Stupid observation question here. Having been sick lately and watching more than my share of television (especially football today), I have noticed Nissan pushing the Altima and Sentra but not the Maxima. Now I realize the differences in releases, the '04 Maxima emerging earlier this spring, but you would think they would be pushing it more. Does anyone think that they are not behind it as much as we would like to believe?

 

It is common knowledge Nissan intends to sell fewer 6th gens compared to previous generations. The Maxima is no longer Nissan's "bread and butter".......the Altima sale figures show that car has taken the place of the Maxima in terms of high volume sale figures.....thus more profits. In years past the Maxima helped greatly to keep Nissan afloat.....that is not as much the case today.

 

I have seen a great deal of those Max commercials where the persons where the girl touches it before getting in the cab... seems to be on all the time here

 

Yes, I agree that Nissan is not marketing the Maxima very heavily. If you believe (as others on this site have said in other threads) that Nissan is targeting the Maxima for an "older, more affluent customer" (I fit that description), then the TV ads for the Altima are to attract the younger customer into the showroom. Suspect they are advertising the Maximas more selectively where older people will see those ads.

My buying a Maxima was because of the kind of car I wanted:
- V-6 engine with modern engine technology.
- Manual transmission for more control.
- 4 doors (to satisfy my wife).
- Spend no more than $30,000 (unless I could not find a suitable car for that price).

There was not a lot to choose from (given that I really wanted a manual transmission):

- Altima V-6
- Maxima SE
- Mazda 6 (but this car has an older Ford-developed V-6, that did not compare with the V-6s offered by Nissan, Honda or Toyota).
- Honda Accord (but I had to take a coupe -- 2 doors -- to get a manual).

Bottom line, only Nissan offered a V-6 engine with modern engine technology, a manual transmission, and 4 doors.

I went to my local Nissan dealer, drove the manual Altima V-6 first and then drove the Maxima. The choice was clear to me, so I bought the Maxima. I also suspect that most people who come in to check out the Altima will also look at the Maxima. Many will buy the Maxima, if they can afford the additional dollars.

 

The '04 Maxima was advertised on TV during the spring. But the damaging of over 2500 by the hailstorm at the Smyrna plant in early May resulted in a severe shortage from mid-June until around the end of July.

The shortage was so bad that my local dealer, who planned to always have around ten '04 Maximas on the lot, ended up with only two (both 6 speed - worthless sitting in Atlanta traffic) for a full month.

Nissan wisely cut way back on Maxima advertising until the flow of cars to the dealers was back to normal. The ads resumed in mid-August, and I see a few every day now.

There are two ads I see a lot: both seem to be in downtown Manhattan, and involve a black SE parked at the curb. In one, a young woman touches the car and is so mesmerized she misses her cab. In the other, a man touches the car, and is so energized he crushes an orange he had in his hand to a sticky pulp.

Those suggesting the Maxima may be aimed at a more well-to-do audience are 'spot-on'. I see it featured in many 'upscale' magazines, as well as financial publications such as 'Money Magazine'.

 

I see the spots all the time. Especially the one with the guy and the orange. The one with the girl missing her cab, I've only seen twice!

 

I guess the playboy channel, um, I mean, FoxNews doesn't carry these spots because I have been devoid of seeing them. Thanks for the info though.

 

I saw one today on Fox Sports Net! The Girl Missing Cab one!

 

The maxima is a hard order to fill for most dealers right now ... i work in marketing and i think that when they finally catch up with all the orders then they will start pushing it more....

 

I haven't seen a Max ad since I made that post. I have seen a couple of Altima ads and a ****load of 04 Sentra ads

 

Update: I finally saw a MAXIMA AD It like the frist one i have seen in nyc area since the summer. Its about time Nissan give the almighty MAX some Props.

 

Yep, the ads have started showing up here again. The one I'm seeing the last couple days shows some jogger guy touching the Max and it taking off then he touches a poster of this girl and waiting to see what she does. It's about time but I hope the '04 don't multiply on the roads like my third and fifth gen.