Jor

Honestly I believe that Nissan has thrown the maxima to the side to focus on the Altima. I mean in 2002 you could buy a Nissan Maxima at a good price and it would have 255 horsepower. It was very hard to find a four door car with that power in 2002, especially in that price range. Now the Altima has almost as much power and I don't understand why? Like why have two cars that offer insanely similar options? Not only that, but 12 years later the Maxima only has 290 horsepower and there are lots of cars in the same price range with similar or more power. It's competing with a Ford Taurus now

Then to really make me mad, this happens:
http://youtu.be/zCgibrhQvSw

Fakie J Farkerton

iTrader: (51)

Is this george_?

george__

iTrader: (1)

@OP - The car just has a identity crisis. Why no mention of Infiniti?

edit - 02 was when the Altima got the 3.5L too... Huge overlap

Fakie J Farkerton

iTrader: (51)

Knew it.

Jor

I'm not George what

Jor

I figured infinity just copies nissan and makes it more luxurious.

george__

iTrader: (1)

The Infiniti G/Q series vs the Gen 7 Maxima probably didn't help.

Like isn't RWD or AWD better for cars with huge engines than FWD?

Itz Shak

I agree with jor actually. Why have two cars with almost the same speed? Then they glorify the altima in race car mode before they do the maxima.. Grinds my Gears! No love for the maxima..?

tosheto

iTrader: (5)

Maybe the next generation Maxima will be grandma/grandpa's grocery getter. And the Altima will be the new 4DSC.

Jor

I'm hoping they make some changes as well!

lightonthehill

Jor - I would explain the Maxima situation in great detail, but the antiquated server system in use by maxima.org knocks me off and throws away my text unless I get things done and sent in less than five minutes. With my computer and the detail I need to include, this is impossible on maxima.org. I will now send this before I am logged off yet again, and then follow up with an 'edit' addition.

edit-

The story of the 8th gen Maxima is rather convoluted, but I can assure you that Nissan has not forgotten the Maxima. In fact, the Nissan concept 4 door sports sedan that made its way onto the internet over a year ago, and which was introduced by Nissan at the Detroit Auto Show last winter, is essentially the 8th gen Maxima. Time to submit and edit again before I am knocked off.

edit-

The 8th gen Maxima would be sitting in my garage right now, except that the new, stronger CVT that Nissan designed, which eliminated the slight muffling of power at takeoff, and made things more interesting past 80 MPH, was being tested in the new generation Altimas and Pathfinders, and proved to have a problem. Nissan, not wanting to introduce the 8th gen Maxima with a known problem, simply postponed the 8th gen release. Time to send and begin another edit before I am tossed into the ditch again.

edit-

If you have looked carefully at that Nissan 4 door sports sedan concept, you will realize immediately that the Maxima is entering a new and exciting realm. No amby-pamby thing. This is a fierce and daunting machine. I am very excited about the future of the Maxima. I expect an official intro at one of the December or January national auto shows, with sales beginning in the April to June window. I can hardlly wait!

rteenie22

Well you say the Altima and Maxima overlap that is true to some extent but so does the Camry and Avalon. You complain that the Maxima now competes with the Taurus. It did in 2002 and 1992. Nissan hasn't forgotten the Maxima. When the 3rd gen Altima came out in 2002 and became bigger and got the v6 option it became the sole mainstream sedan and allowed the Maxima to move upscale and become the true flagship. Nissan wants to sell way more Altimas than Maximas. The Altima competes with the Camry, Accord and Fusion in the hottest vehicle segment period. The Maxima at this point is more of a niche product. The Maxima still competes well with other V6 powered full size premium sedans such as the Chevy Impala, Toyota Avalon, Chrysler 300 and Ford Taurus (non ecoboost). Sure it would be nice to have a stick shift, powerful Maxima again, but that now lies in the Altima and times have changed.

george__

iTrader: (1)

^
The Camry and Avalon do not overlap. You have a mid-size sedan and a full-size sedan and both have a Lexus model for those seeking a more "upscale" model. It's more logical to think Camry -> Lexus ES -> Avalon

Similarly, you have the Honda Accord -> Acura TL, Civic -> Acura ILX etc. These are very similar (if not same) cars but one is marketed as the "luxury" brand, given exclusive features, different design etc. Most importantly, the average joe gets this DISTINCT feeling of moving up the ladder & buying a "different" car.

