I missed it Saturday (on PBS)...anybody catch it? What was their verdict? It'll be repeated locally (DC area) Thursday @ 8:30pm.

Just wondering....

I am going to go set the DVR right now to record this

When you go to the SpeedChannel site, they list Motorweek reruns on:

Tuesday, 7/15 at 10:30 a.m.

Thursday, 7/17 at 6:00 p.m.

Let's all hope this is the Maxima report.

I had anxiously awaited this week's Motor Week, as I always watch, and knew the '04 Maxima was going to be on.

I plopped my wife down beside me to watch, and the Max was (no surprise) the last thing on the show.

John Davis (long time moderator) appeared genuinely enthusiastic when talking about the Maxima. This program usually point out several problems or shortcomings of every car they test. There were very few negative things in this Maxima report.

They are correct that a car in this class (especially a 'sports sedan') should have an oil pressure gauge and a voltmeter. That is true even though they don't serve as important a purpose in today's cars as they did forty years ago, and even though many drivers these days wouldn't be looking at them.

Overall, the new Maxima got a clear 'thumbs up' from Motor Week.

I agree that they should have included them, but you are correct that I don't think they are really necessary these days.

most of the people that really care, would probably get aftermarket ones for the looks and functionality

I've been following Motorweek and John Davis for years, and this is something of a pet peeve of his - any car other than the most basic transportation appliance gets critcized for the absence of these gauges.

I enjoy the Motorweek reviews and I'm sorry I missed this one (hope to catch a rerun). Seems like a deservedly positive review.

Cheers,

Jaeger

If you have heard John Davis for years... just imagine his voice as you read along with the link above. The only things missing are the shot of the 60-0 brake test, Maxima weaving throught the cones and shot of Maxima making a hard right turn on the test track.

bluemaxx - in a nice way, you brought up something I was disappointed in; Motor Week usually does show the braking test and the slalom (cones), with their opinion of the results. They neither showed them, or even mentioned them this time. Oh, well . . .

they didnt show it going down the track or anything????? 0-60 1/4 mile run nothing?

I didn't see it. Maybe the text on their web site is the script from the show. It reads like a script from the show, they all sound about the same.

I think you're right - generally they post a verbatim account of Davis' commentary on the site. I think someone mentioned that the Maxima review came at the end of the show? Usually the segment at the very end is a more abbreviated review than the one they lead off with, which may explain the absence of certain aspects of their normal road test review. Too bad - I would love to see video of the Maxima flying through the slalom.

Cheers,

Jaeger

Interesting how they made no mention of the torque steer that the '04 suffers. It's one of the few but glaring problems noted by other car reviewers. Quite a few people on the Maxima.org forum have stated that it was bad enough to make them G35 owners instead.

im sorry i dont think the torque steer is bad, jees guys grow some muscles lol.. its not bad

uhh, you are on the Maxima.org forum... and this is a pretty dead subject here. It has been agreed that some people will find it to be an issue, and others will find it to be a non-issue. Much the same way someone may think a car (G35) is too cramped, has poor ergonomics and design flaws, and others will think it is perfect.

Welcome to the world of subjective views. One man's perfect car is another man's least favorite...

Suffers? I can think of several reasons to pick the G35 over the Maxima, none of them have to do with torque steer though.

Show #2230 originally aired 3/28/03
Road Test: 2004 Lexus RX 330
Road Test: 2004 Nissan Maxima
Goss Garage: Tire Basics
FYI: Profile of a Racer
Car Keys: BMW 760Li, Infiniti FX45 & Rolls Royce Phantom

It is going to be on tomorrow at 3pm in Phoenix, I think... I just set my DVR to record every instance of it until I tell it to stop, that way I won't miss the replay

Well, SpeedChannel on Comcast in SE PA just broadcast a "MotorWeek" at 10:30 a.m. that did NOT include the Maxima. It covered a Maserati and vintage motorcyles.

However, the promo for next week at the conclusion showed the new A8 and the new Maxima - complete with a snippet of the Max rounding a corner.

Since this is the "summer doldrum rerun season," who knows what they're going to broadcast.

I plan to tape all of 'em just in case.

cool ill make sure i watch it next week.. i saw today the masarati to i was like what the hell lol.. thanks for looking out.

For any still interested, the dialogue on the Motor Week site is an exact transcript of John Davis' words. Even including a few 'less than perfect english' passages.

Recently, PBS has been showing the Motor Week episodes in the order they originally appeared. I saw the Maserati and motorcycles in the program before the Maximas.

In the two test drives I took, I did not notice torque steer. It could be that after over fifty years of driving, I subconsciously compensate without thinking about it. More likely, two other factors were more important: I was not driving the manual (which is more prone to torque steer), and I do not often accelerate hard while turning (another place torque steer sometimes rears its head).

Put me in that category whose happiness with the '04 Max will not be hindered whatsoever by 'torque steer'.

This is the show that will be shown again this week on the PBS channel:

MotorWeek #2245
With Host John Davis
PBS Broadcast Window Begins July 11, 2003

Road test of the All-New, All-Aluminum 2004 Audi A8L
Road test of the 2004 Nissan Maxima --The 4-Door Sports Car Returns?
Goss' Garage Goes Back to Basics on Tires
FYI: Profile of an All-American Winner
Car Keys -- First Drives: 2004 Cadillac XLR & 2004 Ford F-150

Hope this helps!!!!

Thanks, but the high-brow snobs at my local PBS station (WHYY-Philadelphia)dropped "Motorweek" years ago. I used to write "Bring Back Motorweek" on my donation slips, but finally gave up. The only way we get it here is thru Comcast on the Speed Channel.

I just went thru the digital cable program list and it is supposed to be broadcast on:

6:00-6:30 p.m., Thursday, 7/17.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Ahh... you have Comcast Cable!!!
I'm recording it on channel 23 (NJN), I'm sure Comcast carries the NJN network. It's on 7/18 @ 3:30 AM
Good luck!!!