Autoblog

Fifteen years and three generations on, the three-millionth Nissan Altima has been birthed at the Smyrna Tennessee plant. The Altima is Nissan's current sales champ, with diverse trim-level and power unit options, efficiency nuts and performance enthusiasts can both find something to love in the Altima. When it first debuted, we weren't all sure how exactly to pronounce its name – its predecessor was the easily articulated Stanza – but it was a tidy little compact with good manners and tasteful styling. My, how it's grown! The Altima has bulked up in size to Maxima-esque proportions, with edgy, stylish bodywork where there were once "bar of soap" cues, this ain't no mid-'90s compact anymore. The available 3.5-liter V6 has the motive force to outdo many comers, and the coupe version has even more speed baked into the style. On the flip side, the hybrid Altimas sip fuel more gently than the other powertrain options.

The Altima is produced in two locations, Smyrna being the first US Altima assembly plant in 1992, with Canton, Mississippi joining up in 2004. Smyrna pops out about 750 new Altimas per day, while Canton does nearly as many, at roughly 600. Altimas for export are also produced in Smyrna before they're shipped north to Canada, south to Mexico, or to Gulf Coast countries. So far this year, the export markets have consumed 20,000 of Smyrna's cars. Since its start as a Stanza stand-in, the Altima has gone on to become Nissan's bread and butter sedan – not too shabby.

The full press release is after the jump.

[Source: Nissan via TAC]

In Japan it's the Axela (above), but we know it as the Mazda3, and this morning, Mazda announced that it's built a million of them.

Good-looking and practical, the car is by all accounts, an enormous hit. No Mazda vehicle has reached this milestone faster, and interest in the car remains sky high. The turbocharged Mazdaspeed3, for example, has tongues wagging in every market it's been made available to, and the rest of the Axela lineup has just undergone a mid-cycle refresh that should help keep buyers coming back for more.

Last year, it boasted production numbers among the highest of any single model in Japan, and Mazda has worked to maximize production capacity every year it's been in production. At the rate things are going, we wouldn't be surprised to see the car meet future milestones in record time as well.

(Press release after the jump)

[Source: Mazda]