cube cube cube cube... please bring the cube to the US! i want one really bad! :awais:

 

http://www.nissan.ca/en/ms/futuremod...ail/index.html

 

I really like the X-Trail, but I still don't quite understand Nissans reasons for not bringing it here. I think it would compete well against the RAV4 and CR-V.

I would much rather have an X-Trail over a new ugly 2nd Gen CR-V.

 

Somewhere I thought I read that the X-Trail would come to the US when it was re-done. Can't find the reference and don't know when that would be. Fall '05 as an '06 model, perhaps? Is that when the CR-V and Rav 4 get renewed?

I always get the hots for one of these when we have a lot of snow on the ground (like right now). My preference would be for a Honda, but I _hate_ the spare on the back and no rear bumper.

Since I live in Canada, I could go for an X-Trail now, but wouldn't want to do that if it was going to be renewed in less than a year.

IMHO, right now, even though the X-Trail is dated, it kicks butt on the RAV and CR-V.

 

I read in some magazines that nissan was planning to bring the cube in as a subcompact to compete with the scion xb.I would think nissan would bring over either the x-trail or the cube.

 

The Cube is confirmed to come to Canada, and we already get the X-Trail(with a QR25), so I think the Cube will be the low-level entry car, and the X-Trail will probably just show up.

 

Where does the engine fit in the Mofo (er Moco hahaha)? Does it even have an engine? :chuckles:

Just because Toyota sells more microcars than anyone else doesn't mean Nissan needs to compete with Toyota in that market segment now over in North America.

March as a VW Beetle "with the masculinity removed" .... ouch. The Beetle has no masculinity, so that's a damning statement about Nissan's microcars. hahaha

Nissan has too many SUVs. I dare them to actually try to fit the X-TRAIL into the US lineup. They sell them in Mexico. And I actually saw a green one south of Detroit on Friday on I-75.

Nissan historically has been a large enterprise like Toyota, actually larger in terms of the number of plants spread across Japan and hence the bureaucracy to manage them. But they faltered and Toyota kept growing, both in Japan at Toyota City and worldwide. And they have kept adding US plants.

Nissans have been fairly similar to Toyotas in terms of the mainstream sedans and SUVs. The Accord was more different from the Camry than the Stanza was ... Camrys, Cressidas, Stanzas, Maximas all look the same until you get closer. Nissan distinguished itself with the Z Car whereas the Supra and then the Celica became more upmarket in terms of being cushy. So people wanting RWD Japanese performance at more reasonable prices moved to the 240SX and 300ZX. The 1990s Japanese sports cars became very good but also very expensive ... a 300ZX was cheaper than a Supra, but they were both expensive and high-quality machines.

 

wow. how'd this thread get revived? i thought they expire after a short while... anyways.

why shouldn't nissan compete with toyota in that market segment in NA? when one of your biggest competitors makes a move like that, you don't just sit idly by and watch them do it. obviously the sub-compact class is very popular in many parts of the world sans north america. nissan and toyota are big competitors in these markets, world wide. now toyota, among others, are beginning to bring the sub-compact to america - THE largest automobile market there is. maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. but you'd be an idiot if you just wait and watch whlie they become insanely successful and carve out a huge majority stake of the market segment (of the largest automobile market on the planet), and then make your move.

 

It got revived because I was looking for more recent info on the X-Trail, which was among the vehilces initially mentioned. Seems there is more interest in the tiny cars! Even though I think they are non-starters, other than the cube, perhaps. In Canada, Nissan has talked about cars one notch up from the minis, but they were hatches, so not much point for the US. In the US, they need a decent Sentra and the X-Trail.

 

The X-Trail isn't a good idea for the US. It's an old design and if you ask me the only reason anyone ever thought it was cool was because of the JDM-only X-Trail GT with the SR20VET engine making 278 hp. The GT is an ugly, outdated small SUV that, were I in the market for an SUV, would buy for the engine. The regular version sold in Canada is just an ugly, outdated small SUV that I wouldn't buy.

If Nissan wanted to bring the X-Trail to market in the USA they would have to do it like Subaru is doing with the Forester, and that is to have the hot engine option. A stick shift Forester 2.5 XT will run a 1/4 mile in the high 13s. That's pretty cool. So even though it doesn't work as an SUV nearly as well as the Honda CR-V, the Forester is still able to command some interest in the marketplace.

But it's a moot point since the X-Trail is most likely never going to be sold in this country.