They’re big(gish) in volume, but not profitable in dollars. Lots of also-ran products which results in low margins to move the volume.
It seems like I read somewhere that a lot of Nissan’s volume comes from fleet sales, i.e. selling to car rental companies. Which results in even lower margins since those companies are getting some pretty substantial volume discounts.
I don’t rent cars very often, but anecdotally it does seem like a lot of rental cars are Nissans nowadays.
More boring DYI stuff, but I finally finished a project this week and feel like telling someone.
After our month long RV-ing trip in October, we decided to change some things.
First was to upgrade our fuel capacity enough to avoid stops during travel days. We added an aluminum auxiliary tank in the truck’s bed.
Second was to add a sufficient inverter generator to power our fifth-wheel camper off-grid. It mounts on a rear rack, with quick-disconnect tie-in to the camper’s propane system, and is removeable for storage. Due to this, our bed crane must lift a much heavier load with a longer “reach” (300% increase in moment-arm). The original small rectangular base of the crane cannot hold this.
A welding shop expanded the crane’s base with c-channel extensions tied to steel plate bracing beneath the bed. My “design requirements” were that all the above are bolted on, and removeable in the future.
A snapshot of the result. It ain’t pretty but it works. The C-channel extensions are welded to the original base, with plate steel welded to brace the rear on a strong section of the bed. The angled extension to the right allows us to place really heavy loads in the (previously unreachable) right-front portion of the bed. Everything’s bolted to a steel framework anchored beneath the bed.
The aluminum aux tank is just ahead of the fifth wheel hitch. Added bonus is that I can now lift the entire fifth-wheel hitch out as a single unit, without disassembling it (it weighs nearly 200 lbs.).
Wow, that’s really nice. Just curious… how much did the shop charge you for the custom welding? There have been times I have needed something similar, but had no idea of whom to go to, or what it might cost.
$500 even. Old shop in the old part of town. They did all the work, including removing the original base, removing the spare tire (to install the plates underneath), drilling, painting and reinstalling everything.
My wife and I installed the aux tank ourselves, since it was only drilling and bolting (and repeated shouting from underneath the truck: “Not that bolt! The other one!”). 
That’s dirt cheap for everything they did. Even if (I think) I could do it myself, not sure I’d mess it with if a pro could do it for that.
Another place to buy new cars:
Only Hyundai for now–and only in a few cities.
I just got back from a long holiday road trip, driving about 4,000 miles round trip. We took my wife’s new car, a Mazda CX-50. Top trim level because my wife wanted the ventilated seats (which are great). And the turbo engine as well. This car is an absolute pleasure to drive. But the nice surprise for me was the usefulness of the heads up display (HUD), especially since the blind spot monitor shows an indicator on the HUD, as well as the lights in the mirrors. Now that I am back to driving my truck, I really miss the HUD.
On the other hand, I have decided that Android Auto was designed by Gen Z programmers who don’t actually drive cars.
In a move that has left drivers both frustrated and bewildered, Stellantis has introduced full-screen pop-up ads on its infotainment systems. Specifically, Jeep owners have reported being bombarded with advertisements for Mopar’s extended warranty service. The kicker? These ads appear every time the vehicle comes to a stop.
Imagine pulling up to a red light, checking your GPS for directions, and suddenly, the entire screen is hijacked by an ad. That’s the reality for some Stellantis owners. Instead of seamless functionality, drivers are now forced to manually close out of ads just to access basic vehicle function.
The wave of the future!