The Reliability and Fan Engagement Crisis at Nissan

As a car enthusiast, I'm disappointed in the current state of Nissan's offerings. Their most enthusiastic models haven't been updated frequently enough. The 350z was in production for seven years, while the 370z has gone 10 years with almost no updates. This lack of innovation is concerning, especially when compared to other manufacturers.

The 350z was an excellent car, and its demise was a significant blow to fans. The 370z, on the other hand, was initially met with skepticism due to its similarity to the 350z. However, Nissan's flagship model, the GT-R, has been around for 12 years with only a handful of performance upgrades. Most changes are based on comfort and style, which may not excite enthusiasts as much.

The Carlos Ghosn scandal has also soured the public's perception of Nissan. The former CEO was accused of siphoning money from the company, leading to significant financial losses. In 2019, Nissan lost 95% of its net income and 99% of its operating profit. Their revenue dropped 13%, and the company was forced to lay off 12,500 employees.

To turn things around, Nissan needs to focus on improving the quality of their parts. This is a crucial step towards regaining trust with customers. The fact that 30-year-old S13s are still preferred for drifting speaks to the reliability and structural rigidity of these cars. Can you imagine people in 30 years drifting clapped-out Murano Cabriolets? Not likely.

Nissan can learn from the success of KDM cars, such as Kia and Hyundai, which have turned their reputation around by offering affordable, reliable, and stylish vehicles. The Veloster N is a certified ripper, and Hyundai has even created a luxury brand in Genesis. Kia Stinger is amazing, and it's time for Nissan to take note.

The company needs to find its audience and cater to them. Perhaps taking a page out of Dodge's book would be beneficial. The Hellcat is an iconic car that cemented its identity with instant success. Nissan should consider debuting new models that capture the essence of their brand.

Moreover, Nissan should bring back fan favorites like the Silvia. A new Silvia would provide excellent competition for the GT86 and would be a great way to reinvigorate the market. The R36, perhaps? It's time for Nissan to focus on updating the Z and GTR models, which are still relevant but have been too long without significant changes.

In conclusion, Nissan needs to make fun cars again. When the GTR came out, it was awesome, and it still is an amazing car. However, the company must follow up with new models soon before our excitement and bank account run out. Let's resolve to be kind to each other as we await Nissan's comeback.

As I conclude this article, I want to express my love for Nissan. I want to see them succeed, but it requires a change in their approach. Being nice is not the same as being kind; being nice people may be nice to your face, but they don't go out of their way to help others. Nissan needs to be kind, and that's exactly what we're rooting for.

