Nissan TIIda 2013 News

Ford sued Nissan over this ad, which showed engineer 'gangstas' rapping with a silver Ford Focus in the background. Laden with gold jewelry, slugging champagne, counting money -- and surrounded by women dancing in bikinis -- the engineers rap about raking it in by overpricing the Focus. The Portuguese lyrics translate as “All this luxury, I got with your money. Don’t cry because you’re paying extra — your money was well spent, look at the fun I have with it.” The video closes with a brief look at Nissan’s Tiida, comparing its lower price with the Focus. Ford forced Nissan to withdraw the ad on the basis of  ‘improper brand uses’ and ‘unfair competition’. And the ad itself it tasteless, which begs the question of why Nissan in Brazil would run it. Until you remember Nissan bombed in Australia with a smutty innuendo TVC for the Tiida starring 'Sex and the City' cougar Kim Cattrall. In fairness, this ad is even cheesier...

The arrival of an all-new compact Nissan at the Shanghai Motor Show next week is the trigger for a crucial decision over the car's future in Australia. The newcomer is the replacement for today's Tiida and is almost certain to become a born-again Pulsar in Australia when it lands early next year. Chinese sources say it is longer than the current model with a larger cabin, as well as the potential for a hot-hatch model with around 140   kiloWatts to rival the Mazda3 MPS. Nissan Australia refuses to comment on the new Tiida, which has a body shape with similar proportions to the recently-released Micra and a stronger commitment to cabin quality and driving enjoyment. But company chief, Dan Thompson, has said many times that he favours a return of the Pulsar badge - a small-car name to rival the Toyota Corolla - in place of the unloved Tiida name. While the Tiida-Pulsar choice is still looming, Nissan is aiming for an all-time high in Australian sales. Its showroom result in March - yet to be confirmed by official VFacts figures - is claimed as the best in the company's history. "It's the best since we withdrew from local manufacturing," says   Thompson. "We're now the fastest-growing car company in Australia. And we're   determined to keep it that way. "Our plan is to have our share up over seven per cent. The market is growing... we see it growing into the 1.1 million range with good potential for Nissan."

However, a return of the Pulsar brand is not guaranteed.  Nissan Australia boss Dan Thompson says they will conduct research to find an "appropriate name". "Pulsar has tremendous equity for Nissan but its equity is decreasing while Tiida is actually increasing," he says.  "Yet five years on Tiida still doesn't have as much equity as Pulsar. "I can assure you it (the new smal hatch and sedan) won't be called a Tiida.  "There will be multiple names available globally to pick from." The Nissan Australia managing director and CEO says the new vehicle will be one of the most important models - along with the new Micra - for stimulating sales growth. Thompson set a plan 18 months ago to become the number one full importer by the end of the 2012.  He says the new light car and coming small car will be pivotal to achieving those targets. "We have to get our dealers to start thinking about Nissan as being a light and small car company, not just SUVs and pick-ups," he says.  Apart from the new small car, next year will be a slow time for new Nissan product. "2011 will be mainly about product extension (new variants) and enhancements (facelifts and feature upgrades), particularly to Dualis and Navara," he says.  "However, the most significant extension next year will be the X-Trail 4x2."

