Glendale Nissan Official Blog

There’s a reason the Altima is one of Nissan’s bestselling cars and it’s certainly been popular across Illinois in particular. As you may know, you don’t have to go far to spot these great sedans every day in Elmhurst, Naperville, Melrose Park, and other Chicagoland suburbs. With another model update in Glendale Nissan’s showrooms, the hype and excitement made us think about the vast history of this amazing car. When looking back over the years, we discovered some neat things that not all drivers know about this model. So, let’s have a look at some of the fun facts about the Nissan Altima. 

More Than Three Decades of the Nissan Altima 

Nissan introduced the first Altima in 1992 as a 1993 model. The company assembled these vehicles at the Nissan Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant in Tennessee. 

Here are some more nuggets of info: 

Awards and Recognition 

The Nissan Altima has won many awards, such as the North American Car of the Year in 2002. More recently, and due to an upgrade in headlight technology, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded the car a “Top Safety Pick+” rating (in 2020). The IIHS places a strong emphasis on headlight capability as approximately half of all fatal crashes in the country occur in the dark. 

The Altima is not just one of the best new cars in the USA. For example, the sedan also won an award for “best mid-size sedan” in the UAE in 2017. 

General Factoids 

• So that the company could communicate that the vehicle was a replacement for a previous model, Nissan gave the first Altima the additional name “Stanza.” 

• Nissan chose the 2013 model year Altima to launch its “zero gravity” seats. 

• The fifth generation Altima helped Nissan to launch its “midnight edition” line of vehicles. 

• The 2019 Altima represented the sedan’s sixth generation when it went on sale in the Glendale area. That range of cars was the first to feature Nissan’s “intelligent all-wheel drive” system. 

• Nissan builds every new Altima that you buy from Glendale Nissan in the US. You can find these major manufacturing facilities in Smyrna, TN or Canton, MS. 

• In Japan, Nissan decided to call the Altima model the “Teana” instead. 

Sales Milestones 

A major milestone was reached when Nissan Cars sold 200,000 models of the Altima in 2002. While sales figures have not been quite so high since Altima has always been a core model for Nissan. The Altima used to be Nissan’s bestselling vehicle before the Rogue SUV crossover took that accolade. Recently, the Altima was Nissan’s second best-selling vehicle (in 2022), with 139,955 units. 

Modern-Day Facts 

The very latest Altima (model year 2023) features significant improvements over previous models. There are now eight different versions or trim levels. In addition: 

• The latest Altimas features a 2.5-liter DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder engine, producing 188 HP at 6000 RPM and 180 lbs./ft of torque at 3600 RPM. 

• Unlike the Altima you would buy 30 years ago, modern Nissan models have a raft of electronic driver assistance aids. These include brake assist, traffic sign information, hill hold control, low tire pressure warning, intelligent driver alertness, and lane departure warning. 

Get More Acquainted with the Nissan Altima 

If you’d like to find out more about the “Nissan Altima cars near me” and uncover some additional fun facts, be sure to follow our blog. You can also contact our Glendale Heights Nissan location to find out about your favorite Nissan vehicles or to schedule a test drive from our Glendale Heights location. 

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