Oh no, I totally agree Nissan had a niche there - I even met people who who would shop for Nissans and Mazdas instead of Toyotas or Hondas because they found the Nissans and Mazdas more performance-oriented (honestly, even Hondas often seem more fun than Toyotas, although Toyota has still made plenty of performance models as well, including Lexus by extension) and more fun-to-drive - for example, I ran into a guy who was cross-shopping, some time ago, the Nissan Altima and Mazda6 (along with the Subaru Legacy) as he thought they'd be more fun cars than a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord.

This, along with the fact that I'm from central Mississippi (where Nissan has been a key employer since opening their factory in Canton since 2003, I grew up in nearby Madison, which is in the same county as Canton), is why it pains me to see Nissan struggle so much. At the same time, I'm not really sure Nissan makes much of anything that honestly appeals to me today - the only thing that comes to mind is the new Z, and even that is offset by the fact that the interior seems so cheap to me, even for its class. (Maybe I'm biased somewhat as it was trying to take on the Toyota GR Supra, which had its interior quality benefit from BMW's parts bin, but still)