You cant make rubbish cars and expect to remain viable for very long. Not many people after seeing a transmission die after a few thousand miles would buy another Nissan in a hurry. Durability is the most important consideration when buying a car.
7
Quality control, reliability, lack of innovative or interesting models, awful entrants into the SUV market, both Nissan and Mitsubishi with ethics and mismanagement issues, Renault with with French government's hand on the tiller . . . World could do without all three companies, indeed would be a better place. Gasoline and diesel cars are disappearing faster than Arctic sea ice & car shares, inner city car bans, and self-driving options are already taking hold, driving down the demand for personal car ownership. Quite a number of the lower quality, less nimble car makers are going to bite the dust in the next decade. Fiat-Chrysler are already on life support & if it wasn't for America's love affair with trucks and huge SUVs (and government bailouts) would be dead and buried.
4
Our second brand new car was a 1994 Nissan Maxima SE, the first a 1990 Toyota Camry we shared until the Nissan, which was my first and so far only brand new car. I loved the way it handled and performed until the fuel injectors started to fail and head gaskets started leaking. The three injectors in the back of the transverse V-6 were replaced by an auto repair shop along with head gaskets. It was a big job, $1500 in the early 2000's because the intake manifold had to be removed to get at the injectors. Then the three in the front also needed replacing, since they were easily accessible, I replaced them myself at $160 a pop.
The injectors were a known issue for that model run and with the extra 2 grand in repairs, I'll never own a Nissan again.
3
Talk about deja vu. I remember not long ago when Nissan had to sell its towers in Japan to make payroll.
Chronic mismanagement. On the bright side this talk of layoffs in right to work TN and MS appears to increase my stock value. Talk about cruel irony of capitalism.
1
No mention of Nissan's terrible CVT transmissions which has plagued the car company for years. This issue has effected tens of thousands of car buyers across the US and Nissan never really addressed it. Nothing like making payments on a Nissan where the transmission replacement (cant fix CVT transmissions) is more than the value of the car.
7
@Carlos
Spot on about the CVT. Knowing now what I should have known before I signed on the dotted line...
4
@Carlos
Yes - my daughter bought a Nissan Sentra (2016). The CVT died and it would have been $6k to replace. She sold the car for scrap. No more Nissans for us.
3
I know this is mean-spirited and un-American, but I want anything to happen that would bring about a massive, protracted economic collapse next year. Fingers are crossed for Nissan to pack up and leave Mississippi and Tennessee. This is the only situation that would bring Trump down.
7
@Isaac
Not just that, but also curtail the red-hot housing market in coastal cities.
4
@Isaac
A lot of people have flirted with that same thought. But here is the problem. His base of loyalists, would blame the collapse on Obama. They blamed the 2008 collapse on Clinton and later Obama. Trump could trigger a world wide nuclear war, and escape any blame whatsoever.
He was right when he made the claim about shooting someone in Times Square.
7
@Isaac the logic to this type is thinking is distributing. You realize the people affected most will be middle and lower class Americans . I agree Trump is a travesty but I would not wish his dismissal at the cost of an economic downturn.
5
Some IT companies have already reduced jobs and some others may be doing so. Now this news has added further to the unemployment problem. Automation in many sectors has already reduced many jobs.
This is the reason why employment of locals on priority has taken place in the era of globalisation. No one can blame the countries concerned in this regard considering the position these countries are in. Moreover output of graduates, post graduates and doctorates has increased globally exponentially making it literally impossible to get some sort of employment forget suitable employment.
2
All these problems started for Nissan when they arrested Carlos Ghosn.
Release him from the jail, give him his job back(if he takes it), Nissan's problems will disappear in less than 2 years.
Mr Ghosn is a genius, he deserves better treatment.
11
One thoroughly railroaded CEO (Ghosn) to salve the Nissan board's bruised ego, and the price paid is 12,500 jobs.
What an arrogant bunch.
Hopefully Japan will rediscover and address the cost of its utterly shady corporate governance and legal practices, but I somehow doubt it.
