I attended the GM autoshow in motion this past weekend and got to test all GM cars, and competitors, on four different autocross type tracks. They had a Maxima SE (Pearl White Auto) that was a favorite of crowds as it was never free. Always had 4-5 waiting to test. Went up easily against Honda Accord, Oldsmobile Alero, Toyota Camry, BMW 530, Mercedes sedan and many other domestics (Pontiac, Buick). The only car that surpassed it, in my opinion, was the Lexus IS300. That little bugger ran hard, handled 1st rate, and hugged the track. Now if only they could change those stupid manumatic buttons from rear of steering wheel, as you cannot reach them while cornering hard and getting back on throttle out of corner. Do you think that Nissan will look into some type of manual/automatic in the Maxima SE 3.5 ????