See ya next time!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(engine accelerating)- Look, I love Nissan, but right now,it feels like they're on the pathto going out of business.How did we go from the S13, to the Versa;from the R34to the Murano convertible?(upbeat music playing)In this video, we're gonnatake a look at what Nissandid right in their past,and what they're doing wrong, now,and then, I'm gonnatake a look at some waysthat could turn things around.So come with me, if you wanna survive!Problem #1: all we careabout are old Nissans.Nissan had some of the sickest,most iconic cars ever made.But over the last 20 years,they've really dropped the ball.The quality of theircars has gone downhill,and they've lost their core audience.And it shows in their numbers;in the beginning of 2019,they lost 99%of their operating profit,and had to lay offnearly 13,000 employees.Which makes me wonder:how does a company, thatmade so many of the carsthat we all wanted and loved,fail so hard?We're gonna get into that,but first, let's look at whywe love their cars so much.(upbeat music playing)Nissan, or as they usedto be called, Datsun,has been around for over 100 years.Bur most of the coolestcars they made werefrom the 1970's,80's,and 90's.The z line really put Nissanon the map in the U.S.,starting off with the 240z, in 1969.This family of affordablesportscars made it possiblefor every Joe Shmoe todrive a fun, stylish carthat could rip.Then, there was, of course, the Skyline,which is arguably one ofthe most influential carsof the last 50 years.As American cars got worsein the 70's and 80's,both the Skyline and the zcars continued to get better,building a core fan base withcars that really stood out.By the 1990's Nissan wasat the top of their game,with new models like the twin turbo 300zx,even the 240sx, they gaineda whole new generationof enthusiasts.Even their entry-level modelshad high performance versions,like the Sentra SER.They made great cars thatdrove well, they were reliable,and felt planted on the road.Nissan spent a lot of moneymaking their cars great.The yen was so strong,that they could afford to.But, before long, Nissan wasstruggling to make a profit.Actually, for most of the 90's,they didn't even make a profit, at all.When you're not making aprofit, it's hard to innovate.That's Business 101.(chime sounding)So, while their competitorswere releasing new modelsevery couple of years,Nissan almost went a decadewithout a major updateto their models, which,uhhhh, sounds familiar.From a car enthusiaststandpoint, we look backat the Nissans from the90's as some of the most fundrivers' cars out there.But, little did we know,that they were on the verge of bankruptcy.They were actually losing$1000 for every car theysold in the U.S.I never took any businesscourses, but that's,that's not good.By 1999, things were lookingeven bleaker for Nissan.They entered into an alliancewith French car manufacturer, Renault,who offered to take on $5.4billion of Nissan's debt,in exchange for 36% stake in the company.On the other hand, Nissanwould import, and sell,Renaults in Japan.It was a solution thatbenefited both companies.To spearhead the new initiativethat would bring Nissanout of the red, Renaultbrought in the notoriousCarlos Ghosn as CEO, whois in jail, right now.More on that, later.So, what are the seven waysthat Nissan is failing?Well, let's get into it.(apprehensive music playing)Cutting too many corners.The first major changeCarlos Ghosn enacted, as CEO,was to cut production cost.Nissan was spending 15to 25% more on partsthan their competitors.So, they started to install cheaper parts.Which makes sense, froma business perspective,but then we get thingslike timing belt guidesmade out of plastic.Guides and tensioners thatkept the timing belt in place,on six different Nissanmodels, made from 2004 to 2010,were made out of plasticthat degraded really quickly.Which meant timing belts on those carshad to be replaced earlyon in that car's life.Nissan actually lost a classaction lawsuit over it,and they were forcedto address the problem.One of the more well-knownfoibles that afflictedNissan cars was their CVT.Nissan's continuouslyvariable transmissionswere some of the worst-madetransmissions in recent history.They commonly failed around 60,000 miles,which is, conveniently, rightwhen their warranty ran out.Luckily for owners, Nissanwas sued, yet again,and was forced to recallthe cars that had the CVT.They also extended the warrantyfrom 60,000 miles to 100,000.So, good for them.(jazzy music playing)Even with a new round of updates in 2012,they weren't quite ableto improve quality,or driver satisfaction.In a consumer report study, done in 2014,14 of the 22 Nissans andInfinities ranked lastor second-to last in theirrespected categories.Some testers said the carsfelt cheaper, less refined,and even less enjoyable than before.That's,that's not progress.If there's one good thing tobe said about Carlos Ghosn,it's that he did getNissan out of the hole.Without his contributions,we might not have the brand around, today.If he didn't cut cost injobs and lower the overhead,they wouldn't have beenable to design new cars.This is when Nissan starteddeveloping more entry levelvolume cars, like the Versa.You know, everyone'smost hated rental car.I sat in one, and it somehow felt olderthan an, like, old Sentra.It was weird.To their credit, though, these volume carsare the biggest reason Nissan was ableto turn things around.But, in the process, they kind oflost the company's soul.Cars, like the crossover Murano and thenew generations of the Altima and Maxima,were decent, but the marketquickly became saturated.It seemed like every other car on the roadwas a freakin' Altima.This early 2000's gen wasthe most powerful yet,but mechanical issues plagued the cars-usually, right after the warranty ran out.Floorboards rustedthrough, they ate up oil,and catalytic converterswere known to fail.These cars wouldn't havebeen volume cars, though,if people didn't buy them.To ensure thatthat happened, Nissan sold to anyone,despite if they could afford it, or not.This was possible becauseof a little thing calledsubprime loans.