HMC NEW Carlton CDX warning: CONTAINS VELOUR

[HMC]

There’s also an actual bell 🛎  in the dash that chimes if you leave the light on when you get out. Chintzy yet classy

[HMC]

My banger racing mate just drove by,  it’s a bit blurry but that’s a Volvo 740 limo with truck wing mirrors, and skulls down the side

 

[Tubbo]

Cooorrrrrrr! Is this for sale yet 😆

[hairnet]

furious driving style walkround stat

i would say @Spottedlaurel would be jealous but hasnt he done these even before they were shite

 

[Zelandeth]

Now that is absolutely bloody lovely.  Well bought.

[Spottedlaurel]

57 minutes ago, hairnet said:

i would say @Spottedlaurel would be jealous but hasnt he done these even before they were shite

No. 1, bought for £500 in 1999. Never really seemed to give its full performance.

No. 2, swapped a couple of Laurels with Datman for it. Pair of black doors came from a banger I stripped for somebody, he had the dented white ones for his racer.

No. 3, part-exchanged No. 2 and some cash for it.

I probably spent more on the last one in total, as it needed a full exhaust within days of getting it, but I was fondest of the second one.

Fun fact: The auto-only saloons are something like 155bhp, the manual-only estates get by on just 150bhp.

[Schaefft]

Reading through the Wikipedia article, it's amazing what tech they stuffed into the JDM Cedric. I thought the Eunos Cosmo was impressive in 1989, this did many of it's things 5 years earlier. Shame the UK model never came with the turbo V6.

[HMC]

Although the charging system on the bluebird isn’t charging properly, it rescued the Cedric when it discharged its battery overnight, this morning….

So that’s something to investigate on the 300c. Other than that it all works  spot on and is pleasingly free of rot.

The bluebird itself doesn’t have a battery drain, but it was only showing about 12.9v across the poles of the battery at idle.  Daily, daily short potterings were hammering the battery.
 

I bought a replacement alternator off e bay one  of those ads where it’s a generic photo but it says it will fit. I wasn’t fully convinced of their convictions but actually the correct item turned up. I spent part of today putting the new one on, nice easy job with plenty of space, the main issue being loosening the bolt to swap the pulley over. And my crummy selection of tools.
 

Back together and fired it up, it’s now showing 14.8 volts across the poles when running. Glad it’s sorted as winter and my typical local driving habits were making me get twitchy. No longer do I need to keep the engine running/ park on a hill just in case.

Anyway, I celebrated by going for a drive over a moody moorland B road….

 

 

[grogee]

On 11/11/2022 at 5:48 PM, HMC said:

Actually quite nicely. The engine is quite Spritely and sounds throaty. 
 

I breifly passed by a loca holstery to capture the early 90s pub landlord vibe

 

 

Aah, the Union. Is it still winner stays on for the pool table?

[HMC]

Well the bluebird sold on eBay for £1500 and is due to be collected soon.

 

Meanwhile I’ve bought another lemon Nissan v6 that similarly missed its intended market somewhat. Any guesses? It’s being delivered as I type (local Facebook find)

[JMotor]

2 minutes ago, HMC said:

Well the bluebird sold on eBay for £1500 and is due to be collected soon.

 

Meanwhile I’ve bought another lemon Nissan v6 that similarly missed its intended market somewhat. Any guesses? It’s being delivered as I type (local Facebook find)

Was going to guess a QX.

But to be weird, will say it's a Jap market Cefiro version instead.

[Jenson Velcro]

Was the Murano a v6?

[Markeh]

29 minutes ago, Jenson Velcro said:

Was the Murano a v6?

Yeah, detuned version of the 350Z engine I believe.

[HMC]

1 hour ago, Jenson Velcro said:

Was the Murano a v6?

Indeed it was (is)

 

What an ugly motherf****r

[HMC]

A v6 lemon with mental road tax

 

[wuvvum]

Mental fuel consumption too.  And a CVT gearbox prone to shitting itself.  The perfect* car for a cost of living crisis - well bought.

[Zelandeth]

Looking at that interior I have to guess they were aiming that heavily at the US market?

[HMC]

58 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Mental fuel consumption too.  And a CVT gearbox prone to shitting itself.  The perfect* car for a cost of living crisis - well bought.

It’s also done 172k. We will see how long it lasts. So far it seems well looked after, even the aircon works nicely, and it’s not been trashed.  CVT box is interesting. It was about half what they go for normally so I’m expecting an implosion at some stage. Fingers crossed.
 

It’s quick but sinfully ugly though. 

[HMC]

I narrowly missed out on a cheap Lexus gs300 this morning so this was the consolation prize. A bit of an automotive orphan that’s presumably almost unsellable to most normal people 😂

[Schaefft]

Always liked the looks for the first Murano, CVT is what lets it down for me but could be a nice car anyway. Definitely following this one.

[hairnet]

On 11/11/2022 at 5:33 PM, High Jetter said:

Very well bought. How does it drive?

Fat micra

[cort1977]

22 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Looking at that interior I have to guess they were aiming that heavily at the US market?

Indeed.  There was even a convertible version for our American friends.  Those of a sensitive nature should google carefully...

[HMC]

I find it’s a curious vehicle this Murano. What is it? Part sports car, part off roader, part hatch, with a surprisingly exotic engine, and a wilfully different gearbox. All wrapped in a gopping package. 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

These were so well regarded by Nissan , that one was placed in a skip outside the big Nissan dealership at the bottom of the M1, to promote a scrappage scheme. I don’t think it was the 2009 one but they were only just out of production and could only have been 4/5 years old at the time.  I remember thinking it was a terrible marketing decision whenever I drove past.

[DVee8]

1 hour ago, cort1977 said:

Indeed.  There was even a convertible version for our American friends.  Those of a sensitive nature should google carefully...

Bloody hell there was!

[HMC]

I thought it might have even been made in America, but wiki tells me it’s from the parent country. Apparently it was sold in America for 2 years before it entered the uk market.

Presumably the uk was an afterthought as it feels like something conceived with the USA in mind (even the seats are unusually wide and soft) 

[Schaefft]

The Murano Cross Cabriolet will be a sought after classic*, I'm telling you now! Apparently they actually hold their values surprisingly well, who would have thought... Definitely what inspired all the crossover convertibles we get in Europe as well so thanks Nissan for that one...

[AnthonyG]

After the financial crisis hit in 2008, if you were one of the very rare set of people who still wanted a Murano you could get yourself a new one for less than half list price, they were that desirable!

It was hard enough selling cars that people normally wanted…so the deals on more obscure stuff were silly.

I think there was a broker offering new Dodge Avengers, I think it was, as two for the price of one - literally.

[Markeh]

My dad was the service manager at a Nissan dealer between 03-06 - at some point he had one of these in orange. I remember him coming home one day with no headlining because they'd decided to chuck some dealer-fit accessories onto it, including a roof-mount DVD player, but hadn't had time to finish the job before he needed to leave. I'm assuming the lengthy commute he had each day is part of the reason why he switched back to diesel X-Trails and later Pathfinders.

[HMC]

So the Murano is sold. But im not changing the thread title. As I type a fellow shiter is out in the wilds of east London @RobT on an HMC collection mission. 

Why no change to the topic title? Because he’s collecting another V6 Nissan lemon. Spiritual successor to the 300c on the uk market and the last hurrah for Nissan uk playing at luxobarges. That’s certainly too many clues for you lot, but it’s a niche in a niche as it’s the rarely seen late facelift version.