Infiniti is branded as the "luxury" models of Nissan and after they decided on this two-tiered approach, its left the Maxima with a huge identity crisis in the Nissan product line. The average joe won't find going Altima to Maxima to be a distinct upgrade (rather very murky and expensive) and due to marketing would go to Infiniti if they wanted a upgrade from a Altima. As a result, the Maxima is stuck between a lower end model which can basically do almost everything it can but at a cheaper price (Altima) and a higher end model which has more features and options (Infiniti G/Q series). Lets face it, the Altima is the new 4DSC and the Maxima has no place in Nissan's product line up anymore. It model should be axed entirely or axed but a spiritual successor merged into the Altima line up as a special trim (NISMO ?) and if consumers want to upgrade from the Nissan Altima they go to the Infiniti G/Q series, nice and simple!

lightonthehill

This discussion can go in many direstions.

There are those who care about the styling of their car, and I prefer the Maxima styling over the Altima styling by a wide margin. Especially the Altima styling up through 2012.

There are those who are into comfort, and I find the Maxima to be clearly more comfortable than the Altima.

There are those who feel their car is an extension of themselves, and I consider the Maxima to be a car designed with me in mind.

There are those who like their car to be something special, not something found in every other parking slot, such as the Altima.

At the time I bought my '09 Maxima (almost six years ago), I wanted the driver's seat to be air conditioned (I live in miserably hot middle Georgia) and the steering wheel to be heated (as an octogenarian, I have no circulation in my hands), and neither was available on the Altima at that time. But they were available on the Maxima.

Those saying these cars are sort of duplicating each other are not looking closely enough. The Maxima has better build quality inside and out, and rides more like an upscale vehicle. This is reflected in the prices. The Altima MSRP ranges from around $22K to around $32K, while the Maxima ranges from around $32K to around $42K.

Absolutely different price ranges and different categories of vehicles.

I think what we have here is a subconscious tendency to be comparing the Altima of recent years with a Maxima that was designed in 2006, spent 2007 in mockup of early versions and road testing, then began full assembly line run in early 2008 and reached the market in June 2008. A Maxima that would have already been replaced, except for a major glitch in the new CVT being tested (and failing) on the new Altima.

Once the 8th gen Maxima arrives on the scene, I suspect the Altima vs Maxima argument will, as usual, fade away until the next Altima generation arrives. Some things never change.

george__

iTrader: (1)

^
Oddly, the MSRP of the Maxima is more than the MSRP of a Infiniti Q50 (in Canada)...

Why didn't you just get a Infiniti G series?

Isn't the Maxima being a niche product bad for Nissan?

lightonthehill

George, I have written a reply to your post three times, but took more than four minutes before posting, so the antiquated maxima.org server knocked me off and tossed my post in the garbage pile each time. This often happens between 3AM and 5AM. I will use my old trick of entering part of my post every three minutes.

more coming -

You are absolutely correct that Maximas cost much more in Canada than in the U.S., and this has been true for many years. So far, nobody has been able to tell me why this is so. If I lived in Canada, the Maxima would (sadly) not be on my shopping list. A few Canadians here on maxima.org bought their Maximas in the U.S. and had then shipped to Canada, but, by the time all costs/fees of importing into Canada were paid, they did not save much.

more coming -

I have bought the first model year of each Maxima generation since I bought two 1985 gen 2 Maximas in Oct 1984, and since every Maxima has given me excellent service, I saw no reason to change. Especially since the Nissan dealer is my closest dealer (4 miles away). My dealer gives me excellent deals, and treats me like royalty. I tested the G35 several times (liked the styling, and like Infiniti), but the cabin felt cramped, especially the driver's position and the rear seat. Also, the Infiniti dealer would not deal nearly as well as my Nissan dealer.

more coming -

I like the looks of the Q50, but when equipped the way I equip my Maximas (every available option), it is around $50K, while I am able to get at least $6K off the $42K U.S. MSRP of current loaded Maximas with Premium and Tech packages. More importantly, Consumer Reports downgraded the Q50 for steering feel, uncomfortable ride, road noise, controls, restrictive options packages, small trunk and large turning circle. It just so happens that every one of those factors is important to me. I also prefer FWD. So the Q50, sadly, was not an option for me.

