‎2012 Altima

Owner Appreciation money

Lease Loyalty money
…
Savings can be used on the already very attractive Altima Lease.

2011 Murano

Owner Appreciation money

Lease Loyalty money

NMAC Lease Cash

Savings can be used on the already very attractive MY11 Murano Lease.

ALSO SAVE THOUSANDS ON LAST 2011 ALTIMAS AND SENTRAS.

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Japan’s auto industry has been battered by disasters natural and unnatural unlike this year. A tragic earthquake and a steroidal yen have wreaked havoc on the bottom lines of major firms Honda and Toyota. The exception? Nissan. The perennial third place finisher has proven resilient, gaining market share and garnering acclaim in the U.S. at the expense of its two most celebrated rivals.

So far this year, Nissan’s (NSANY) U.S. sales have jumped 12.8% percent ahead of last year, while Honda (HMC) and Toyota (TM) both declined. The Yokohama, Japan-based company has been basking in the spotlight of good publicity thanks to its innovative Leaf electric car. Through July, it has sold just 4,806 units of the avant-garde little model, which goes for about 100 miles on a charge and sells for $34,570 before tax credits. Less well-known — and much more vital for Nissan’s earnings — is that its Altima mid-size sedan has been outselling Honda’s Accord, Chevrolet’s (GM) Malibu and Ford’s (F) Fusion.

Nissan, perennially bringing up the rear among Japan’s top three, has made a series of deft moves over the last year that has propelled it forward as rivals stalled. Since the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami, the company has managed to maintain its supply of vehicles — unlike competitors. Nissan “got its assembly plants and suppliers up and running sooner,” says Rebecca Lindland, an analyst for IHS/Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. “Honda had taken the precaution of using more than one first-tier supplier. But that didn’t work out because often both sources were hit by the same shortage of materials or sub-assemblies.”

David Reuter, vice president of communications at Nissan’s U.S. operations in Nashville, says that the automaker was forced to scramble to make sure its dealers had enough vehicles to sell. Computer chips, for example, were in short supply due to the quake. Nissan therefore decided to build more units with fewer high-tech features, such as navigation, in order to ensure that as many cars as possible were completed. The automaker also exported engine components from its U.S. plant in Canton, Mississippi to its Iwaki plant in Japan when power shortages prevented some ovens from reaching critical heat, thereby disrupting production.

“Nissan’s advantage is monozukuri,” Reuter said, a Japanese word that means manufacturing. He speculates that Nissan may have flown under the radar of its main competitors when they concentrated on the threat posed by South Korean producer Hyundai, the hottest ascendant Asian brand of the past few years.

But Nissan’s problems haven’t all been technical. Marketing has been a longtime weakness. The automaker’s vehicles, given their high reliability and top reviews by critics, have undersold in the market. Perceptions have changed steadily during the tenure of Carlos Ghosn, who took over as chief executive officer more than a decade ago when Renault AG bought a major stake in the automaker as part of a rescue effort. Nissan, which had been close to bankruptcy in the late 1990s, gained buzz as a turnaround story, its vehicles benefitting from more creative advertising.

Nissan’s relative strength has come at the expense of Honda and Toyota. Recently, the influential magazine Consumer Reports removed Honda’s Civic from its recommended list, where it had long been a mainstay. And Toyota has yet to recover from investigations into a sudden-acceleration and quality scandal, which was so mishandled by executives it is destined to become fodder for management text books. (Allegations of serious technical flaws have not proven credible, but the fallout has nevertheless hobbled the company.)

Of course, Nissan can’t count on Honda and Toyota floundering forever. Both are financially strong with deep reserves of engineering talent. Toyota is about to release a new Camry, which has underwhelmed early reviewers and no doubt will undergo revision to maintain dominance. “Toyota was running on momentum,” says Eddie Alterman, editor-in-chief of Car and Driver. “Nissan is gaining because it’s been willing to take some chances.” In other words, being the underdog was easy. Maintaining the lead — that’s the hard part.

Thirty seconds behind the wheel of the 2012 Nissan Versa Sedan was all it took for us to fully appreciate the all-new Mexican-built four-door. Well, that and a quick peek at its price.

The Versa packs unquestionable new-car value. Within a compact car’s footprint it delivers midsize sedan ride comfort and interior dimensions. And, at $10,990, the base-model 2012 Nissan Versa 1.6 S Sedan is the least expensive car available in the U.S.

But here’s the best part; we like driving it.

Price Leader
In truth, the price is $11,750 after adding the $760 destination/handling fee. That price still undercuts what Nissan clearly views as its biggest competition, the 20112 Hyundai Accent GLS, by $1,455.

Standard equipment includes a 1.6-liter 109-horsepower four-cylinder engine, five-speed manual transmission, six airbags, stability- and traction-control, ABS, tire-pressure monitoring and an AM/FM/CD/aux stereo. Now the bad news. You also get just two speakers, steel wheels, manual crank windows, manual locks and specific seating materials, which are satisfactory but not exactly luxurious.

Fuel economy is part of the good news. The 1.6 S with the five-speed manual is expected to earn 27 city/36 highway/30 combined mpg. And all Versas come with a three-year/36,000-mile basic warranty (including roadside assistance) and a five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty. Despite its marketing strength, Nissan expects this base car will account for just 5-7 percent of sales once it is available in August.

Opting for a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) raises the price by $1,170 and improves fuel economy to 30 city/38 highway/33 combined for the Versa 1.6 S CVT. A $350 Cruise Control package becomes available at this level, which includes an upgraded steering wheel, two more speakers and a light for the trunk.

