The other day I had some time to kill so I went by the Nissan dealership and drooled over the 2k2's for a while. I got to talking to the salesman and he said something about a V-8 option in the 2004 model (6th Gen). Has anybody else heard this rumor? Don't they currently have a V-8 in one of the Infinity models?

 

Q45 = V8 Infiniti.

As far as the rumors, yes I've heard all of them and they're all different. I wouldn't give any of them much credit this early.

 

Yes a V8 is coming. It's also gonna be a much larger prob around 4000lb car.

 

sucks to hear/know how they are fu*king up the maxima

 

Of course, the M5 is also a 4,000+ lbs. car with a V8...so don't be so sure they're screwing it up.

 

According to Nissan the next Max(6th genner) is set to compete against the MB E430. Since MB is replacing such car with the E500(300hp), who knows what Nissan has up its sleeve. One thing that I have mentioned many times is that the price increase for the upgrade on the fully loaded Altima(3.5 SE) for a 2002 model vs. a fully loaded 2001 is roughly $7k. The more I drive my car, the more I love it. I don't foresee paying $35-37 for a fully loaded 2004 Max.

 

I love my max, but I won't be shopping for the 2004 model at those prices. I can shop in those price ranges, but for that kind of money I will pay the extra and get the benz.

 

I agree, I think Nissan will regret it if they end up pricing out the Max at $35,000+. They will probably lose all of their customers that have been buying the Maximas for the last 20 years and end up in worse financial shape than they already are.

I guess maybe they will have the 3.5 V6 available for those of us that want to try and keep it under $30,000? Has Nissan ever had more that 1 engine option in the Maximas, I know they haven't since the 5th gens but I am not sure about previous generations.

 

It is more cost-effective for Nissan to kick the Maxima upstairs to luxo-boat category to compete with the Q's and the other big boats.
The Altima is obviously re-positioned to take over where the Maxima left off in the mid-20k level. That would leave the Sentra to be brought upstairs to take over where the Altima came from.
Companies like Nissan cannot compete in the lowest categories (where the Sentra used to be) thanks to the cheap boxes coming in from Korea.
It's inevitable, really.
Instead of driving Maxima's, we'll just switch to Altimas.

 

For what it's worth, here's what I heard from my dealer when I bought my 2K2:

- RWD, with AWD possible later
- base engine would be the VQ35 at about 260hp (ala G35)
- upgrade engine would be a pumped-up version of the 4.1L V8 from the last-gen Q45 at about 300hp
- larger by about a foot over the current Max
- cost from mid-30's to low-40's

 

I have heard some of the same things. Nissan is not stupid, if the Maxima is 35K+ then what is the point of Infiniti. If Nissan didn't have a luxury division then a $40K Maxima might make sense. I think for the 6th gen, the VQ will be used in a car that is either FWD or AWD with similar dimensions to the current car with an emphasis on performance and handling as opposed to all out luxury. The Maxima does not have to be any larger to compete with the Avalon or the BMW 5 series since its already a bigger car than both of them. Making it too large and no one will ever consider it for a sports sedan. The Altima is the new value leader not the new 4DSC............

 

Nissan did offer two different engines in '93 and '94 for the Maxima. The standard Maxima came with a 160hp V6 and the SE came with 190hp. They then made the 190hp version standard across the board in '95.

 

'92 as well.

 

I believe that the price of the Infiniti's will also go up. If by a slim chance the pricing of a Maxima go to a 35-40k tag then I can see a 40-45k I35, a 50K QX4. There are alot of gaps in the Infiniti prices unlike nissan who prices tends to overlap. So by the introduction of the G35 and the future Maximas I see this as a chance for Infiniti to norrow those 6-7K price gaps.

 

True the price between the three current 02 Infiniti sedans is 20K between the I30 & Q45 and 10-12K between the I30 & G20. There is a lot of room for new models in there. My point was that the Maxima should not occupy or provide competition to any of these slots. If the Maxima costs over 35K in any form, V-8 AWD or whatever, Nissan will price the Maxima right out of anyones market, why buy a Nissan @ 35K + when you can buy an Audi A6 for close to the same money, the uninformed consumer will only see Nissan vs. Audi. Name recognition is a big part of what sells cars, even all new models. Nissan does not have the name to compete in this market. The Maxima has always been the affordable sports sedan, to build it as the Nissan Bimmer and Benz killer will require changing the image of the car in the eyes of consumers and that is not easy to do. If I planned on doing that to the Maxima, it would need to come out as an all new model and with a new name.

 

AGREED!

 

I dont think nissan will have a hard time finding an audience as long as they use cars such as th e 540i, A6, Evolution VII etc... as benchmarks. Some of you have put over 40k into your current MAx's right now. I think Nissan is on the right track. Hopefully they can create a 540i SLAYER

 

u never know they might do what volkswagon doin with the passat. offer a good v6 and a v8 for a more luxury ride. and the v8 passat runnin for like 38grand so they might just try and compete with the passat.

 

If nissan is going to change to max to an AWD V8 why the hell don't hey just start producing the Skyline R34 in the states then we'ed all be driving Skylines and not worrying about the max being changed.An if that sad Infiniti G35 or what ever is supposed to be the new skyline then nissan is going straight to........... well hell.
and yeah the R34 is a tad bit more pricey than 34,000-? ish.

 

So when exactly is this surprise Max to be released? I have heard this fall and next fall. Any credibility to either? My guess is that when the new production plant is built here in the states for the Max, they will begin produciton with the new model and not the old. It would cost too much to produce an old model for a few months then switch. Does anybody know when the new plant (in Kentucky I belive) is to open?

 

As I was getting the Accelerator TSB done to my 2k2 yesterday, the "big" dealer up here had the following info on the Nissan pipeline:

NY Auto Show..later this March: Murano car based sport ute unveiled...built in Japan...to be here this Fall.

Z: First allocation arriving in August 2002.

Feb. 2003: New Maxima and convertible version of Z.

He also seemed to think the full size truck and and full size sport ute was coming ahead of a Pathfinder redesign.