Marty Padgett's Inside Scoop on Auto News and Quest

Nissan Ends U.S. Production of Infiniti QX56, Nissan Quest, Nissan Titan

By Richard ReadRichard Read, February 5th, 2009

Nissan's days of building cars for the common man may be over--at least in Mississippi. The company has said that it's shutting down production of the Infiniti QX56, Nissan Quest, and Nissan Titan at its Canton plant by the end of next calendar year. Rolling down the assembly line in 2011? Unnamed commercial vehicles.

According to company spokesman Darryll Harrison, the QX and the Quest will be made in Japan, and the Titan's making a run for the border--specifically, to a Chrysler plant in Mexico. Harrison ominously added, "Beyond those comments, we have no further comment." Hmm.

What else could Harrison possibly comment on? The lingering...

Nissan's days of building cars for the common man may be over--at least in Mississippi. The company has said that it's shutting down production of the Infiniti QX56, Nissan Quest, and Nissan Titan at its Canton plant by the end of next calendar year. Rolling down the assembly line in 2011? Unnamed commercial vehicles. According to company spokesman Darryll Harrison, the QX and the Quest will be made in Japan, and the Titan's making a run for the border--specifically, to a Chrysler plant in Mexico. Harrison ominously added, "Beyond those comments, we have no further comment." Hmm. What else could Harrison possibly comment on? The lingering... Read More

Tags: Manufacturing, Videos

Posted in: Infiniti, Nissan, QX56, Armada, Quest, Titan

2009 Nissan Quest Prices Jump Modestly

By Marty PadgettMarty Padgett, September 8th, 2008

Basking in the "Tuscan Sun"--the sole new exterior color for the 2009 Nissan Quest--just got a tad pricier. In addition to new automatic door locks and the aforementioned additional color, major changes to the minivan for '09 include an MSRP jump of $750 on the base Quest 3.5 to land at $25,950. The Quest, redesigned for 2003, presented an avant-garde flavor for a minivan that's not caught on very well with the bulk of the market that seems to favor more traditionally styled minivans. Its low beltline and sedanlike character lines impressed design critics, but no one really loved its awkward center-pod instrumentation (a la Toyota Echo and ... Basking in the "Tuscan Sun"--the sole new exterior color for the 2009 Nissan Quest--just got a tad pricier. In addition to new automatic door locks and the aforementioned additional color, major changes to the minivan for '09 include an MSRP jump of $750 on the base Quest 3.5 to land at $25,950. The Quest, redesigned for 2003, presented an avant-garde flavor for a minivan that's not caught on very well with the bulk of the market that seems to favor more traditionally styled minivans. Its low beltline and sedanlike character lines impressed design critics, but no one really loved its awkward center-pod instrumentation (a la Toyota Echo and ... Read More

Posted in: 2009, Nissan, Vans, Quest

6 Reasons to Doubt the U.S. VW Microbus

By Marty PadgettMarty Padgett, September 7th, 2008

This weekend's chatter about a new Volkswagen Microbus erupting from the company's new Tennessee plant is fun reading, but don't count on a new minivan from VW anytime soon. A report in an Australian newspaper speculated that a new Microbus for the U.S. market only would be coming from VW's new Chattanooga plant, and our new favorite blog TechCrunch spent a few paragraphs talking about "serious" discussions for a new Microbus for America. (The latter post reminded us that VW has a research center in Palo Alto, Calif., steps away from the throbbing headquarters of TheCarConnection.com.) TechCrunch says it wants its new Microbus as an... This weekend's chatter about a new Volkswagen Microbus erupting from the company's new Tennessee plant is fun reading, but don't count on a new minivan from VW anytime soon. A report in an Australian newspaper speculated that a new Microbus for the U.S. market only would be coming from VW's new Chattanooga plant, and our new favorite blog TechCrunch spent a few paragraphs talking about "serious" discussions for a new Microbus for America. (The latter post reminded us that VW has a research center in Palo Alto, Calif., steps away from the throbbing headquarters of TheCarConnection.com.) TechCrunch says it wants its new Microbus as an... Read More

Posted in: 2008, Nissan, Volkswagen, Vans, Quest