Tiida and Murano gain traction... Special editions in store?

Nissan's soft-selling Tiida small car and Murano SUV have turned the corner -- that's the view of Nissan marketing chief, Ross Booth. According to Booth, the troubled odd couple have individually posted their best sales stats yet in recent months.

And there's more to come. Special or limited edition models of a range of Nissan models are on the agenda and the revival of the SSS badge as a true performance option hasn't been ruled out either.

Tiida's 1090 sales in July built on a strong June but it is still well shy of the company's 1200-1300 unit per month target for the small sedan and hatch range (and less than half the volume of Mazda's 3). Sales incentives that kicked off in May for the new car were overhauled this week (see separate story here) with the announcement of a new $17,990 kick-off price for the Tiida ST. The ST-L, Q and Ti variants have all received price cuts, with the curtain airbag-equipped ST-L now positioned at $19,990.

Murano, meantime, logged 186 sales in July, down on the model's record 280-plus units in June's bumper end-of-financial year spending spree but close to the marque's 200 unit projections for the avant-garde SUV.

Booth conceded Nissan has copped criticism, particularly from its dealer group, regarding the launch of both cars. Under the spotlight have been the decision to drop the Pulsar nameplate in the case of the Tiida and the confusing  nature of the initial campaign for the Murano.

"The original research we did showed it wasn't going to be necessary to refer to the car [Tiida] as Pulsar," Booth told CarPoint yesterday. "But because we weren't getting traction and consumers were coming in and saying 'we don't know where this car sits,' we started referring to the Tiida as a Pulsar replacement."

"The [Tiida's] styling was a massive shift compared to the Pulsar, with much stronger European styling influence. Pulsar was also a sedan based model -- so our strategy was to conquest hatch buyers," Booth revealed. "We've had research that's [since] indicated that many prospective buyers are not aware the Tiida comes in a sedan."

"What you'll see in our advertising now is that we will refer to Tiida Sedan and Hatch because there is still confusion out there," Booth said.

While the initial advertising for the Tiida "did the job", the campaign chosen for the Murano launch was flawed, Booth conceded.

"When we launched Murano the advertising we used did cause some confusion. We had a lot of people thinking it was a small car -- the shots we used didn't accentuate the [size of the] car. It looked like a compact SUV," he opined.

"We changed to the current TV campaign which utilises the morphing from the Patrol which helped show the size of the car. We also changed the tagline from 'A new breed of car' to "All-wheel drive for the city' to help position the car," he said.

"It took about 12 months to get traction in the USA [with Murano] and this market's been similar. 200 [units per month] is our next target to get to and from there we'll continue to grow it," he revealed.

Momentum is one thing, but a dearth of new product launches over the next six to nine months before the new Patrol and other cars arrive in 2007 means the marque may have some challenges in grabbing its share of the limelight. One of the strategies Nissan looks set to adopt is limited or special editions.

A revival of the iconic SSS nameplate could even be on the agenda, but only if it is attached to a legitimate performance model says Booth.

"I'd love to do a SSS. Personally I think sports models can do a lot for a brand but what we won't do is throw a body kit and wheels on [a car] and call it a SSS. 

"There's a certain segment of the market that likes performance and it's another string to the bow. But we're only going to do it if it's a credible offering.

"To me SSS is a performance car -- perhaps not to the level of GT for Ford but performance [oriented] nonetheless. I would argue it needs to have suspension and engine and other performance credibility," he said.

Nissan showed a concept performance variant of the Tiida hatch at Sydney show last year (pictured). Booth confirmed "it is a direction that Nissan is looking towards" however could not elaborate.

He also confirmed the company was watching the development of the new Super 2000 world rally regulations.

So with Sydney show around the corner and the summer car buying season coming up, what's in store from Nissan in the short term?

Nissan UK's recent dalliance with hot-rodded versions of both the 350Z and Murano could provide a clue. While Booth will confirm Nissan Australia is considering new model variants, he's playing his cards close to his chest.

Perhaps part of the answer lies in the moribund NISMO aftermarket performance brand.

Since displaying a NISMO-optioned 350Z at the Melbourne Motor Show in February, Nissan has done little with the iconic brand Down Under. Booth revealed, however, he had recently had meetings with NISMO in Japan with a view to removing some of the impediments that have hamstrung the aftermarket arm Down Under.

A brace of Nismo-enhanced models could bring some welcome excitement to Nissan dealers showrooms around the country. Anyone prepared to entertain the thought of a NISMO-tuned and suspended Maxima SSS to take on Toyota's TRD-fettled Aurion?

When the man running your marketing department is an unashamed petrolhead, stranger things have happened...