How to save Nissan

Recently, there has been a lot of turmoil for Nissan as they seem to have lost a spark of innovation in addition to trouble with two high level executives including Carlos Ghosn arrested for money laundering. I've put together a plan for them about how to get back on track.

1. Move on from Ghosn as soon as possible. As much as Ghosn propelled the comany forward, he's currently in hiding in Lebanon and Nissan, although they would be wise to recoup their money from him, would be equally clever to replace him and move on.

2. Replace the 370Z and GTR. The Supra created so much hype for Toyota and carried over a buzz to the rest of their lineup. There's a few other Japanese brands who could learn a lesson from this, but Nissan is the most prevalent. Their lineup is dated and lacking the spark. Bring in the new GTR (which is basically confirmed), then also bring in a new Z car (and for goodness sake, don't make it an SUV). A 180SX or even a 200NX replacement would be equally welcome.

3. Expand the international lineup. Maybe not in the US but certainly in Australia the lineup is currently a lot of SUVs which have mixed fortunes, the dated 370Z and the dated-yet-insane GTR, the Leaf which is probably the only class leader they have and the Navara which brings in big sales. They need to bring in a hatchback, and to market it better than the Pulsar, as well as it to actually be good.

4. Marketing. I haven't seen any truly innovative marketing in a long time from Nissan, excepting the GTR which sells itself. The X-Trail and Pathfinder have reputations of being dull family wagons, the Maxima was a retirement home on wheels and the 370Z is impossible to sell nowadays. All of the other points will help this but this is why they are paid.

5. Design. This is another department that needs to step up it's game. The GTR looks good but apart from that, it's hard (but not impossible) to find a innovative production car from the design department recently. The Qashqai, X-Trail and Pathfinder all have a deathly bland reputation, every sedan/hatch in the last fifteen years have been a reaction and the new Patrol, while a competent car, looks like it wasn't just hit with the ugly stick, it was hit by the ugly truck. The Leaf 2.0 provides some momentum but they have to keep the ball rolling from that.

6. Run with their motorsports image. While the GTRLM was a disaster, the Leaf RC, KCMG Nissan GT3 squad, Super GT exploits, Formula E team and in Australia their presence in Supercars are all rewarding to the brand image. It's worth plugging that more. Refreshing the performance car lineup would help.

7. What can they do locally? Nissan have some big ticket cars overseas that can easily fill some gaps. For one, the Micra and Versa fill a very popular segment that Nissan have previously said they aren't interested in re-entering, but it may be worth it for the profit line. Another car that is worth importing is the Titan pickup which, as Ram and Chevy have proven, would sell like hot cakes.

So that's how I would revive Nissan! Would you do anything different? Let me know below!