Nissan Altima
The Altima is a mid-size car currently being manufactured by the Japanese automaker Nissan, and is arguably a continuation of the "bloodline" that began with the Nissan Bluebird in 1957. It is larger, has more features, and is more expensive than the Nissan Sentra compact car; but is cheaper, less luxuriously appointed, and offers less powerful engines than the Nissan Maxima sports sedan. It competes with the Honda Accord, Mazda6, Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion and Hyundai Sonata.
In addition to North America, the Altima is available in the Middle East. In other markets, Nissan sells a related midsize sedan called the Nissan Teana built on the same FF-L platform.
History
In 1993, Nissan discontinued its much-criticized Stanza compact car, replacing it with the US-made Altima, originally as a compact car. The very first Altima rolled off the assembly line on June 15, 1992 as a 1993 model. Until June 2004, all Altimas had been built in Smyrna, Tennessee. However, in June 2004, Nissan's Canton, Mississippi, plant began producing additional Altimas to meet high demand.
Third generation (2002-2006)
The third generation Altima, codenamed L31, first sold in 2002, has been well received by the press because of its design, power, and style. It crosses over to the mid-size class this time. It was the first mass-market product built on Nissan's FF-L platform. It is unique to North America and has no equivalent model in Japan, where smaller vehicles tend to be favored by buyers. The Japanese Nissan Teana is similar, but is not identical and slots between the Altima and Maxima in size.
It comes with either a QR25DE engine - 2.5 L straight-4 DOHC engine with a power of 175 hp (130 kW) or a more powerful VQ35DE engine (the one used in the Infiniti G35, Infiniti FX35, Infiniti M35, Nissan Maxima, Nissan Murano, Nissan Quest and Nissan 350Z) - 3.5 L V6 DOHC engine with a power of 250 hp (186 kW). 2005 saw the addition of a sporty SE-R model making 260 hp (194 kW). The Altima SE-R became the first sports model for the lineup sporting 18" Forged Aluminum wheels, along with upgraded brake system, suspension, performance exhaust, lower body sculpting and more.
The Altima won the North American Car of the Year award for 2002.
The Altima is a mid-size car currently being manufactured by the Japanese automaker Nissan, and is arguably a continuation of the "bloodline" that began with the Nissan Bluebird in 1957. It is larger, has more features, and is more expensive than the Nissan Sentra compact car; but is cheaper, less luxuriously appointed, and offers less powerful engines than the Nissan Maxima sports sedan. It competes with the Honda Accord, Mazda6, Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion and Hyundai Sonata.
In addition to North America, the Altima is available in the Middle East. In other markets, Nissan sells a related midsize sedan called the Nissan Teana built on the same FF-L platform.
History
In 1993, Nissan discontinued its much-criticized Stanza compact car, replacing it with the US-made Altima, originally as a compact car. The very first Altima rolled off the assembly line on June 15, 1992 as a 1993 model. Until June 2004, all Altimas had been built in Smyrna, Tennessee. However, in June 2004, Nissan's Canton, Mississippi, plant began producing additional Altimas to meet high demand.
Third generation (2002-2006)
The third generation Altima, codenamed L31, first sold in 2002, has been well received by the press because of its design, power, and style. It crosses over to the mid-size class this time. It was the first mass-market product built on Nissan's FF-L platform. It is unique to North America and has no equivalent model in Japan, where smaller vehicles tend to be favored by buyers. The Japanese Nissan Teana is similar, but is not identical and slots between the Altima and Maxima in size.
It comes with either a QR25DE engine - 2.5 L straight-4 DOHC engine with a power of 175 hp (130 kW) or a more powerful VQ35DE engine (the one used in the Infiniti G35, Infiniti FX35, Infiniti M35, Nissan Maxima, Nissan Murano, Nissan Quest and Nissan 350Z) - 3.5 L V6 DOHC engine with a power of 250 hp (186 kW). 2005 saw the addition of a sporty SE-R model making 260 hp (194 kW). The Altima SE-R became the first sports model for the lineup sporting 18" Forged Aluminum wheels, along with upgraded brake system, suspension, performance exhaust, lower body sculpting and more.
The Altima won the North American Car of the Year award for 2002.