Nissan will sell a version of the Versa for under $10,000.
On Friday morning, Nissan announced it will soon begin selling a version of its Versa subcompact car for under $10,000.
Available on Nov. 18, the 2009 Versa Sedan 1.6 is equipped with a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine producing 107 horsepower and will retail for $9,990, with a destination charge of $695 nudging it up to $10,685.
The last time an automaker offered a sub-$10,000 car was in 2004 when Chevrolet sold the Aveo for $9,995. The current version of the Aveo retails for $12,625, according to the Chevy Web site.
The 1.6-liter engine in the Versa Sedan 1.6 is the smallest in the model lineup (the standard engine is a 1.8-liter). The Versa Sedan 1.6 will also have few amenities (”simplified content” are the words used by Nissan). A five-speed manual transmission is standard, and a four-speed automatic will be available as an option.
Gas mileage is rated at 26 city and 34 highway for the manual transmission model and 26/33 for the automatic.
Over the past few years, with the rapid industrialization of developing countries, there has been a spotlight on low-priced cars produced in China and India. Tata Motors of India garnered the most attention with its introduction of the Nano, an ultra-compact car that would be priced around $2,500. But Tata has no plans of selling the Nano in America.
In the United States, the sub-$10,000 Versa Sedan 1.6 will be the lowest-priced car on the market by a big margin.
A quick look at prices (without destination charges) of other subcompacts, according to manufacturer Web sites, finds: the Kia Rio for $11,495; the Honda Fit at $14,550; the Toyota Yaris for $12,205; and the Suzuki SX4 at $13,299.
14 Comments
i’ll have one!
— peterMany Americans want low cost, fuel efficient cars.
Kei cars are a special class of cars in Japan. They are limited to an engine size of 660cc and have vehicle size, but not weight, restrictions. They are made by many different Japanese car companies and they are mature designs that are reliable, and get up to 60 mpg. They can cost less than $10,000.
If these cars were converted to hybrids, they might get 100 mpg.
However, they can’t be driven in the U.S. because they can’t meet U.S. crash test requirements.
I believe that adding my crumple box invention to a Kei car will allow it to pass U.S. safety requirements. Then it could be driven in the U.S.
On my website I have calculations that show that my invention can reduce the g forces from side impacts from the current 85 g standard to only 20 g’s.
The invention can do better for rear impacts because the rear bumper can stick out farther than a side bumper. The length of a crumple zone is a critical factor in reducing
g forces.
Some American auto companies have ties to Kei car manufacture. They could make these cars.
Please help me promote this idea.
See my website http://www.safersmallcars.com
— steve shopaWhat still amazes me is using Google News search to look at newspapers from the 1980’s with advertisements for vehicles getting 40 MPG, and the automakers are telling us today that 40MPG is not achievable.
— ChuckY’know, the Versa isn’t a bad car. We’ve rented a few through Zipcar and at least in the hatchback configuration is roomy and pretty comfortable. You wouldn’t buy it for handling or ride comfort, but that’s not the point of a car at this price.
The real question is, what’s the point for Nissan? They can’t be making much if any profit. Is this just the latest loss-leader at an eye-catching price tag?
— PeterSee your dealer for complete details! Offer void to Exxon Oil executives.
— Joe PariseAs Chuck indicates many small cars from the past achieved 40 miles per gallon plus.
— Bill HiggsThe main reason for the decrease is the increase of weight and horsepower.
Weight has been added for several reasons , safety , sound and vibration reduction , and stiffer bodies to accomodate higher horsepower.
Acceleration has increased to better than 0 to 60 mph in less than 10 seconds, equivalent to a V8 Chevy of the sixties or an M.G sports car.
A modern small car though is much more driveable than the 60’s , which were often called little “buzz boxes”
Fuel economy could be improved by lowering safety standards , possibly with airbags crumple weight could be reduced. Anyway a sixties car is safer than a current motorbike. An aluminum body would save some 30% in weight and therefore be 30% more fuel efficient.
Another reason cars today advertise lower fuel economy numbers is the change in EPA test cycles that took place a few years back. The EPA updated their city and highway test cycles to reflect higher speed limits and real world driving conditions. This reduced the EPA estimates by around 10/15% overnight. Other than that it seems Bill hit it right on the head. If all else remains equal, increased weight = reduced fuel economy.
As for aluminum bodies I have always heard that to create an aluminum body that is as strong as a steel body you have to use a higher volume of aluminum partially reducing the benefit of aluminum’s lower density.
— Eric BThe EPA fuel economy test regime recently became more stringent, shrinking most cars’ ratings considerably. 40 mpg is well within reach if the market will support smaller engines and slower acceleration. They do it everyday in Europe and Japan. The 50+ mpg some cars return may harder in the US because of crash safety rules.
Versa is too big and heavy for top league fuel economy. Nissan’s move with the $10K price point is meant to pre-empt other makers, and of course meet today’s zeitgeist.
Diesel engines, with their nearly 40% advantage in latent energy per liter of fuel are another way to higher mileage.
— rednosedogBut clean diesel technology is expensive. It’s hard to make a profit on a cheap diesel car. Harder still when gasoline hybrids are even cleaner, with compressed natural gas cleanest.
Sign me up.
I’ve driven Versa as a loaner when my current Nissan Altima is in for service, and it’s definitely the best of the genre formerly known as econoboxes (yeah, I’m dating myself.) I’ve certainly gotten used to steering wheel controls for audio and cruise control, but for $10K (or thereabouts) I’ll turn the knobs on the dashboard.
— BobGJapanese Kei cars could be imported into the US if the Department of Transportation (DOT) changed their Byzantine regulations to certify a car for sale in this country.
Japanese Kei cars meet Japan’s stringent crash test rules, however this same test is not valid in the US. Japanese manufacturers would have to crash test several cars in order to certify the car for sale. This is expensive and not worth it after the small profit margin found on these cars.
— TapatioThere is an even cuter Nissan subcompact now on the road in Japan that I know would sell well if brought to the United States. It’s a hatchback that comfortable seats 4 large-size adults. It’s called “March” there. One of the things that make it particularly cute are its headlights which protrude somewhat upward from the front of the car, making it look like a cute little creature. I’d buy one now if I could get one here.
— Carol HarlowIf Ford has enough money left to ship them, there are European Focus and Ka models, just to name a few, that could be sold here for even less.
Stupidly, Ford chose NOT to build those cars to US safety specs, so the Europeans have enjoyed these wonderful, frugal cars with available high-MPG clean-diesels for years, while we hapless Americans were sold the fluffed-up version of the original decade-old Focus, which is simply not competitive.
I blame society. And short-sighted Detroit management that can’t see any further than its powder-blue leisure-suited paunch.
— ZinoI think it has to be pointed out that most probably this ” new ” Nissan is not a Chinese or a Indian product, but it
— rikkie007is a slightly modified Dacia Logan ( since Reanult bought
some years ago this ex-eastern-bloc Rumanian automaker ) and since Reanult owns at least 44% of Nissan, they do use the very cheap labour-force and
the somewhat outdated technology of former and no-longer-produced Renault cars to build their more
” economical ” cars ( at least with reference to the price-
tag, and for sure not with reference to their fuel-consumption )
These Dacia’s sell a huge amount of cars now in Europe
and also in South-America ( where they are sold as
Reanult’s ).
Basically these cars are quite OK if one is looking
to buy a cheap car, without all the latest modern technology; but which allows one to travel from point A
to point B, without having spent a ” fortune ” when buying
a car, which by the way is much more costly in Europe
than it is in the USA
where i can buy nissan versa sedan for 10000
— dragan