(quirky music playing)(party horn sounding)if you're not familiarwith these kinds of loans,they're, basically, what ledto the recession of 2008.- What in the world ishappening on Wall Street?- They're aimed at people with bad credit,and have insanely high interest rates,like 25%!One guy in Indiana financeda $21,000 used truckwith a subprime loan.But, by the time he would have owned it,it would have cost him over $44,000!Good thing he couldn't makethat $750 monthly payment,and ended up having to go bankrupt.There are 1000's of stories like this,and Nissan's not the onlyone causing this issue.(engine accelerating)(upbeat music playing)Maybe the biggest reasonNissan is blowing it,is because they're inthe same situation thatthey were in the late 90's.Their most fun, mostenthusiast-based modelshaven't been updated frequently enough.The 350z was in productionfor seven years.The 370z has gone 10 yearswith almost no updates!I mean, the 370 was basicallyjust an upgraded 350,to start off with.Even Nissans's flagship model, the GTR,has been around for 12years, with only a handfulof performance upgrades.Most changes they make arebased on comfort and style.You can't do that and expectfans to stick by your side.We get bored!We're just cats, man!I'll play with that toyfor like, five minutes,and then never touch it again.Then, there's the wholeCarlos Ghosn fiasco.The man who turned the company aroundturned out to be siphoningmoney from said company.He got busted last year.We actually made a whole video on it,if you wanna learn more.The whole Carlos Ghosnthing kind of souredthe public's perception of Nissan,and they have yet to bounce back.In the spring of 2019 Nissanlost 95% of net income,and 99% of their operating profit.Their revenue dropped 13%,and the company was forcedto lay off 12,500 employees.Nissan is basically in the sameexact position they were inbefore Carlos Ghosn took over.So.How should they turnthings around, this time?(resolute music playing)I think the most pressing issue is thatNissan needs to maketheir cars more reliable,starting with the quality of their parts.There's a reason that30-year-old s13's are stillthe preferred car for drifting.They're solid as hell,especially the chassis.You can strip them down,and they still maintainstructural rigidity.Can you imagine, people in 30 years,drifting clapped out Murano Cabriolets?Not gonna happen.But let's take a look at whathappened with the KDM cars.Kia and Hyundai had someof the worst reputationsin the late 90's and early 2000's.But, they turned thingsaround, and nowadays,they're affordable, reliable,and some of the best-sellingcars in America.The quality is great,and some of them lookcool as hell.The Veloster N is a certified ripper,and Hyundai even has a luxurybrand, now, the Genesis.The Kia Stinger is amazing.I love that car.Good work, KDM.Nissan, you should copy their homework.I know the type ofperson who drives a GTR,but I don't know who drives Nissans.I don't think Nissanknows who drives Nissans .They need to find theiraudience, and then cater to them.Maybe they should take apage out of Dodge's book.They debuted the Hellcat,maybe the most ridiculousproduction car, ever made.And instantly, thatcemented their identity.This is a consistent messageacross all their carsand marketing, and welike them better, for it.They paid James to get a Dodge tattoo.- Ow!Owowowow!Ow!- Third, and, mostimportantly, in my mind,take a page out of yourown book, and bring backsome fan favorites, Nissan.How sick would it be ifNissan made a new Sylvia?It would be greatcompetition for the GT86.Overall, I think they needto be more competitivewith their cars.You hop into a newCorolla, it's pretty nice!You hop into a new Sentra and you're like,how does this interior feelolder than the old Sentra?It doesn't make sense.This just might be the car nerd in me,but I think it's vital thatNissan focus their effortson updating the z and the GTR.Both those cars are sick,and still relevant in the bigger picture.But, it's been more than a decade, Nissan.That's unacceptable.Think about how sicka new z model would beto usher in this new decade.And maybe a new GTR?The R36, perhaps?I think most of all, wejust wanna see Nissanmake some fun cars, again.When the GTR came out, it was awesome.It is still an awesome car.But Nissan needs to follow it upwith something else, soon,before our excitement-and our bank account-runs out.Hey, so this is the firstnew episode of 2020.Let's resolve to bemore kind to each other.Nissan, I love you.I wanna see you guys succeed, man.Be kind!See ya next time.New catchphrase 2020, baby!Being nice is not the same as being kind.Being nice, people be nice to your face.Don't be nice!Be kind!See ya next time.