more coming -

Yes, Nissan moved the Maxima to a 'niche' vehicle way back in 2002 when they were explaining why the 6th gen 2004 would depart from the long tradition of the Maxima as Nissan's affordable 4DSC, to be replaced by the manual 3.5 Altima. Ghosn told us the Maxima would be taken upscale to near-luxury, would only have around 70K produced, but would still have a sporty tinge. But the 6th gen did not please many long-time Maxima fans, so Nissan sort of back-tracked with the 7th gen, bringing back some of the sportiness.

more coming -

The 8th generation Maxima will continue the trend toward more sporty, and will have many styling cues taken from the Nissan concept 4door sedan introduced at last winter's Detroit Auto Show. As I mentioned in another post here somewhere, this 8th gen Maxima will complete the separation of the Maxima from the Altima. It will cost more than today's Maxima, have more HP, have every modern technological safety system available, will have only around 70K built, and may soon have a NISMO special version, possibly even a manual.

more coming -

In the meantime, the Altima will still be Nissan's 'everyman's' car, with maybe 300,000 built each model year, and fill every parking space at every mall in the country.

george__

iTrader: (1)

^
Ah I see your point....

So it would be something like Altima -> Maxima -> 370z -> R35?

Can a FWD platform handle more power though....

BlackCherryMax

an altima and maxima can really only be compared powerwise... 2 completely different cars... i cant drive my moms 2013 altima v6 on long trips because the seats are just uncomfortable... it looks nice inside but it feels cheap compared to the maxima... the handling of the altima cant even hold a candle to the base 7th gen and looks wise the maxima is just a more attractive vehicle... when the new generation comes out there will be no confusion on which vehicle is the 4dsc... and of course a fwd platform can handle more power 290 isnt a lot now lol... i give it up to 350 hp before you need awd

lightonthehill

I can't argue with that order, although the Z is actually in the same price range as a loaded Maxima ($38K to $44K for the Z and around $42K for a totally loaded Maxima). I consider the Z to be simply a 2 door version of a loaded Maxima.

I suspect that a little extra power will be fairly easily handled by having taller, wider tires on the 8th gen. The extra rubber in contact with the road surface will increase the grip. But I don't think we will be talking a lot more power. FWD is definitely not a good match for supercars with tons of HP. The 8th gen will be no more than 325 HP, and likely around 305 to 310, which is more than ample for the target audience for this vehicle.

george__

iTrader: (1)

^
Isn't that what the two door Altima is for?

lightonthehill

I think that is getting into a situation that is sort of 'outside the lines' in that 2 door cars and 4 door sedans are not equivalent or interchangable for most buyers/drivers. Most families are not interested in 2 door vehicles.

Getting kids in and out of the back seat of 2 door vehicles (especially if they use infanseats or booster seats, etc) can be a pain in an area of the anatomy located well below the neck.

continued -

And that need for a 4 door vehicle often lasts forever, as we have children who have children who have children. We will be great grandparents soon, and may even have to add a 7 seat vehicle to our 4 door vehicle.

The 2 door Altima would be a fine vehicle for a person who will seldom have over one person in the vehicle with him. Young single persons might love the 2 door Altima. But 2 door vehicles are by nature less utilitarian than 4 door vehicles.

continued -

We also should remember that even a loaded 2 door Altima is much less expensive than a loaded Maxima, which means Nissan will not be putting as much effort into the building process, and the content will not be quite as good as the Maxima. Also no double-panel roof or power rear window screen, etc.

continued -

Then we add the factor that, by definition, the Maxima became famous as a 4 door sporty car, and a 2 door option would not be in keeping with the original or subsequent purpose or image of the Maxima.

