You need to click to see the pix. Great, GM touts its gas hogs, and the Japanese go in the other direction, completely.
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=103253
Nissan expands lineup with Versa small car; redesigned Sentra, Altima due for '07 model year
DALE JEWETT | Automotive News
Posted Date: 9/29/05
DETROIT -- Nissan North America Inc. will expand its U.S. lineup next year with a small hatchback and sedan named Versa. The automaker is spending $800 million to upgrade its plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico, to build the cars for North America.
The Versa uses the platform from the Nissan Tiida sold in Japan. Nissan will use the Tiida name on cars sold in Mexico.
The Versa, which is smaller than the Sentra, is expected to have a base price of about $12,000. A typically equipped model will have a sticker price of around $13,500, Nissan said.
That low price is possible because the Versa shares much of its components with Nissan's global B-car platform, said Jed Connelly, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Nissan North America.
The Versa will be equipped with a new, all-aluminum 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine rated at about 120 hp and 125 pounds-feet of torque. Mated to an optional continuously variable transmission, Nissan says the powertrain should deliver a combined city-highway fuel economy rating of 38 mpg.
The hatchback will go on sale in early summer 2006 as a 2007 model, Nissan said. Sales of the sedan will begin in late 2006.
The addition of the Versa will give Nissan a vehicle to compete in the growing B-car segment in the United States. That segment includes the Scion models and upcoming Toyota Yaris from Toyota Motor Corp. and the upcoming small car from Honda Motor Co., based on the Fit and Jazz models sold in Japan and Europe. The Honda car is expected to go on sale in the spring, about the same time as the Nissan Versa hatchback.
The entry-level and compact segments combined account for about 1.9 million vehicles, or about 11 percent of the market, said Jack Collins, vice president of product planning for Nissan North America. That's why it is important for Nissan to have more products in the segment, he said.
Nissan will emphasize the Versa's interior room in its marketing, Collins said. The Versa will have 25.6 inches of knee room in the back seat, nearly as much as the larger Maxima sedan.
The Versa will measure 169.1 inches overall, and have a 102.4-inch wheelbase.
Nissan also will deliver a larger, redesigned Sentra, a redesigned Altima and a Maxima with a redesigned interior for the 2007 model year.
The Sentra also is built in the Aguascalientes plant. The Altima and Maxima are built in Smyrna, Tenn. Some Altimas also are built in Nissan's plant in Canton, Miss.