5
12500 and one.
2
I feel sorry for Nissan. They built a large modern factory in Sunderland, England only to have the local yokels vote overwhelmingly for Brexit. Elections have consequences and I hope NIssan closes down Sunderland. The auto workers can ponder their stupidity while working at the English version of Kwiki-Mart.
10
Now Playing - Who'll Be The Next In Line - The Kinks
1
Probably should not have arrested Carlos.
5
So, the prosecution of Carlos Ghosn was for nothing.
I always thought that the Japanese judiciary had an unspoken wish to see Ghosn exit the scene by way of a seppuku.
4
Quality control. The lack of, that is. The countless transmission failures, the crummy models built with Renault engines (a flood of 'Nissan' Platinas came, but now they are no more...) Class action lawsuit for the CVT trannies was settled in consumer's favour... word gets around.
2
I am very satisfied with the 2012 Altima I bought seven years, so much so that I looked at the 2019 Altima. And hated it. Looking back at the last seven years of development, I don't understand how Nissan strayed from a unique and satisfying design to a car that seems similar, but inferior to everything else coming from across the Pacific. I'm probably going to use the Nissan for a few more years and look for a low-mileage 2019 Impala which this year seems as good as ever. Then I'll write a comment asking how Chevrolet could have let lapse such a unique and satisfying design.
6
I’ve got a 2016 Qashqai. Absolutely love it. Was built up in Sunderland. I had it on a pcp deal and when the 3 years was up it would cost me roughly £10k buy. Nissan tried to get me to lease the latest model. The equivalent spec. It was nearly £7k more than the older version and to lease over three years would have cost £13k. It was basically the same car. I kept the old one.
3
We always wondered what would happen when no one could afford to buy the products and now we know. They cash in and call it quits, no skin off their backs.
5
I am the best job creator ever made Trump was yelling out. We have lost most of Carrier plant in Pences home state. GM in Lordsmont ohio gone , Luke paper Mille Piedmont ,Va gone plus in 2010 there were 28 full operating paper mills in America . Now only 15 left. Trump has now chased away this Japanese auto plant from the USA. Had enough of the lies? Taxes for the rich , corporations only help the 1 percent . The 99 percent are struggling always.
13
Laziness (Manufacturer & Consumer) has put auto "character" on life support...all vehicles these days do essentially the same thing, the same way.
Planned Obsolescence has made "new" cars as desirable long-term as an iPhone 3. Once the Shine wears off, they're bland, fragile and boring to drive.
If a GTR (e.g.) had less gizmos (to quickly grow unfashionably old) and a PALM-DOWN TRANSMISSION, rather than a palm-up computer to shift (or provide opportunity for some other distracting device to occupy it), maybe they wouldn't depreciate 50% (literally and symbolically) in 5 years.
5
The industry has had over-capacity, with too many brands, for a long time. Nissan's alliance has been an effort to create economies of scale on par with Toyota and VW - but suffers from all the fractures you might expect from such an expedient tie-up.
A further problem is that the Nissan badge stands for nothing very much. Nissan tries to portray itself as the innovation marque, but produces little evidence to support this and buyers aren't convinced.
10
Build a 250-mile range leaf at a $30,000 price point and you’re problems will be solved. When gas goes to $4/5 a gallon, they’ll beat a path to your door. And it will.
10
@AJ
The more people buy electric , do without a car or just drive less, the cheaper gas will be. I doubt we will see such a big price hike last very long if it happens.
2
@AJ Sure, and power it with unicorn farts while you're at it.
1
@Carl Witthoft
Those really work.
With changing technology reasons to travel, like going to a mall, are fast diminishing. With poor quality of roads there is no real thrill in driving anymore if that is a reason to buy fancy cars. Car prices have gone up steadily. So we are mostly looking for an efficient car that will last a long time with some essential technology - GPS, Carplay etc. There is this other thing of still buying huge SUVs which we don't really understand but it would be fad that would die down soon as gas prices climb. Mazda 3, Tesla (if it gets even cheaper) or a well designed station wagon perhaps would become cars of the future for most people. I see Nissan makes Leaf but with limited mileage per charge. The rest of their models lesser said the better.
