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| Re: Nissan Altima Problems (89649) | |||
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Re: Nissan Altima Problems |
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Posted by Peter Rosa on Tue Jan 17 22:40:58 2006, in response to Re: Nissan Altima Problems, posted by AEM-7AC #901 on Tue Jan 17 20:24:01 2006. the few versions of Japanese cars built to North American specifications that were sold in Europe were widely panned by auto reviewers for handling awfully (by European standards) and being very boring, and most buyers weren't interested in them either with a few exceptions (i.e Toyota Rav4)You can delete the RAV4 from the list of exceptions. Toyota is producing a different version of the completely redesigned 2006 RAV4 for the American market. Our version is bigger than that being sold in other countries, so much so that it's no longer a compact SUV and competes with Toyota's own Highlander. It has a longer wheelbase than the "world" model and even comes with an available third seat.* And needless to say, it's slushbox-only. American buyers seem to want size and soft rides, but are less concerned about handling. We also want big torque-y engines, notwithstanding the fact that America's speed limits are generally lower than Europe's (albeit higher than Japan's). Oh, and we also insist on ample cup holders. Gotta have them. * = many automakers have this fetish about squeezing (tiny) third seating rows into their SUV's, Jeep went so far as to design a whole new vehicle, the Commander, when it found that the Cherokee Laredo just couldn't be engineered to accommodate the third row. I cannot explain why this fetish exists, when today's smaller families mean that fewer and fewer buyers need more than five seats (and minivans work fine for those who do). My LIRR/NYCT blog |
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