On my trip to the United States in November 2001, I decided to buy a car so that I could drive across the country to Washington, DC and New York. I found a 1993 Nissan Altima GLE in beige, loaded. I probably spent a bit much on it, but it did drive across country and back without any problems, was comfortable, reasonably fast for its size/class/price, and drove like new.
I tried to sell it before I left in February 2002, with 10,000 more miles on it than when I bought it, but failed. So I decided to keep it for use when I vacation, saving myself rental car fees and transportation costs. It's being stored with a co-worker at the moment.
The Altima is similar to the car sold in New Zealand between 1992 and 1997 as "Bluebird", but with a 2.4 litre KA24DE engine, and some other specification differences. When I saw this type of car shortly after its release in '92, I fell in love with its futuristic, curvy styling. When I rode in one shortly after, I was amazed at the luxury even in the base models - standard crushed velour interior, standard two-tone grey on brown interior colours, standard wood trim, electric windows, air conditioning etc. It really made the other cars in its class look like strippers!
The car I bought is a top of the line model, with all electrics, climate A/C, CD/cassette player with good bass response, power tilt/slide sunroof, gathered tan leather seating in excellent shape, all carpets top notch, 4-speed auto, driver's airbag and automatic seatbelts (video of these in action to come).
The car also features a unique Head Up Display which reflects the current speed and other important information onto the bottom left of the windshield to prevent you from having to take your eyes off the road to read from the instrument pod. This feature is in very few cars but use it for an extended period and you'll come to rely on it! I sure missed it when I got back into my Silvia...
One of the nicest aspects of this car is the quality, the aforementioned plastic wood, leather, and multi-colour interior make it seem like a much more expensive car, and nice external details like chromed door handles and exhaust pipe add a touch of class.
I need to get an oil leak fixed, but apart from that the car seems to be going alright. It's one of the few cars that doesn't piss me off, and believe me, I've driven this car a long way - from Mountain View, CA to New York, NY, and back again. Nissan makes great cars.
Details:
| Make/Model: | 1993 Nissan Altima GLE |
| Engine: | 2.4 litre I-4 (FWD) @ 150bhp (KA24DE) |
| Transmission: | 4-speed Automatic |
| Mileage: | 93,000 |
Media:
Somewhat poor Nighttime photos, from December 1, 2001
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