The Rise, Fall, And Meme-ification Of The Nissan Altima

Thanks for the summary

Nissan probably does have a lot of the so-called "multicultural market", but I don't see actually see that line in the article.

not to mention CNAs

i was a young traveling salesman and got my first car and it was a 07 Altima. Traded it in 2021 with 255,000 miles

Great car. Didnt know about the stereotype

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was a young traveling salesman and got my first car and it was a 07 Altima. Traded it in 2021 with 255,000 miles Great car. Didnt know about the stereotype

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They’re great cars. I think it’s a little bit of survivorship bias. They were mass produced, cheap, and reliable vehicles. By sheer volume, cost, and reliability they were bound to end up in the hands of some unsavory people.

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As a cornerstone of its profit strategy, Nissan worked with subprime lenders such as Santander to go after low-credit shoppers with car loans carrying interest rates as high as 20 to 25 percent. Saddled with bad credit, these customers often didn’t have financing options with any other brands. Nissan’s finance arm formally called this program the SignatureAccess Sub-Prime Dual Pass-Through Program in a 2021 dealer memo.

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Nissan and its financial partners made big money on these high-interest loans, but they were left holding the bag when things went wrong. High repossessions and reputational damage followed these programs in a vicious cycle that ultimately hurt Nissan’s stock price and reputation.

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With Altimas (and other Nissans) being sold new and used to customers with few other options, the last step came into play: Social stigmatization. More and more Altimas found their way into households with fewer financial resources to keep them on the road. Hubcaps fell off. Check Engine lights burned bright. Crash damage wasn’t repaired properly, or at all. And memes ensued.

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Blame it on the Nissan Heisman house commercials.

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How did it become synonymous with reckless driving, bad credit, and memes?

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Once owning a Cadillac wasn't as important to society as it used to be.

Yeah, this article focuses on income without mentioning race, and certainly a large part of the reason why Nissan's reputation has fallen is because poor black people in the ghetto have bought the car.

But with that being said, there also are some trashy poor white people who haven't exactly helped Nissan's reputation either.

I like to wear my bonnet and refuse to use turn signals when I drive my 2009 altima