Max2013

I went from a 3.5 5th gen Altima to a 7th gen Maxima and consider it a huge upgrade in quality, reliability, and overall driving enjoyment. No comparison as I found the Altima greatly lacking in performance and reliability. I didn't consider Infiniti mostly due to price and availability. I also prefer the looks of the Max over the Infiniti and certainly over the Altima. That's just me, but I'm an average Joe .

george__

iTrader: (1)

^
So in the US the price difference between the Infiniti and Nissan is pretty big eh

Max2013

In my case it wasn't close for similarly equipped vehicles...

lightonthehill

Same where I live. Around here, a 'maxed out' $42K Maxima can now be driven off the lot for well under $35K, while a 'maxed out' Q50 can be driven off the lot for not much less than $45K.

But if I lived in Canada, the prices of these vehicles would be fairly close. Makes no sense at all to me.

95VQ30

yes... And Nissan's unwillingness to revise the VQ or create a new platform/drivetrain will not help.

Sad to say, people do not buy manuals- generally speaking it is not cost effective for a company to produce manuals(on a mass produced sedan) on a broad scale.

I think the Maxima should share the same platform as the Q50(RWD, FWD, AWD, w/e) but offer a sport AUTO trans with paddle shifters(ditch the CVT on the Maxima- extra gears can help with MPG and modern auto-trans are already faster than manual).

Like everyone else, I'd love to see the Maxima go RWD but it is doubtful because of the platform choice and the cannibalism effect it may have on the Infiniti line up. However, Nissan is rumored to produce a new 3.0 turbo borrowed from Mercedes- maybe that could find it's way into a Maxima(here is to hoping, however slim the chance).

With that said, i think the new Maxima is gorgeous, however you lost me at FWD(with no major power increase) mated with a CVT.

In closing, I wish Nissan would tackle the Maxima much like Buick in the mid-late 80's- the world needs an economy choice on true sports sedan, 4dr GNX anyone? Here's to hoping.

Binfamous

iTrader: (1)

Ok, I'll take a stab at this. Maybe it could be that the Accord and Camry is kicking the Altima's a$$ in sales and the maxima has no competition in its class. Reason being that the Altima is being overhyped.

D.Stillwell

^^ Gone with the days of the 90's and early 2000's are the days of a true economical choice for a true sports sedan.

Anyone remember the Volvo 850 Turbo? Cars like that are rare, we get em sometimes.

And I highly doubt this new Maxima will be such a car. A33B was/still IS that special kind of car, that's it.

lightonthehill

Actually, Nissan continues to gradually improve the VQ power plant, and will have it above 300 HP with the 8th gen.

But forget about the RWD. The RWD may have a slight edge in WOT acceleration, but FWD is safer in many weather conditions, and the Maxima is supposed to be a sporty 4 door family sedan. Hasn't been a RWD Maxima since the 1984 gen 1 model.

more coming

The stupid timeout on maxima.org has already knocked me off and tosssed my post three times tonight before I could enter it, but I will keep trying. That is THE REASON I don't post nearly as often as I would like.

Scientists knew back in the 1960s that a tranny that could adjust to the optimum RPMs without shifting gears would beat any shifting tranny in MPG AND acceleration. The problem was coming up with that perfect CVT. We don't yet have the perfect CVT, but government testing shows the latest CVTs are getting better fuel efficiency than shifting trannies.

more coming

The shifting trannies are adding gears in an effort to keep up, but every added gear makes the tranny more problematic, more cumbersome and more expensive. That is why more and more car companies are moving to CVTs, especially in vehicles designed with fuel efficiency in mind.

more coming

Yes, there will come a point where Nissan will have to begin changing the drive system of the Maxima. Diesel? Turbo? Supercharged? Hybrid? We may not find out until the 9th gen, but change will come because of increasing government fuel efficiency requirements.

Ghosn told us back in 2002 that the Maxima was being taken upscale to near-luxury, and would be Nissan's flagship. He kept his word. I would bet the 8th gen will be more expensive than the 7th gen. Those looking for an economical version of the VQ need to look at the 3.5 Altima.

silvermaxd

still loving my 2000 SE 5-speed. Almost 100k miles with only oil changes done. Still tight like prom night.

clive

I don't much care whether I am driving an Altima or Maxima providing it is the 3.5 motor. The only difference is minor details such as the Altima having a crappy bonnet strut while the Maxima has two gas struts, much nicer. Upholstery. That's about it... The Maxima presumably has the light alloy body and steering parts that the Altima has?

george__

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like the average joe buyer... I.e. 98.999% of the market