Nissan: Excitement and Fun.
Toyota: Boring but Reliable.

 

I think the bottom line here is that Nissan has affordable products geared towards the enthusiast by having a good selection under the Nissan brand. Toyota forces you to move upmarket to Lexus for comparable performance. Maybe that is entirely intentional on their part but Toyota was not always like this. They used to have the Celica, Supra and MR2. All affordable, fun to drive cars.

Honda had the Prelude and the S2000.

But I guess a brand has to be known by at least one principal attribute. With Nissan it's driving enjoyment. Toyota is reliability and practicality.

 

I too am disappointed in the lack of sport coupes from Toyota and the industry as a whole. The SC300/400 was perfect for me and I let it go. Big mistake.
Back on topic, it seems Toyota and even Lexus, they're sorta hard headed. They have been hugely successful doing what they are doing and probably see no reason to stray far. They seem to dearly love the kingdom they established and that's all that matters.
Nissan did the right thing. Lexus had the mid-high end sedan market locked. Toyota had the compact and family sedan market on a tight noose, too.
So Nissan/Infiniti went for the driver's market and look at the results. Sport coupes are synominous(sp) driver's cars...although there are exceptions. In my mind, the coupe is the car.
I still can't believe I'm driving a sedan. I'm relatively sure my next car will be the G37. They speak my language. The A5 is also in my thoughts. Coupes are just sexy.

 

Yeah the IS-F IS Awesome but how about coming out with something around 30k or less from toyota. Not a celica either, something rear wheel drive and offer a manual tranny too.
But i guess buy the time they come out with something like that i'll be able to afford my porsche 997 that i want

 

When I go to Lexus.com and look at coupe all they have is that 50 year
old SC430

Where is the IS coupe and LF-A?

 

Toyota is simply building what the market asks for.

Yes Nissan has several sports or sporty cars, but fact is their sales are miniscule in Nissan's overall sales. Most of Nissan's sales are comprised of the same sort of vehicles as Toyota; plain cars that appeal to the masses.

Yes Toyota *right now* does not have much sporty cars, but more are coming in the future. Now that Toyota has satisfied most, if not all of the major market segments, Toyota will push into new niche segments where they currently don't offer products. The IS-F pushes into a new niche segment, and so will the future Toyota sports car. The LF-A will also be a new entry for Toyota into a segment they've never competed in before. Then there is also the rumoured hybrid sports car, which would create a new niche segment on it's own.

 

Toyota is building the cars that is expected of them due to their brand. Nissan tried to be Toyota in the 90s and it almost put them out of business. Now they are the "sporty" Japanese brand and have leveraged that image to have their best sales period ever. They are now true to their branding with their lineup. Its made them successful and sure they may not ever catch Toyota but neither will any other manufacturer. They don't have to be Toyota...they have to be Nissan. I think building the GTR was the smartest move Ghosn ever made...look at all the marketing that is going on for them

 

I agree . Nissan should not be Toyota, they should be Nissan and I applaud them for that. I was simply pointing out that the majority of Nissan's sales aren't comprised of sporty cars. Although I'm still not a fan of Nissan's exteriors and interiors, I definitely applaud what Nissan has done and is doing.

I really think that any automaker that's trying to be Toyota will never catch them and will endure a lot of problems and failure. The perfect example right now is Hyundai. Hyundai should just be Hyundai, not Toyota. Hyundai needs to focus on their own brand and establishing their own unique identity, instead of trying to imitate Toyota in every way they can. Trying to be like Toyota will mean that Hyundai will ALWAYS be at least one step behind Toyota.

 

I have to counter with Nissan builds coupes that the market asks for. None are sales failures, they re-invented the brand(s) and continue to evolve and sell well. No one told Toyota to make I-4 only 25k Celicas and MR2s with odd styling and limited usefulness.

Toyota needs to understand that they may not be big sellers but they CAN CAUSE big sales, with the "halo" effect.

 

I'm pretty sure people don't buy Altimas and Versas because of the "halo" from the 350Z. The 350Z as a "halo" sports car got enthusiasts interested in Nissan, but did not do much for the masses. The GT-R will have more of a halo effect than the 350Z and will definitely help change Nissan's image.

For a halo car to be truly effective, it needs to be something outrageous and needs to show the prowess and full engineering and technical abilities that an automaker is capable of. The GT-R right now is a definitely a halo car for the Nissan brand and will help them in the future. For Toyota as a company, it's "halo" car for over a decade now has been the LS. The LS has definitely made a huge difference in terms of the image and reputation of the Lexus brand.

Was there market demand for I4 Celicas?
Maybe there might have been, but sales ultimately dropped and Toyota killed the Celica. You can also question whether anyone asked Honda to make I4 Civic SIs and I4 S2000s.

Yes they're not "sales failures", but neither is the Solara. The Celica also was not a sales failure compared to other cars in it's class, but it was a failure in Toyota's eyes. Toyota expected higher volumes from the Celica which IMO was a mistake. Toyota now understands that any sports or sporty cars it makes will be niche products.

Toyota definitely understands the halo effect as evident by the LS. Right now, Nissan has several sport offerings compared to almost none from Toyota, but as stated earlier Toyota is working to change that. We now have 2 confirmed sports cars coming, the cheap RWD boxer-powered coupe, and of course the LF-A. Rumours also remain strong for a production version of the FT-HS. If Toyota confirms that, it will be 3 sports cars in the next few years.

 

All and all very true, but you have to hand it to Toyota that their designs look better.

I will say that i LOVE the new G37 - G35 not so much.

 

IS F ftw heeh

 

The new Camry and Rav4 V6 are pretty fast.

 

Toyota has all but neglected the enthusiast. Like I said, they hadn't always been this way. They are obsessed with sales figures these days.

But if there's any car company that can afford to make coupes and sports cars for the enthusiast market and not worry about the risk, it's Toyota. They have the cash and development capacity. They simply haven't cared whereas Nissan has.

 

With the upcoming LF-A and sports car jointly being developed with Subaru, they are caring once again. The IS-F is already a sign that they are caring. Great time to be an enthusiast, and great for Toyota to be caring about sports cars once again.