were).
 
Also, I must say that I highly doubt the next gen Altima is going to debut around the same time as the new Camry (ETA: Mar 06). I recall reading that the Sentra was going to debut around that time, with the Altima redesign subsequent to that. Again, I may be incorrect, but Nissans been cranking out vehicles over the last few years and Id be shocked if they had the resources to launch a new Altima in just 8 months from now. (Or maybe they will and it will have all the quality control of the Quest and Armada when they were first introduced......)
 
Nothing is impossible, I suppose.
 
Also, it is interesting to note that only GM, Honda, and Toyota are beginning to publish "SAE certified" horsepower and torque ratings. I'd be interested to see what the 2.5L (as well as the many variants of the VQ) produces under the new calculation..................
 
~alpha

#770 of 12297 Just got back from my trip to MA. by truethat

Aug 09, 2005 (8:30 pm)

No purchase to report.
I looked at 4 different dealers in RI and MA. They all are slow to catch up with
the price-cutting trend. Some of them still had considerable numbers of 04
Sonatas to get rid of. Not too eager to make a sell. Especially the LX for some
reason. A lot of GLs are near or at invoice price though. Kinda strange I thought.
I'm going to give it another month or so.

#771 of 12297 Re: VW [choe13] by alpha01

Aug 09, 2005 (8:30 pm)

Yea, hes such a huge Honda/Acura fan that he bought an Altima. Screams blind brand loyalty to me, LOL.
 
And why would he care to compare a TL-S (which hasnt been made since the '03 model year) to a $40K '06 Passat?
 
Just curious.. have you driven the new Passat?
 
~alpha

#773 of 12297 Alpha by choe13

Aug 09, 2005 (9:05 pm)

i have driven the 05 passat which my uncle has, and its a truly nice car. I liked it better than the TL even the current generation.
 
So my guess is the 06 will be a stunner.
 
its called educated guess
 
and lastly if u haven't noticed, maxamillion has always backed up honda, even as a owner of the altima i got a gut feeling he should have picked the accord haha no offense maxa

#775 of 12297 Altima/Passat styling by bjbird2

Aug 09, 2005 (9:51 pm)

It's too bad the next generation Altima will be an evolution of the current design, and not something entirely new. The current design was basically derived from the last generation Passat (2001.5-2005). I'd like to see something a little more original like the other Nissan cousins, the new Infiniti designs.

#776 of 12297 Well, you are right Choe by maxamillion1

Aug 09, 2005 (9:53 pm)

I would have picked the Accord, if the 03-05 looked anything like the 06 that's about to get here. But I LOVE my Altima too. I think its the best looking car in the class right now.
 
I just try to be very open-minded about things, and seek value. , even at 19.
I inherited and still drive a 1991 Honda Accord EX, along with my 2005 Nissan Altima, so in essence, I do drive an Accord, but its 14 years old .
 
As far as the Passat vs. the Acura TL, I'm not going there, if you want my comments, shoot me an e-mail.
 
Alpha-
Maybe it was different in my area, or maybe it was some type of dealer AD ploy, but I remember seeing $2000 cash rebates on the 2004 model Altimas in South Carolina, and $1500 cash back towards the end on the 2003s. I was seriously into Altimas since they got here in 2002. I used to check Mossy.com (a dealership in California) and I remember seeing the rebates on the 2003 models back then.
In the South, Atlanta especially, Nissans sell VERY well. You see a new Maxima on every corner (as UGLY as they are) What was funny about the whole situation with the Altima was that some VERY large dealerships in the Atlanta area had many new 2003, 2004 and 2005s at the same time. As you already know, the 2004 model year was extremely short. The 2003 was a pretty good year for Altima sales, if I remember correctly, but some larger dealers in my area (not far from Charlotte, Atlanta, Greenville, Columbia, SC) had large inventories of leftover 2004 Altimas well into the middle of 2004. Mossy Nissan even had a rare brand new 2003 Velvet Beige 3.5SE with Black leather and manual transmission until about May of last year. They had the hardest time selling that thing
 
I really don't know when the Altima is being released, I was just reporting some things I'd heard over at Altimas.net. I also read an article about the Nissan Altima hybrid making it here in late September of next year, and that the new Altima would be out several months before the Hybrid to get all the bugs worked out. Since Nissan has made a couple of dollars, they need to focus on QUALITY, Material care, and safety features along with content and features for the dollar.
 
The next Sentra needs to get here ASAP though. Its been here since Jan 2000 as a 2000 Model car! Have you heard any good things about it yet? I hear the first model was scrapped and the new one will be a "many Altima" Interesting, as I love the styling of mine. I wouldn't be surprised if the next Sentra gets here early, debuting at the NAIAS and then going on sell slightly after. Then the Altima debuting at the NYIAS (as it did in 2001, for MY2002) and going on sell slightly after.
 
Nissan, with its rampant cost cutting should have PLENTY of money (hey, it got some of mine ), plus they've made a mint by doing some serious engine and platform sharing over the last couple of years. Seems like every car (Minus the Sentra) has a platform mate(s). Even the Sentra shares its uplevel 2.5 with the Altima. Don't you have that engine in your Sentra?
 
But Regardless,
Happy Motoring Days My Friends

#777 of 12297 You are correct BjBird by maxamillion1

Aug 09, 2005 (10:05 pm)

I just hope this New Altima doesn't look like the Teana (BLAH) or the Maxima (UGLY)
 
Seems like in many ways, the 1998 Volkswagen Passat was a benchmark in its own right. It was styled differently from the other cars of that time. So it's no surprise that Nissan copied some of the elements of the Passat. However, the Altima has a more wedgy and edgier look than the Passat, especially the 2001.5 models. The Passat, overall looked more refined than the Altima does, but I find the look of the Altima, especially the 05s, to be quite nice as well.
 
The Passat is the car that put the "S" back in style for this class. That's why cars like the Five Hundred/Montego (which share the same designer as the Passat), Altima and even cars like the G35, and M35 copied it. I can't count the nuimber of times folks have stated the G35, M35/M45 and Altima/Maxima were all the basic same cars, not realizing that only the Max and Alti have most things in common, while the G and M are basically the same platform. To me, the Infiniti sisters look like more refined verison of the Altima, but its subjective anyway.
 
Happy Motoring Days

#778 of 12297 Just a reminder by pat

Aug 09, 2005 (10:23 pm)

Our topic is defined in the "What is this discussion about" line at the top of the page and those are the vehicles we need to stick to.
 
Some off-topic posts have been removed. Thanks for your cooperation.

Messages Page 78 of 1230

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