I noticed the factory rustproofing on the front strut towers myself; at first, I thought it was an "Extra" the dealer was going to make customers pay for, but then I found it on my own car and I wasn't charged for it. I believe these mechanics are wrong about the reason why Nissan did this, however...the metal doesn't seem to be of any lesser quality than any other car; instead, I believe the extra layer of rustproofing is because of the opening in the grill next to the radiator. Most cars have a condenser coil and radiator that covers the entire front of the grill which would protect things like the strut towers from accumulating salt and sand, but that gap just in front of the alternator would let all kinds of salt and sand in. I'm thinking I'm going to block that off this winter.
In our culture obsessed with absurd excess, the Nissan Micra is my counterculture car of choice.
Be sure to visit my blog at
mymicra.com!
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View my fuel log 2015 Micra SV manual: 6.4 L/100 km ... 44.3 mpg (Imp) ... 15.7 km/L ... 36.9 mpg (US) ...