Nissan Aprio
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Nissan will sell a version of the Dacia/Renault Logan in mexico. Under the name Aprio.
The Logan has been on sale in Europe for a couple of years as a super cheap alternative to most other new cars. And it has been quite a success.
I guess cheap and dorky can been “in”. If it’s cheap enough…
The Nissan version won’t make it to the US.
(and that’s not a bad thing…)
that’s just sad
I am European and I understand the Logan’s success. Car prices in Europe are quite high in comparison to the US, and have been rising steeply in the last few years. Wages are also much lower in many European countries, such as mine (Spain). If for 7000-8000 euros you can get a reasonably sized car with a usable boot and backed by a trustworthy company like Renault, I’m not surprised that many people who can’t afford any more find it appealing. I imagine the situation in Mexico and Latin America will be similar.
In fact, this is the biggest threat to the car industry in North America – a car that is half the price of a Toyota Corolla. Laugh all you want but Renault/Nissan are on to something.
ugly as sin, but if this nissan quality car is better pricing than korean garbage, bring it on !
It also kind of reminds me of a 1991-94 Nissan Sentra, sort of(it was sort of boxy)….but updated, and a Versa.
If we could get one in the USA, and it was solidly reliable(after 1-2 years out on the market, no major issues, recalls), I could see looking into a car thatmight be say, oh, I dunno, 10,000-13K tops(fully loaded?), or if it cost even less, that would be fine, too. I would not complain about paying less for an acceptable vehicle.
I wonder if this were 1990, if they could sell it in USA( due to crash regs being different… air bags were not even required yet, for 1990 models, in 91, the Sentra hd one for driver… and of course… crumple zones were non-existant back then), and different pollution regs, etc…
To be honest, if someone(major automaker, not Big 3) could build a small, 8-10K car, in India or China(for examples)under their watchful eyes, as good as what we get now in USA….I’d buy it!
If it were as good as Yaris, or Versa, but thousands less, not much smaller( say VW rabbit/golf sized)…yes, I would consider one.
Cars cost too much… if my pay raises matched Hyundai price rises from 06 to 07(big differences, imo)…even,,,, i’d be able to buy what I like.
The Mexicans still make the 1989 Nissan Sunny (as the Tsuru, beloved of the Taxi trade) and they do a Renault Clio sedan based model called the Platina. This would be a logical replacement for one of those.
Volkswagen tried the third world prices model with the Fox in the US as I recall, which lasted all of 6 minutes on the market. I don’t think the US has much to fear yet about dumping of Latin American cars at cost prices, but if your government keeps on demolishing your economy the way it is…
Defeat Korea said…
ugly as sin, but if this nissan quality car is better pricing than korean garbage, bring it on !
11:37 AM
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Nissan is below avg for IQS, vs Hyundai and Kia( go look, Sherlock, and maybe you’ll discover the truth!). Also, go to Edmunds.com( Azera and Accent/Rio, editors chocies for 2007…they get paid for their advice, do you? Obviously not, since you are clueless, it appears).
Anyhow, this looks Better than the Versa sedan we have in the USA.
May look somewhat “dated”, but who cares? It’s not hideous, like Big 3 cars,(Sebring, for one, comes to mind), or Dull as dirt, like most Japanese cars( Camry is as exciting as watching paint dry).
I’d rather have this, or a Cool Korean Car(like Azera, or Accent SE, after market turboed)….any day, over a dull as dishwater Corolla(or any other Toyota).
Vince:
for a guy who owns a Pacer, you sure don’t have alot of room to talk about driving a “dorky” car 😉 JK.
LOL.
Still like your car site, though…. excellent… waiting for you to show up on MotorWeek show, to do the weekly commentary!
Anonymous said…
“I wonder if this were 1990, if they could sell it in USA( due to crash regs being different… air bags were not even required yet, for 1990 models, in 91, the Sentra hd one for driver… and of course… crumple zones were non-existant back then), and different pollution regs, etc…”
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Regarding 11.53’s comments about safety, I will mention that the Dacia Logan has obtained 3 stars out of 5 in the EuroNCAP safety tests, which is quite acceptable; it’s better than a Chrysler Voyager, for example, and also better than the korean-built and direct competitor Chevrolet Aveo.
I just heard Nissan has hired http://www.7footserb.com to be face of their campaign to sell this car in Latin America. If this guy can fit in the car, it must have a lot of space and could do well for the price mentioned above.
I wonder if this Logan/Aprio is built from the same parts bin as the Nissan Versa/Versa Sedan. This looks similar to the versa sedan in Canada…with exception of harder edges and lights etc..