The Titan and the Clown Shoe...

...lead me to believe Nissan is entirely staffed with idiots.

"Nice" and "CVT"...

...confirmed it once and for all.

 

they should.

 

Well. . . I don't know if you've ever driven one. . .

But, I own a Murano, now for 2 years, with 30k hard miles on it, and I love the CVT. It's smooth and the Murano pulls hard at any speed. I enjoy driving it.

Too bad GM didn't have anything competitive in the mid size SUV segment.

Mike

 

I had a Murano as a rental and that thing pulled hard......never. It was so slow getting off the line and seemed as though it would need an additional 50 ft-lbs to get decent off-the-line- acceleration. The Envoy was much more entertaining to drive and mover out much better.

 

maybe I should re-phrase that.

It pulled hard at any speed. . . other than ZERO. It is pretty sluggish from a dead stop. Otherwise, it pulls well for an SUV. . . and handles as well as a TBSS, and brakes awesome. So, I'd have a hard time seeing where an Envoy is more entertaining.
ahh well. . . to each his own.

My point was, I'm *very happy* with the CVT. I think it'd be an awesome tranny to put into a ~2400lb sports car. Program the CVT to have a sport mode so there's engine braking. . . and it'd have a similar feel to a direct drive transmission, and you'd always be in the powerband.

Mike.

 

CVT - yes, driven them. YAWN.

Murano - pulls "hard"...

The only way to get a Murano to accelerate "hard" is to drive it off a cliff.

 

Gonna have to agree with PacerX. I like driving the murano because it's smooth but not because it pulls hard.

 

at least it still comes with a 6sd manual.

 

Dude, this section says Automotive news/future vehicle discussion. It doesnt say "future GM vehicles" so any news on any brand of car, so long as its new or up and coming is welcome. There are many brands aside from GM, Ford and Dodge you know...I suggest you read up on them and see why the big 3 is in the pits. More competition would mean better cars for GM to release.

 

Yeah, but I think Mr. Nashville is well aware that mentioning Nissan around here is like sticking a hand-grenade in a hornet's nest.

The GM product that 'lines-up' the best with the Altima is probably the Pontiac G6 -- and comparisons probably won't be that favorable for the home-team. Both Mazda and Nissan seem be beating Pontiac at their "We Build (FWD) Excitement" game.

 

I'd agree with that statement. I don't think the G6 is setting the world on fire. Needs some pizzaz, and more motor.

 

Almost everytime I see some redesigned car come out with CVT, they priase it as being the best CVT out there. Then, they go one to say that the technology has finally come around.

 

I know 3 people who own / have owned current generation Altima's.

Each and every one of them have had a powertrain issue that caused the cars to stutter on acceleration, and eventually stall completely. 2 of the 3 owners got stranded and had to be towed because the vehicle would not restart.

I understand all vehicles have their issues, but this one really stands out to me, being that it is a 3-for-3 on a personal basis. And, it is something I would consider serious, and dangerous if it occurred in the right (ie: wrong) traffic conditions.

 

CVTs are definitely making inroads into the automotive world. The change is not unlike the transition from a time, 30 years or so ago when virtually everything had a manual transmission and automatics were found only on big luxury cars to today when only a tiny percentage of cars are sold with manual transmissions.

CVTs will probably never be welcome or desired among the enthusiasts crowd but the general public (who, after all, keep the GMs and Fords of the world in business) seems to like them.

 

I think the Saturn Aura would compare better with the Altima, or maybe Malibu SS. Aura has a high power HF V6 and 6 speed auto and definately has Euro style. It may be slightly larger but I don't know for sure.