2008 Nissan Altima Hybrid Sedan

author: FutureCar Staff    

Honda and Toyota were the pioneers in the hybrid vehicle market, with Honda introducing the Insight in 2000 and Toyota following with the Prius a year later. This sparked a race among other manufacturers to enter the hybrid game, with GM releasing a "mild hybrid" Silverado in 2004 and Ford selling the Escape Hybrid in 2005. Nissan joined the hybrid party in 2007 with the introduction of the Altima Hybrid, although sales were not impressive.

During the mid-2000s, Nissan was focused on developing a pure electric vehicle that would become the best-selling of the 2010s. To save time, they licensed Toyota's hybrid technology for use in the 2008 Altima Hybrid. This allowed the vehicle to achieve a fuel efficiency of 35 city and 33 highway miles per gallon, better than the regular Altima sedan but not enough to attract many buyers.

The Altima Hybrid had a higher price tag compared to the gasoline-powered Altima sedan, with an MSRP of $25,480 in 2008 ($37,062 in 2023 dollars) versus $18,620 ($27,084 after inflation) for the regular sedan. Despite its excellent city fuel economy, the Altima Hybrid found some success as patrol cars for the New York City Police Department.

However, the Altima Hybrid was only available in select locations such as Canada, California, New York, and other states that adopted California's energy-efficiency regulations. Due to slow sales, the model was discontinued after the 2011 model year. It is unclear what caused this particular Altima Hybrid to end up in a wrecking yard, but the body and interior were reportedly in good condition.

Interestingly, the car had a sticker from Burning Man 2022, suggesting that it was still running just over a year ago. It is possible that this Altima Hybrid was originally purchased from Hayward Nissan, which is located near its final parking spot.

FutureCar Staff