What does the Nissan Versa 1.6 offer for $9,990? Not much
Cheap, efficient transportation is highly desirable right now, and Nissan has stepped and delivered a super base Versa that will run you under 10 large. But what do you get for that rock-bottom MSRP? Well, you still get four wheels, four doors and six airbags, but things get thin from there. Nissan started with a one-two punch of crank windows and no air conditioning, making the economical sedan a bad choice south of the Mason Dixon line. A five-speed manual is standard fare, with automated cogs available for $1,000. Our friends over at Kicking Tires note that you also have to add A/C to the option box to get that slush box, and that'll run you a second $1,000. Nissan also saves coin by using cheap black plastic for the side mirrors and door handles, and the wheels have shrunk to 14 inches. Wait, where's the radio? Oh, there isn't one, at least not as standard equipment. Nissan provides the speakers and the wiring, but an aftermarket setup is required to hear anything other than road noise. Out the door pricing for a Versa with A/C and an automatic transmission will cost you at least $12,935 with destination. So much for being the cheapest car in the U.S.
[Source: Kicking Tires]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Stu L Tissimus 4:05PM (11/06/2008)
I dont think I've ever even heard of a car that doesn't come with a radio. Wow.
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slider912 4:10PM (11/06/2008)
Then apparently you aren't a child of (or lived through) the 80s. This is what most economy cars were back then, except....they were 1900lb tin cans without airbags, crumple zones, pretensioners etc.
Every make had one - Ford Festiva, Mazda 323, Dodge Shadow America, Toyota Tercel, Honda Civic h/b, Chevy Sprint (turbo available, 70 hp), hell...Yugo... there was actually a time in American auto history where people were able to crank their own windows, live a life without A/C...
BigMcLargeHuge 4:15PM (11/06/2008)
Typically you have to pay big money to get a car with no radio. :P
geo.stewart 4:40PM (11/06/2008)
$50 walmart radio. no biggie.
dont think its fair to saddle the auto with it to come up with a 12+ 'base'. air, yes. but there are too many cars where a 5-sp is, gasp, standard.
aftermarket air is always an option too though
vito_dja 4:54PM (11/06/2008)
the first Subaru WRX STI came with No Radio.
happy_penguin 4:59PM (11/06/2008)
Aftermarket air? Who the hell has done that since the 1970's?
Derek 6:00PM (11/06/2008)
I own a '71 Mercedes Benz that came with no radio. It even came with a nice little block off plate that matches the interior and has a chrome badge with the model number.
fixitfixitstop 6:11PM (11/06/2008)
My 1990 Honda Civic S 3-door was purchased NEW for $7000 including 6% sales tax.
It had power nothing, no speakers, no radio, no a/c, a 4-speed manual, and vinyl seats.
There used to be a lot of cars like that before everybody started driving up the amenities by leasing.
spookiness 6:59PM (11/06/2008)
Hondas didn't come with radios from the factory. They were dealer installed, if you got one from a dealer, and if you did they charged about $250 for a cassette deck and 2 speakers. It was this way in the 80's, until they starting having DX, LX, EX packages.
geo.stewart 7:28PM (11/06/2008)
ITs actually funny that on a lot of imported cars, the radios are all PIO rather than factory-equipped.
now, how is it cheaper that way? I have no idea.
Judy Zik 9:09PM (11/06/2008)
I love it! Realistically the kind of radio they would have put in for that price wouldn't have been worth keeping anyway. This is what we have been missing for awhile and I hope it starts a trend. A plain old econobox that allows people on a budget to drive a new car with a warranty. This is what the Honda Civic started out as and in this economy maybe it is time people had the chance to scale back to something cheap and practical. I think most of us have owned one at some point. I have graduated to the stage where I would want the optional air but they can keep the automatic.
tekd 1:04AM (11/07/2008)
This, oddly enough, reminds me of the 1985 Nissan Sentra my dad used to drive...he bought the most stripped out model they had back then...manual transmission, no radio, no AC, and hand cranked windows... If it weren't for the fact that they don't use vinyl seats anymore this car would be almost identically specced in terms of comforts.
Oddly enough, that car had pretty good crash test ratings too (especially for a tiny little car), so this is some serious 1980's Nissan Deja Vu going on. Back then that car ran about $5000, so I guess inflation has made $9995 the new $5000.
Dave 11:05AM (11/07/2008)
The Dodge Viper didn't have a radio
Murph11 11:30AM (11/09/2008)
Usually they have radios as an option now on cars that you may like hearing the engine rev, but I doubt that is the reason for this Nissan...
BigMcLargeHuge 4:11PM (11/06/2008)
Broke? Buy used.
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akboss 8:55AM (11/07/2008)
Its not about being broke, its a great opportunity for people who want to spend less money to buy a brand new car, with warranty, for the price of a used car. This drives new-car sales (thus supporting the automotive sector), rewards the buyer with peace of mind, and gets you where you want to go in a reliable, safe and economical vehicle. The VW City cars available in Canada do the same - its a stripped down version of the last generation of Jetta/Golf that come without A/C or power accessories, and they sell like mad.
Torrent 4:08PM (11/06/2008)
My God that's terrible.
Fugly, too. I do like the hatch, though. The sedan's styling is dowdy.
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happy_penguin 5:04PM (11/06/2008)
Too bad the best it can do is 33 MPG, and that's with the optional CVT. Hell I drive a 2002 Intrigue that gets 32 MPG now! Why the hell would I want this tiny thing?
fizzandpop 6:37PM (11/06/2008)
This is brilliant. I hope the hubcaps (sorry, deluxe, alloy-look sport trims) come as a delete option. And we could lose the passenger side mirror and the headrests while we're at it.
tgpt 7:07PM (11/08/2008)
Aren't you comparing EPA rating with actual? The EPA highway rating for the 2002 Intrigue is 27, so 33mpg would be 6mpg better, a 22% improvement.