Nissan Motor Company Australia managing director Dan Thompson says the next-generation Tiida could be known as the Pulsar. "The next generation is still several years out so it's probably too early to talk about the name," he says. "However, I understand the traction and equity of the name Pulsar. We will consider whether it is appropriate to bring back the name at that time." Pulsar debuted in Australia in 1978 and gained a legion of fans with its sporty performance in some models. However, the company changed the name to Tiida in all markets except America 2007. Critics claim the name has failed to gain market support. "There is still a lot of research that needs to happen before the next model arrives," Thompson says. "Pulsar has a high general awareness but what does it actually mean to people? Pulsar has a strong link with Nissan. There is no doubt about that." Nissan this month releases the Dualis 4x2 which is the fifth new product since January after Murano, GT-R, 370Z and Maxima. "It's been a big time for us," Thompson says. "All products have been ahead of our (sales) expectations. We have over achieved in every model." The next new model is the Z Roadster arriving in the first quarter of 2010. The next-generation Micra will arrive in early 2011 featuring a full line up of variants, possibly including a "hot" model, Thompson says. Nissan's light car has been hampered by a lack of models, being only available as a five-door auto. Despite the lack of variants, Thompson says the Micra is selling up to 500 a month. He says Nissan would not import the funky Cube, even though it is a global car. "We have looked at it but it's not right for Australia at this stage," he says. "We're very much focused on performance in our brand. So there is better product for Australia than the Cube." He says the 370Z and GT-R had "reinvented the brand as a sportscar brand". The GT-R had particularly sold well, exceeding expectations selling its 2009 allocation of 200 already. Cube is not the right fit for our brand at the moment," he says. "There is nothing I have against the Cube, but we are not interested in bringing in every model available overseas. We don't want to make the model line-up too complex." Meanwhile, Thompson says Nissan's luxury arm, Infiniti, would definitely come to Australia. "It's only a matter of time with its launch into Europe and the UK finally in right-hand drive," he says. "It's still a long way out. We will tackle it when the time is right. It's a perfect fit for Australia." Thompson says that when Infiniti launched it would include "the entire line-up" as every vehicle was now available in right-hand drive. "It is a separate brand and would be handled that way with separate dealers and administration," he says. "It's an exciting brand," says the American who worked with Infiniti in the US about seven years ago.

Even though the mean-looking CST-R did the rounds of the Sydney and Melbourne motor shows to gauge public reaction it was overshadowed by two other stars, the GT-R and new 370Z. However, Nissan Australia's brand manager, Darren Holland, says he would like to have a hotter-looking Tiida in showrooms soon. Although he is reluctant to put a date on it, he sees the CST-R as the perfect vehicle to help rev up interest in the Tiida, now in its fourth year of local sales. A small run of possibly 250 CST-Rs could lift the model until the next-generation Tiida arrives around 2012, he says. "It's certainly something we're looking at," he says. "It's on the to-do list. "We could do a couple of hundred and I think the dealers would be happy with that." Holland says some dealers are already taking matters into their own hands, doing their own tricked-up Tiidas with 17-inch wheels and bodykits. Despite the urge to resurrect the SSS name for a hotter Nissan, Holland reckons the special Tiidas would not warrant the SSS tag, a performance 2.0-litre model made popular by Nissan in the 1990s. "The SSS is a completely different style of car," he says. "We wouldn't call it the SSS." Holland also has his eye on the new Maxima, which goes on sale next month. He thinks a tricked-up Maxima will lift its image. "I think this new car is definitely a candidate," he says. "Probably more so than the previous-generation Maxima." However, Holland is not rushing into either the CST-R or a body-kitted Maxima. He wants to bed down the new Murano, GT-R, just-launched 370Z and launch the front-wheel drive Dualis later this year before looking at other potential candidates. The CST-R concept was built by Nissan's aftersales department to get some customer feedback. It grabs an array of bits and pieces from Nissan Japan's Impul accessories line. Impul versions of the Tiida, Note, Cube and Micra are popular in Japan. The CST-R received a lowered suspension, 17-inch wheels with black alloys, chrome exhaust, leather interior and Bluetooth compatibility. In Japan Impul can also chip engines for more power or fit a supercharger, however this is unlikely for Australia, Holland says. The Tiida name replaced the well-known Pulsar name when it was launched in 2006 but the small car has never sold in the numbers, nor experienced the Pulsar's popularity. Nissan moved production to Thailand and cut the entry price from $19,990 to $17,990, which has helped push sales. This year Nissan has sold 2974 Tiida sedans and hatches, down almost 11 per cent compared to last year. In its first full year on sale in 2006 11,014 were sold, compared to 17,643 Pulsars in 2005.