Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Report: Nissan abandons thoughts of 240SX revival, ponders Sentra coupe instead

As much as we'd love to see Nissan hearken back to its performance roots with a remake of the classic 240SX coupe, it seems the Japanese automaker is content to earn sales by sticking to the tried-and-true approach of offering competent vehicles at attainable prices. In other words, if Nissan has a sporty-looking coupe in the pipeline, it'll be more of a Scion tC competitor than a Hyundai Genesis Coupe-challenger.

This revelation comes by way of Larry Dominique, chief product planner for Nissan North America, who tells Wards "he would be more inclined to do a derivative of the Sentra than introduce an entirely new nameplate." Nissan's internal data suggests that it could only sell about 30,000 240SX coupes in America per year, which isn't enough to make a convincing production argument. Sad, sure, but very likely also true.

In related news, Dominique also says that the next generation of Nissan cars in the States will share a great deal of design DNA. At present, there is very little visually that ties the Versa, Sentra and Altima together in any meaningful cohesive way besides the Nissan badge on the trunk. Expect that to change in the coming years as the nameplates receive their next rounds of styling updates.

Nissan Fiora concept gallery:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/nissa...ncept/#2527276

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/22/r...ponders-sentr/

MR_F1

You would think they'd have one on the way with the FT-86 coming next year

dj.ctwatt

Nissan already has an over-abundance of coupe. . . if anything, there's WAY too much overlap. Altima Coupe, 370Z, G37, GT-R. They should drop the Altima Coupe, and pick up a Renault based hot hatch. . . something in the compact segment. I love both the G35 and the 370Z, but I know it's not very cost effective to run those two platforms. To be effecient, they could drop one or the other, and run it as a 2+2, with a track edition 2 seater. . . maybe call it the Z37? The GT-R is perfect exactly as it is.

speedflex

A Magane based Sentra coupe sounds yummy.

LexFather

Sentra Coupe with Juke Turbo and Juke torque vectoring =new age SE-R.

Though I do wonder what a FM platform 240 would be like. Just make it bare bones so the price is low. Simple RWD coupe.

516IS

iTrader: (12)

This is sad, I was a big fan of the old 240SX coupes.

jason60050

To me the only thing relevant at Nissan anymore is the GTR...I owned a 2007 350z conv and hated every minute of it. Test drove the new 370z and yes it is a bargain but it is very noisy inside and the stock exhaust is an embarresment for a sport car!

MR_F1

Or make a 240Z to accompany the 370.

dj.ctwatt

Realistically they'll never get the price of the 240 under 24K. . . and the Z is not much more. . . it's the same problem they had in the 90's. . . and it's a big reason why sports cars died out. . . to much overlap. IE, the MR-S, Celica, and Solara did not all need to exist. It's why Ford's formula for the Mustang is so successful (and to lesser extent the Camaro, if it wasn't hindered by all the F-body clones). One car- 3 segments of one niche. V6 cheap-o base model for 20K ish, mid-grade V8 for the 30-ish, and range-topper rubber-scorcher for near 40ish.

Now it's not that hate the idea of sports cars, I just hate it when manufacturers goof up the formula and assume they don't sell, all but eliminating them from production. I say, if you want a sales success, copy the Mustang's implementation, and improve upon it.

MR_F1

Sticking to formulas stifle innovation. I see nothing wrong with a low, middle and high end coupe/sportscar as long as they don't step on each others toes and can exist profitably. 29 variations of the mustang bores me... not that it isn't a great car, especially now.

mmarshall

You beat me to it, Mike........I was going to post/suggest the same thing. The SE-R, essentially a 2-door Sentra, was a great seller in the 1990's, though I found the interior too stark and Plain-Jane for my tastes. And it had far better looks than the awkward-looking Pulsar that preceeded it....though the Pulsar, to its credit, had a version with a flexible, interchangable coupe/hatchback rear end.

pvmike1

Fixed.

The Pulsar was crap. The original SE-R was actually a great handler and a fun car to drive, much like the CRX. They got the formula right with the SE-R, and to a lesser extent, the NX2000, but lost it by the second gen. And much like the CRX, finding an unmolested one is very difficult.

mmarshall

I agree with your general comments on both the Pulsar and Sentra, but my original comment on the Pulsar was correct in the sense I was using it.

I meant "credit", not "detriment", in the sense that the adjustable rear-end was versatile and flexible, though certainly not good-looking.

Och

iTrader: (3)

That looks like the 90ies Mercury Capri and Pontiac Fiero.

TRDFantasy

This is a fail for Nissan IMO. FT-86 when it arrives will have less competition and will simply penetrate the market more.

Sure you can argue Nissan has too many coupes right now, but the problem is many of them look similar and perform similarly. The Z would need to move upmarket anyways if Nissan were to bring out a new SX. Altima coupe is pointless and resembles the G37 coupe too closely. Either they need to make Altima coupe styling more unique, or get rid of that model and just bring a new SX to market.

The Juke looks terrible, more like joke. I still can't understand how they greenlighted that monstrosity.