quattro digest, Vol 1 #4537 - Re: Nissan vs VAG - was:coilpacks

l.leung at juno.com l.leung at juno.com
Tue Jan 28 17:41:01 EST 2003


Wylie,

Nissan is coming out of a period of barely surviving. The new Altima
is one of the first new products (designed on a budget) and the Sentra was =
on the older budget. First off, considering the price point of either of th=
ose cars, an apples to apples comparison is somewhat difficult to make with=
 Audi and them, as the Nissans are priced somewhat below even the VW line. =
So, in comparison, Nissans are little hot rods a little short on refinement=
, but large in space and performance technology. Luxury is somewhat behind =
the VAG products. However, the newer Nissans are nowhere near the "tin cans=
" you describe, they have stiff monocoques, and particularly in the Sentra,=
 they work quite well in terms of over the road performance, and unlike the=
 little hot rods from D-C (read Neon) they have durability to boot. (The Ma=
xima has just been redesigned, so no knowledge here). To bring the cars up =
to price point, consider ANY of the new FM chassis cars. I haven't driven o=
ne yet, but I did get a ride, and the quality, fit, finish and technology i=
s certainly a near equal if not better in some areas, than the Audi's. Both=
 are excellent, but just like froggy (Lethal Weapon 3 AIR) they are differe=
nt. In terms of performance, the G35's, 350Z and the new FM based SUV Cross=
over are quite impressive, and undercut any Audi of similar performance in =
terms of price.

Now, I am not a fan of Nissan, but I also am not going to dis what are equa=
l but different automobiles that are coming from them. Think back to the mi=
d-late '80's Audi's in terms of fit/finish/reliability/performance per $ an=
d you can see, if you are objective, that Audi was in no better position th=
an Nissan is now, and I'd actually say Nissan is in a better place. It took=
 the A4 to bring Audi back into sensibly priced cars for what you got.

Instead of dissing a new philosophy of products, embrace them and accept th=
eir differences. (I'd include Mazda here). Remember, choice is good.

LL - NY




Reply-To: "Wylie Bean" <TheRingmeister at triad.rr.com>
From: "Wylie Bean" <TheRingmeister at triad.rr.com>
To: "TM" <t44tq at mindspring.com>, <quattro at audifans.com>,
	<willng at netzero.net>
Subject: Re: coilpacks
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2003 07:38:05 -0500

Taka,
It doesn't take an engineer (i'm not one) to look over an Audi next to a
Nissan and see the differences in design, construction, and build quality.
I didn't say they built a truly substandard product as such, I stated that
by comparison, I believe that by no means is the level of any of the above
elements comparable to an Audi (or a BMW or Mercedes for that matter.)
Quite simply, you get what you pay for.  By "paper mache" I was referring to
the chassis and gauge of sheetmetal used to build it.   Otherwise, here's
maybe the short list.  Four link suspension, quattro, seatbelt
pre-tensioners and force limiters, bumper (not the plastic cover)
construction/engineering, crumple zones and a 12 year warranty against
corrosion that keeps them functioning much longer than any Nissan or
Infinity's, the chassis itself (torsional rigidity, full double sided
galvanized sheetmetal and a parafin wax dip to extricate water from the body
cavity), aluminum hoods, eletronic brake force distribution and hydraulic
brake assist, 5 valve technology, FSI, ASF, 6 standard airbags including
full side curtains (except TTs of course), interior materials such as
headliner, switches, covers, carpet, knobs, you name it.  I'd rather have a
used Audi anyday than a new Nissan or Infinity (or Toyota or Mazda or Lexus)
for the same $.  Period.  It's just a safer, better designed, better
executed vehicle.

Obviously, this is my opinion, and I appreciate you asking.

Wylie







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