Altima 2nd runner-up for Detroit Free Press Car of the Year award

752 Views 1 Reply 2 Participants Last post by Davard, Jan 3, 2002

Afty

Discussion Starter · Jan 2, 2002

OK, so it's not a huge award. And our car got 2nd runner up, behind the Acura RSX and the Ford Thunderbird. Still, it's a good read.

For the Nissan Altima, our second runner-up, an argument could be made that this midsize family sedan will have more impact in a key segment than either the RSX or the Thunderbird. Unlike the Ford or Acura, this is a car hundreds of thousands of Americans will be driving in the next few years.

They'll be well satisfied.

This handsome, affordable Altima grew in size and style to measure itself against the best midsize sedans. Then it added a twist: Power. Hairy, chest-thumping power.

The Altima can't touch the sex appeal of the Ford or the handling of the Acura. But equipped with its lusty 3.5-liter, 240-horsepower engine, it's actually faster than either. Even its standard 175-horsepower engine tops about any four-cylinder in its class for sheer thrust.

If it weren't for a somewhat chintzy interior,the Altima might have shot past both the T-Bird and Acura to the top of the list.

http://www.auto.com/industry/autoyr27_20011227.htm

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I'm guessing that they weren't comparing the interior to either the T-Bird or the RSX. Besides having no headroom (I'm 6'3"), the interior of the RSX seemed like a big downgrade from the Integra that it replaced. Sure, the leather was nice, but the whole dashboard seemed cheap and cheesy.

And the T-Bird? I guess that Ford must be a major advertiser for the Detroit Free Press, just like they are at Motor Trend (you all knew that Motor Trend selected Car of the Year based on advertising sales, didn't you??). That pretender POS will show off all the sports car wannabes who care how they look in the car, not how the car drives.

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