2012 Nissan 370Z Pricing Announced

Nissan released pricing today for the 2012 370Z.

There are three models, all of them fast, fun, and faster: Coupe, Roadster, and NISMO. And the great news for 2012 is that two of the models maintain price.

• 2012 Nissan 370Z Coupe starts at $31,450
• 2012 Nissan 370Z Roadster starts $39,500, $3350 more than 2011 Touring models
• 2012 Nissan 370Z NISMO starts at $40,830

Although the price on the Roadster saw an increase, that may be reflected in a couple additions for 2012, like a new oil cooler and seven-speed automatic transmission that’s now standard on the base model.

The 370Z NISMO comes with a slick pair of Ray’s Engineering 19-inch wheels, special interior fabrics, and select exterior styling enhancements. Nissan’s in-house performance team even includes a track-worthy suspension.

Nissan Claims

A giddy Nissan Motors jumped a quick gun in proclaiming its all-new 2012 Nissan Versa sedan as the best-selling subcompact in its segment. There should be a very large asterisk on the press release it distributed, though.

Selling 8566 of the subcompact cars, Nissan’s Versa most definitely took August’s crown. However, the company attributes its success to its new sedan, which isn’t completely the case. Selling alongside a yet-to-be-redesigned Versa five-door hatchback, Nissan’s smallest offering owes some credit to the older car.

“We launched the new Versa Sedan from a position of strength, with Versa holding a substantial lead in subcompact sales for the 2011 calendar year, and August sales up 14.9 percent over the previous year,” said an excitable Al Castignetti, vice president and general manager, Nissan Division, Nissan North America in a statement.

What he forgot to mention though, is that the Kia Soul is in the same subcompact wagon class as the Versa hatchback. Selling 6885 of the funky, boxy vehicles last month, Kia pushed its to-date total to 72,003 Kia Souls through August. Compare that to the 59,811 Versas Nissan dealers have sent home with happy customers, and the disparity begins to arise.

We know selling cars is a tough business, having customers part with tens of thousands of dollars for new cars. Any advantage an automaker can get it should probably take, and while the temptation to sweeten the numbers is undeniably strong, we hope Nissan adds a little less fudge next time around.

Nissan Prices 2012

Nissan’s Rogue compact crossover gets a slight price bump for 2012, but not nearly as much as you’d imagine for a new model year. The 2012 Nissan Rogue, which slots above the subcompact Juke and midsize Murano, starts at $22,340, including $810 for destination and handling.

For that money — $70 more than last year’s model — shoppers can expect a base Rogue S to come with front-wheel drive, a continuously variable automatic transmission, iPod connectivity, power windows, and air conditioning.

Stepping up to Rogue SV front-wheel-drive model will cost $24,780. It features Bluetooth connectivity, a backup camera, Nissan’s Intelligent Key system that allows drivers to start the car without having to put a key into the dashboard, and six-way power adjustable front seats. It also moves up just $70.

Replacing the Krom model for 2012, Nissan is offering a Special Edition package to slot between the SV and top-of-the-line SV with the SL package. It will be an option package for the Rogue S instead of a standalone model, featuring a rearview monitor, the 4.3-inch in-dash display that comes on with the Rogue SV, USB connectivity, foglights, and tinted glass. It adds $1200 to the base model’s figure, a staggering $1000 less than what the options would cost separately.

At the top, the SV with SL package also hops $70 from last year to $28,680. It comes with heated leather seats, navigation, Nissan’s around-view parking system that displays a bird’s-eye view of the car in a parking space, a Bose audio system, and climate control. For all option levels, expect to add $1250 for all-wheel drive.

Nissan Holds Prices for 2012 Frontier

Nissan has announced prices for Frontier pickup truck, Pathfinder midsize SUV, and Xterra compact SUV for the 2012 model year, largely freezing prices at 2011 levels for its trio of smaller trucks and SUVs.

Priced from $19,010, including an $810 destination charge, the base Frontier S King Cab soldiers on largely the same with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, rear-wheel drive, and a five-speed manual transmission as standard equipment. Pricing for a five-speed automatic pushes that figure up $1010. Up-level SV models push the price to $22,190 for four-cylinder models and add $590 to move up to Nissan’s 261-horsepower 4.0-liter V-6. Only the PRO-4X, Nissan’s off-road specialty truck, gets a price bump, with a new price of $30,130, a fairly substantial $1500 increase.

When moving up to the Frontier Crew Cab with four full doors, prices begin at $23,020, carrying over 2011 levels. Pricing for the SV and SL models remain the same as they were in 2011 at $24,030 and $29,690, respectively. But the Crew Cab Frontier PRO-4X leaps up a substantial $1650 to $29,820.

For the Pathfinder, Nissan’s midsize sport utility retains 2011 pricing for the base rear-wheel-drive SV at $29,380, including $810 for destination charges. Prices for all other models remain constant to their 2011 levels with the exception of the loaded rear-wheel-drive Pathfinder LE V6, which picks up $1400 to a total of $40,330. Four-wheel drive adds $2000 to the price of every Pathfinder model except for the Pathfinder LE V8, which comes standard with it. The top-rung V-8 model carries a base price of $44,260.

As for the smaller, more off-road oriented Xterra SUV, it too retains last year’s levels as the Xterra X base model starts at $25,070, including $810 for destination and handling. Every other model keeps pricing stable, including the loaded Xterra PRO-4X that starts at $30,480 with a six-speed manual transmission. A five-speed automatic transmission is available for $1050 extra.

For each of the three models, changes are limited to colors and options packages, adding a few more luxury features to top-line models as standard equipment like the in-dash navigation system that was previously an $1850 option on the Pathfinder LE. Look for the 2012 Frontier, Pathfinder, and Xterra to land in showrooms sometime this month.

Nissan Holds Prices for 2012 Murano

Much as Nissan has done for most of its lineup, the 2012 Murano will carry over its 2011 prices, starting at $30,100, including $810 for destination and handling.

For those 301 Benjamins coming from your bank account, Nissan will sell you a front-wheel-drive Murano S. Stepping up to a Murano SV, which adds a dual-pane moonroof, automatic headlights, roof rails, and Bluetooth hands-free calling among a list of other features will cost $33,670. An 8-gigabyte music hard drive, a driver’s seat with memory settings, and rain-sensing wipers cost come in the $37,210 Murano SL, and the top-tier Murano LE carries a base price in front-wheel-drive configuration. Adding all-wheel drive costs an additional $1600 across the board.

New for this year is the Nissan Murano Platinum Edition, outfitted with 20-inch wheels, an in-dash navigation system, and an exclusive sapphire black paint color. The price for the package is $2020 in addition to the cost of the Murano LE.

Moving to the vehicle so absurd you wonder why anyone thought of doing it, the Murano CrossCabriolet, will set you back $45,350. While that’s a lot of coin to cough up, it’s $1850 less than last year’s model. That slash in price comes from the fact that the Murano’s hard drive-based navigation system — standard last year — moves to the options list. Otherwise, it’s largely unchanged going into its second model year.

Both the 2012 Murano hardtop and CrossCabriolet are already on sale at Nissan dealerships nationwide