"Altima Racecar" ad, and what does it say about the Maxima for that matter.

The one where they bolt on some hubcaps and some sheetmetal fake consoles and then say that they took people on a ride on the track in what they thought was Nissan's "top-of-the-line racecar" and then they surprise everyone by pulling off the graphics and hubcaps and lo and behold, it's a regular 'ol Altima underneath, and they go on to talk about its fuel economy, of all things.

I've probably seen it about a thousand times now (probably 10 times during today's football games so far) and every time I wonder if the point is a) to suggest that Nissan customers are complete oblivious fools, b) to suggest that a top of the line Nissan racecar would look like something a child assembled in his basement, or c) it's safe to have a bunch of stick-on stuff over the dashboard and interior if you're gonna be driving fast on a track (yeah, I know they probably are going 20mph and using camera tricks).

I think the Altima is a fine appliance (in fact, I drove a 1st gen altima with 5MT for about a year and thought it was a nicely-built car with a good chassis), but really.....wouldn't one think they'd be marketing the Maxima as the "sporty performance Nissan" if they were actually going to market a FWD sedan on a "racetrack" venue? Or even the Juke R.....

Come to think of it, seems like it's been forever since I've even seen an ad for the Maxima. Has Nissan said if they plan to put out a new Maxima model, or is it just slowly fading from the line until they kill it off entirely?

In any case, that ad is terrible....

Actually they told them it was "Nissan's most advanced Altima racecar"...Not quite the same thing. The point is simply attempting to get average car buyers to think of it as being sportier than its competition. Perceived sportyness sell. While not the case years ago, an Altima racecar is more believable than a Maxima racecar these days.

Driven5 wrote: Actually they told them it was "Nissan's most advanced Altima racecar"...Not quite the same thing. The point is simply attempting to get average car buyers to think of it as being sportier than its competition. Perceived sportyness sell. While not the case years ago, an Altima racecar is more believable than a Maxima racecar these days.

I guess that's really my point though. Nissan released the 7th-gen Maxima and started using the "4DSC" (4-door sports car) stickering again, so one would think they were going to try to market it as such (though the CVT-only drivetrain probably made that a joke). Since the Altima and Maxima look pretty damn similar these days, seems like they're just quietly trying to make the Maxima disappear.

Which would seem odd, considering it has a more prestigious "name" than the Altima....why not eliminate the Altima and move the Maxima back to the "nice but affordable and sporty" category it was in for many years before the current Altima generation.

And yeah, got the phrasing wrong, but wouldn't Nissan's most advanced ALTIMA racecar be this one? lol...

OT: what's the little L-shaped wire thing sticking up from the hood of that one? ^^

Sorry, offtopic maybe, most new nissans have a face only a mother could love. Aside from the Z, the Rouge is the only reasonably attractive vehicle in their lineup IMO.

I realize theres more to a car than how it looks, but if it looks terrible, its off the want list regardless of its merits.

irish44j wrote: ...but wouldn't Nissan's most advanced ALTIMA racecar be this one? lol...

That must be where the "We lied" part of the 'deception' comes into play.

I don't know that it means anything for the Maxima...The Altima had evolved into Nissan's Camry/Accord fighter. That makes it the meat and potatoes, or bread and butter, of the company's profitability.

I don't understand car companies. They find the dumbest people on earth to tell me how wonderful their car is.

ncjay wrote: I don't understand car companies. They find the dumbest people on earth to tell me how wonderful their car is.

this was kind of my point, as you said it.

It's just evidence that Nissan has no interesting cars right now and that they gave up on the 370Z since it's sales have tanked for a few years now.

irish44j wrote: OT: what's the little L-shaped wire thing sticking up from the hood of that one? ^^

Pitot tube ?

It points to where the race is going on.

mike h

This has to be the better looking "most advanced Altima Race car".

The Maxima has been a lost cause for a few generations now. The 6th gen was really the last decent one and that was what 12 years ago now? I mean honestly I would not even think of Maxima. I had one as a rental car a few years ago and it wasn't that great.

I don't see it really as competitor anymore. I think the market agrees with the little over 50K units sold last year. Compare that to the 332K units the Altima sold...Really no comparison.

In reply to ncjay:

Marketing = Trying to convince people who don't know enough to research it for themselves that they want to buy your product.

I don't think anybody on this forum qualifies as the target audience for any car commercial.

seems like they're just quietly trying to make the Maxima disappear.

That seems to be it in a nutshell.

As i've said before, the best Maxima they ever made was the Altima SE-R. They've been putting the nails in this coffin for a long time.

I roll my eyes and say something snarky every time this commercial comes on.

I would love to see the outtakes from when people like us were like. I imagine it would be just someone looking at it and going "really?", checking what tires they have on it and then looking mildly disappointed with its lateral grip.

Nissan needs to stick the 1.6L di turbo lump into a shortened Z chassis with a 6 spd and bring back the sx nameplate with the 160sx

Most people probably would be amazed at what a "regular" car can do since they have never pushed one to the limit. The commercial though, is pretty stupid.

I hate all appliances. (Keep in mind, I'm an appliance tech) but seriously if companies would only make sports cars, Ppl would perceive that level of performance as normal, and then everyone would be able to drive a sports car. I miss the days of yore. Remember when Toyota had a GT-S model for every car? Or how every Honda model had a type r? Or when all of Nissan was rwd? God, what is wrong with America?

Uncoiled wrote: Most people probably would be amazed at what a "regular" car can do since they have never pushed one to the limit. The commercial though, is pretty stupid.

I have no misconceptions on that. A bone-stock Altima with some Star Specs could probably destroy our track-setup e30 on the track, lol...

As someone who has driven John & Jane Q public non car persons around a track in bone stock cars for a few manufacturer events YES the average driver has absolutely no idea how quickly a car can be driven. In fairness to the operators of driving appliances, half the people who are enthusiasts are total floored at their first track day at what real corner speed is.....at every event I get at least one person commenting "geez I had no idea" when they are behind my 80 horse wonder......I may drive well and be a decent instructor but Hamiton I'm not. Yeah the commercials cheesy but even if the Altima was a Rolls Royce and Ferrari combined 90% of the people driving it wouldn't know the difference.

  Tom

it's not any worse than the one Toyota commercial where the guy commented on the sportiness (or whatever, i forget.. i'm not their target demo) of the wheels..

As dumb as I think that commercial is, it still irks me less than all the car commercials that don't actually tell you anything about the car, and really don't even show you what it looks like except for a cursory shot of the grille or something.

I'd rather see that stupid commercial than the even dumber ones that show a bunch of CGI Nissans in a snowboard half-pipe. At least the racecar one shows cars being, you know, driven.

Here's a thought. Rather than making people believe your family appliance sedan is sporty...just make it sporty! You could call it an - oh I don't know - Altima SE-R and give it more power and better handling and cool gauges and a manual transmission.
This was genuinely a good car from a time when manufacturers offered a hi-po version of most of their cars. We need to get back to that!

Duke wrote: I'd rather see that stupid commercial than the even dumber ones that show a bunch of CGI Nissans in a snowboard half-pipe. At least the racecar one shows cars being, you know, *driven.*

The one running with the bulls is even worse.