The Nissan Altima is often considered a consolation prize for those who can't get a Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. That reputation may not be entirely deserved, but years of low APR offers under Carlos Ghosn's market share-at-all-costs regime have resulted in an easily meme-able vehicle.
Well, you may not have the Nissan Altima to kick around for much longer if a new report is to be believed. The Drive discovered via Automotive News' product timeline that the Altima looks to be retiring in 2025 with no successor in sight. It would mark the end of Nissan's midsize ICE sedan offerings, as the Maxima crosses the chopping block at the end of 2023.
Autoblog reached out to Nissan for comment, and a spokesperson replied with the following statement: "Altima was updated in the fall of 2022 with refreshed styling and new technology. We are continuing to invest in the sedan segment to offer our customers great looking cars equipped with convenient, entertaining and safety-enhancing technologies."
When launched in 1993 the official name was Stanza Altima, but was later officially re-branded Altima. One of the reasons the Altima gathered meme-worthy clientele is because it did offer above-average power and performance compared to its rivals while remaining affordable, particularly in the V6-powered second-generation introduced in 2002. Even today, the Altima offers options like an innovative variable-compression engine and AWD that aren't necessarily available on cross-shopped competitors. Its Achilles heel is its CVT transmission, but if you can look past it Nissan even offers a sporty Altima SR trim level.
The Automotive News projection says Nissan will offer an electric sedan in 2026, but there's no word on what it will be named. "As we accelerate towards realizing Nissan’s Ambition 2030 vision we have many exciting plans in development, but we don’t have anything to share at this time," Nissan's spokesperson told us.
If the Altima is truly dead and the name too closely associated with reckless drivers with no concern for safety, including their own, the Maxima name still carries some cachet. The Altima is actually longer and taller than its supposed big brother anyway. Maxima has kind of a nice ring for an EV.
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