1
Many cannot afford a new car, especially with all the bells and whistles and insurance.
The rise in housing costs since the financial crisis has had consequences for other consumer spending.
23
@KJ
You need to run for President . You know what is going on.Capitalism is only for the 1 percent . Who can afford 35,000 for a new car with high rents and mortgages. In Washington state the Dems took over to force rent caps because the GOP support charging whatever the rich GOP supporters want to charge. Seattle Washington now has lots of tent cities. Lock all the GOP up for corruption and not paying taxes.
3
It's not all about changing technology. It's also a matter of Nissan's generally inferior quality. The big Titan pickup and Armada SUV are the worst in class--check Edmunds or Consumer Reports--and its sedans, at least the Nissan Maxima, feel cheap. Nissan's luxury division Infiniti is also not competitive with the other luxury/sport brands. In fact, Infiniti doesn't offer a single vehicle without a jarring stiff suspension, and one of their new vehicles attracted extreme criticism for a steering weight that made driving the thing such a chore that the reviewers hated to even get in the car. For SUVs and truck you're better off with American brands as well as Toyota and Honda; the same holds true for sedans.
8
Im over the age regarding my spending capacity. My hope is to sharply spend less. Cars for me is the first step in lowering my want motivation. The three cars we own? My college age student son uses his new mazda 3 based on my reasoning of low ownership for many years into his mid to late 20's. My wife bought a cpo for much the same reason saving 35% off new. Im driving a preowned 115000 mil. midsize suv for a 75% savings. Both used are amazing! I cannot fathom spending (nat'l avr),$35000 plus for ego nor early 20th century technology.
13
None of this is surprising, considering the glut of new cars in dealers' lots, coupled with the high average cost of vehicle purchase and ownership.
But this quote is most telling:
"The difficulties have been compounded by the company’s lack of compelling new products and inability to tap into American consumers’ growing infatuation with trucks and sport utility vehicles."
Last time I checked, Nissan does make some trucks and SUV's. Are they not large enough? Our "growing infatuation" with large behemoth vehicles will be our own demise. Until gas prices soar, most consumers will not act on the real threat of climate change by buying hybrid or electric vehicles.
Can an automaker drive the market by offering something unique: Perhaps affordable hybrid and electric vehicles, including trucks and SUV's, while phasing out a lot of gas-only models? In this era of deregulation, it seems it is up to manufacturers to guide consumers to make better choices if we are to mitigate climate change. Could Nissan revive itself by rebranding itself in this way?
8
The wheels have been coming off over at Nissan for some time now.
Long term... this aggravates consumer confidence in Nissan products. and that will compound their decline.
6
I wouldn't be too crazy about buying auto stocks because
massive changes technology suggest radical changes in ownership, vehicle use and future demand especially for traditional sedans. Ride sharing technology already has or will certainly change ownership and consumer demand for private cars. Why do you need a car when you can simply call up an uber either to take you somewhere or deliver groceries.
In the longer run, all the auto companies around the world are investing in autonomous vehicles. Level 5 autonomous vehicles would be completely autonomous. In that case, without the cost of human drivers those ride sharing vehicles will be available buy low cost subscription. People will subscribe autonomous ride sharing services which will substitute for family cars. This could be the deathstar for much of the industry. The U.S. and other advanced countries may make do with a fraction of the vehicles we now have in our enormous national fleets.
Would I want to buy a new car now, in light of what looks like is in the offing? I'm not too enthusiastic about it.
4
@Yankelnevich Uber isn't necessarily a money-saver when you add it up. Last week, for the first time, I took one from La Guardia airport to an address in Yonkers - 17 miles away. The charge was $137, which is ridiculous- I could have rented a car for less, and had the pleasure of driving myself instead of having to listen to a driver go on and on and on and on.