The Volume Player
The majority of 2012 Versa sedan sales are expected to be the midlevel 1.6 SV CVT ($15,320) that includes everything above plus power windows/locks, remote entry, chrome exterior trim, better instrumentation and improved seating materials. The SV Convenience Package ($350) is available with Bluetooth, an upgraded audio system with iPod control and steering wheel controls, map lights and vanity mirrors.

At the top of the model pecking order is the $16,320 Nissan Versa SL that includes everything above plus alloy wheels, foglamps, 60/40 split-fold rear seats and slightly upgraded interior trim. A $700 SL Tech package adds XM Satellite Radio, navigation with a 5.0-inch color touchscreen and XM Traffic, and a USB port.

We reverted to using our mobile phone because its map and interface were superior.

Although it’s a unique and quite attractive proposal to offer an in-dash navigation system in an “economy car,” our limited experience with this one was less than ideal. It’s the same unit Nissan uses in its fun-to-drive Juke crossover, and it has considerable interface shortcomings. In fact, during our time with the Versa we reverted to using our mobile phone because its map and interface were superior.

Interior Goods
Aside from its funky navigation system graphics and interface, the Versa’s interior is hard to complain about. OK, the seat bottoms are a little short for full-size Americans and there’s no armrest between the front seats, which is also a problem in our long-term Juke. But that’s it. Otherwise, the inside of the Versa is a fine place to spend time.

Nissan has put some sweat into the details, even including height adjustment on the driver seat. And the materials, while nothing you’d see in a Bentley, are impressive at this price point.

Fit and finish is at typically high Nissan standards, and the rear seat is huge. The Versa’s rear headroom and legroom would be impressive at any price. In fact, it offers more rear legroom than a BMW 5 Series, Lexus LS 460 and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

This is surprising considering the Versa’s wheelbase and width remain unchanged, while the car’s overall length decreases by 0.6 inches with a 2.7-inch longer rear overhang. Height is down by 1.2 inches.

Because of the larger rear overhang, the trunk has grown as well. It’s now a very large 14.8 cubic feet, which is about the same size as the trunk of an Infiniti M56.

Performance
Every 2012 Nissan Versa drives with the same, controlled bigger-than-it-should ride. We’re also fans of the sedan’s excellent four-cylinder engine and sophisticated CVT. Nissan has enjoyed well-deserved praise for its well-sorted pulley-regulated “Xtronic” automatic on nearly every vehicle it builds, and the Versa benefits from the technology.

This year, looking for a lower-revving top-gear ratio for improved highway fuel economy, they’ve added a planetary gearset within the CVT. On our drive, we observed the engine speed at 2,400 rpm at 70 mph.

We feared this new layer of mechanical overdrive might improve fuel economy but diminish what we’ve always appreciated about Nissan’s CVT, namely intelligent gear holding and response when conditions or driver mood change. We’re glad to report we didn’t detect any difference in how the transmission behaved in any conditions.

We’ve lambasted other manufacturers’ attempts to pair a hard-working four-cylinder engine and elastic CVT, but Nissan nailed it again. No complaints. The Versa’s engine and transmission work in quiet harmony to deliver an adequate amount of acceleration with a minimum amount of drama. Because this second-generation Nissan Versa sedan is 150 pounds lighter, the car’s acceleration should remain in the low-to-mid-9-second range to 60 mph.

How Green?
Despite the changes to the CVT and within the heavily revised HR16DE four-cylinder engine, Nissan did not achieve the magic “40-mpg highway” number others in the segment have managed to reach.

With new dual fuel injectors and continuously variable timing on both intake- and exhaust valves, Nissan eked out just 2 more horses, but the 38-mpg highway estimate represents a relatively huge 3-5 mpg improvement over the 2011 Nissan Versa sedan depending on model/engine/transmission.

A by-product of the revised 1.6L engine’s efficiency is more complete combustion and thus lower carbon-dioxide emissions. These are both indicated by the new “Puredrive” badging, which appears on the trunk lid.

The more powerful 1.8-liter engine is available only on the carry-over first-generation Nissan Versa hatchback which Nissan will continue to sell alongside the new Versa sedan. An all-new Versa hatchback is in Nissan’s future.

Steering and Brakes
Electric-assist power steering has a reputation for offering as much feeling as a reluctant apology, but Nissan managed to improve this as well. Steering weight increases appropriately with speed and its on-center response and self-centering coming out of a corner would challenge a “novice” to detect anything he might call vague or out of the ordinary.

Brakes remain vented discs up front and drums in the rear, and Continental ContiPro Contact low-rolling-resistance all-season tires (185/65R15) are also carried over. And the combination works very well.

ABS, electronic brakeforce distribution and emergency brake assist are even standard across the model line and we’ll bet the car’s reduced curb weight will help improve its previously average stopping distances and fade resistance. We’ll let you know after we have a track day with the car.

Sense of Pride
This car will be impossible for the marketplace and Nissan’s competition to ignore. With its combination of space, efficiency, features, safety and appealing design, the 2012 Nissan Versa Sedan is proof that automakers know more people will feel comfortable adopting austerity measures of their own as long as we can also maintain our need for practicality, comfort, safety and yes, a sense of pride.

Not to mention, the price is right.

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GREAT DEALS – HUGE SELECTION DURING NISSAN’S BOTTOM LINE SALES EVENT!

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Today, the 2011 Nissan Juke was awarded a “Top Safety Pick” rating by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety! Rating is given to vehicles that achieve the highest rating of “Good” in front, rear & side impact protection, roof strength, and comes with electronic stability control. The Nissan JUKE joins Nissan Cube on the list of 2011 Top Safety Picks.
We have both in stock for your holiday weekend.