I was at the dealer yesterday and having routine maintainence done on my Max and one of the service managers was reading some in-house publication(can't remember the title). It looked as if it were a Nissan Service Advisor Newsletter of some sort but was pretty thick; It looked as if it info on primarily how to fix certain issues with the new platforms(I saw info on altima,sentra SE-R, maxima) but it had a News section in it.
This sparked my interest as to what the future holds for Nissan, so I quized him about what rumors or info he could pass on.
He said sometime next Fall that the Dealership(Brown's Arlington) would carry NISMO branded parts. I asked about the Next Gen Max and he said (no sh*t, first words out of his mouth were) Oh, you mean the V8.

This floored me because I didn't think they were going to go this route, but, when I asked others I knew at the dealership they all but confirmed it. Other things I learned were that AWD is not likely for the max next year. The guys at Service Center thought the factory supercharger on the trucks was a poor choice (engines of customers trucks knock real bad if you use anything other than premium gas)
Also confirmed that Nissan plans to go more the performance route as opposed to a more luxury oriented Next Gen Max. They said that Nissan tests its final version prototypes at least 6 months before a model goes on sale and that the Next Gen Max is tentatively scheduled for release next year at about the same time that the Altima was released this year.
I don't think that 6 different people could be pulling my chain, but have any others here heard anything.

Tim

 

Another fellow DC member? NICE............

I live in Laurel, MD

 

Did they say if it is going to be RWD? How about if there will be a manual? Thanks, BTW that new max sounds interesting .

 

I didn't think to ask about the tranny but assumed that by more performance biased that the 6-speed is here to stay. Didn't say as to RWD or FWD. They did say that almost half there new Max orders were 6-speeds and response to the 6-speed was greater than anticipated.(Everybody wants a 6-speed)
Did say that its based on the new Altima platform though.
Thats pretty much what I got out of it. I'm hoping someone on here knows more though.

 

I heard rumors from another guy here who claims to work for nissan. He said it will have the 3.5 VQ, FWD and approx 280HP. Also the price would not go up much, maybe 1-2 grand more. I tend to think they will do this formula my self, although a V8 could be interesting . We will probably get to see some pics of this new beast in about 6 months, I can't wait!

 

bump

 

Wouldn't you think they'd reshape the Max more along the lines of the Q45, to go up against the Toyota Avalon and hit some of the Bimmer, Benz, and Lexus market.

 

I heard from a Tech that the Maxima will have the option of 2-Dr.

 

if its going to be full size, then no 2 door coupe.

 

oh-ho..what about those that traded their 2000 and 2001 in favor of 2k2???

 

I have a family member working for Brown's dealerships over in your neck of the woods. I'll ask and see if he's heard anything about '03 and beyond.

 

You mean new Max on sale Aug - Sept 2002?

 

Imagine the price if the Maxima gets a V8 and beefed up to compete with BMWs!

 

It'd be pretty kick-azz if nissan they turned the Max into a Lexus SC### type of car.

 

The rumor amoung carpoint users is that the new ('03) Maxima engine will be a 340hp V8, which is the current Q45 engine. This seems to be in keeping with Nissan's trend of dropping motors form higher end cars into lower models (e.g. the Altima now has the old Maxima engine)
Sadly, the prediction is for a 35-40k price tag. But who knows how reliable this info is.

New user: My wife and I are planning on a 2002 SE purchase, our first Maxima and a significant upgrade from the old Stanza.

 

This is the official beginning of the "V8 in 2003 Maxima?" posts. I estimate there will be, at least, 10 people a week for the next year ask that question. Rumors will fly that there will be a turbo, V-12 options, NISMO Edition, etc.

 

Yes that is what they told me.

 

I think that they told you wrong on that. I say this because of this press release that says that a redesigned Maxima will roll of off the assembly line in Tennessee on January 2003.

http://www.msnbc.com/local/wsmv/m97229.asp

It would not make business sense for Nissan to tool up a production plant in Japan for only a few months run until January, so I think the new Max won't be produced until January.

 

Y'know, I really should see if I can get some info out of my cousin on this. He's an engineer for Nissan, and thus might know some of this stuff Of course, he's an engineer for Nissan in the UK, so he might not, given that the UK is the home of the 2.0L Maxima (Nissan UK's site, at www.nissan.co.uk, is somewhat skimpy but interesting anyway). The UK Maxima (which got slaughtered by the auto press there, on account of having a 0-60 in the region of a week due to the 2.0L engine) looks intriguingly different from the US model.