9
Yes, surge pricing is (to me anyway), just another way to rip off the customer. So you don't know how much it will cost? I'm not getting in that. We have 2 kids in the SF Bay Area, last time I went up, we flew and took UBER around when we went out (son-in-law works for UBER corporate, and you know the guys that many Bay Area people snivel about, coming in, making a whole bunch of money, buying up houses and generally making things more expensive? He's one of them. Gets free UBER too), but you just don't know who is coming to get you..like the budding gangster rapper who picked us up with his bad CV joints in his Honda. Our kid reported him for offensive music and substandard car.
4
Yes, a global recession is quite possible, and, even with a planet-choking human population, capitalist economies need to prepare for GROWTH LIMITS, as this is a FINITE PLANET.
27
Nissan may be one of the first, but it certainly won't be the only automaker effected by the coming storm. Simply put, there is too much auto inventory available for the market to bear. The average transaction price for new cars in 2019 is now up to $36,843. Most millennials are too burdened with student loan debt to spend that kind of money on a car, even if they wanted to. Buyers who can afford that much have already bought a new or lightly used car recently and have no need or ability to buy another. Wealthy people can easily afford that and more, but there are too few of them to buy up the excess inventory and they already have plenty of cars. Cutting jobs and production is the only obvious solution.
32
@PhillyMensch It is not only the millennials who are burdened with debt; many middle age families are still struggling with high costs for mortgages and for medical expenses, including rates for insurance, co-pays, high deductibles, uncovered procedures and prescription drugs -- rapidly rising costs that are squeezing everyone. Plus the prospect of paying tens of thousands of dollars for a new car that at most has a useful lifespan of maybe ten years is becoming harder to swallow for the average person, especially given the uncertainty of jobs and the rising rates of contract or 'gig' employment that always come with no health or retirement benefits. My last two vehicles have been lightly used cars that I have kept or plan to keep for ten years. And at 66 years of age, the likelihood of me ever purchasing a new car again in my lifetime is probably nil.
13
@Duane Peters Exactly. I'm driving an 18 year old car that I love. Don't plan on trading it in any time soon.
7
“Simply put”, the “Literally” of 2005.
Some of these cuts will probably occur in the assembly plants in Mississippi and Tennessee, i.e. Trump country. I call this a good news story.
19
@Keith Dow While I believe that most tRump supporters are motivated by underlying feelings of resentment and prejudice, I take no glee in anyone losing their job, especially in areas of the country where few options exist for jobs with similar pay and benefits. Rather, our feelings of wrath need to be directed at those politicians, political organizations, corporations, advocacy groups, conservative media and wealthy individuals who are manipulating working people for their own selfish agendas. They have sold these low-information voters a bill of goods in an attempt to divert attention and anger away from the real perpetrators of economic inequality and redirecting ire toward those who cannot defend themselves, such as immigrants, minorities and the poor, so they can be made scapegoats for the unfairness that permeates our economy and society. It's a sad state that we find ourselves in right now and the only solution is to rally as many people as possible to vote out of office those who would divide us and return the notions of fairness, common good, and compromise to move our nation forward for the betterment of all of us. Heaven help us if we don't accomplish this goal in November 2020.
36
@Duane Peters: I agree with you in spirit and substance. My understanding of the the nuances of human nature seems to point to one unalterable truth: nothing forces a reality-check like bringing the war back home. The loss of one's job may be the only outcome that will force the folks who have been voting against their own interests for years and have now sunk to idolizing Trump to confront reality...DJT doesn't now, nor has he ever, cared about them, either individually or collectively. A tall order, I admit.
19
@Keith Dow I too was looking to see the 'where' in hopes that it would be trump country. If economic pain is the only thing that his base cares about then so be it. They do not seem to care one iota about the pain they gleefully inflict upon others so I cannot worry about any pain they may have to endure. Let's just hope these layoffs happen before the next election as opposed to after.
20