Smoken'04

iTrader: (2)

http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102996

Maxima: The Maxima is due for a redesign for the 2008 or 2009 model year.

The current model has not lived up to sales predictions. Some sources say the car may get a radical design and a more powerful engine to differentiate it further from the Altima. Also, customers today can buy the top-of-the-line Altima with a V-6 engine with about the same hp as a Maxima at a lower price.

Company executives say the Maxima plays a crucial role in the Nissan lineup. Others predict it may be dropped.

on a side note....I'm feelin the Sport Concept design

RHMax

Nissan really needs to target the next Max against the TL's and ES's since no Infiniti's are aimed at those cars. That would probably mean higher price point for the next Maxima, if that's the case.

Fr33way™

iTrader: (23)

That sport concept is hot

Glude

iTrader: (5)

I really like that concept Nissan Hatch.

Monotaur

I've always thought that the 2004+ Maxima has sold more units than originally planned? Weren't they planning on selling something like 80K, and ended up selling 130K? (I may be off on the numbers, but I recall lightonthehill mentioning this specifically in the past.)

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

you're right. once again, someone is quoted in an article that doesn't know their facts. Maybe 05 didn't do as well though

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

I love the idea of a sport concept model, if it could be done for the G35, why not the Max???

eLMo

I saw the Sport Concept at the NY International auto show. It was soooo sick.

DeusExMaxima

iTrader: (1)

ANyone have pics of the sports concept?

04BlackMaxx

Yeah I bet they will go edgy with the maxima, like a CTS...its the new trend it seems, and is definately apparent in the sport concept.

lightonthehill

Posters like Monotaur and NismoMax80 have very good memories.

Yes, the initial prognostication from Nissan was that this would be a more upscale, near luxury vehicle, hopefully selling around 80,000 units, leaving the Altima as the 'car for the masses'. Yes, I did state that over 131,000 '04 Maximas were sold. And their VIN serial numbers were 800000 through 9316dd, with no serial number skipped.

They were assembled from January 2003 until July 2004, and were on sale from the first week of March 2003 until (and after) the 2005s arrived the first week of August 2004 (approximately 17 months).

I would list some of the reasons the 2005 Maxima might not have done as well as the 2004:

1 - They were on sale for only 12 months (vs 2004's 17 months).
2 - They were outwardly exactly alike the 2004, so there was little to draw the 'look at me' crowd.
3 - Some Maxima fans were hesitant after hearing their friends with 6th gen Maximas complaining about shimmy, struts, rotor vibration, etc, and the poor service at some Nissan dealers.
4 - Infiniti has risen literally from the ashes, with the G35 understandably drawing thousands of buyers that otherwise might have bought Maximas.
5 - Accura finally redesigned their tranny to fix the serious problem that had plagued the TL for several years, making that a viable alternative.
6 - Many buyers looking at Maxima in recent months were hesitant because they were afraid the 2006 would be changed enough to 'date' their 2005.

I could go on with the excuses, but all those somewhat valid reasons are quite moot, as the 2005 Maxima sold around 90,000 units. A quick calculation tells me that is approximately 7500 units per month. By comparison, the very successful 2004 Maxima sold 131600 in 17 months, which is 7741 per month.

Hmmmm - For the reasons listed above, plus the fact a new design seldom sells as well the second year, I would have expected quite a drop in 2005 Maxima sales. But I don't see it.

Autoweek is a good mag, but that doesn't mean every person writing for it (much less every person they quote) is completely 'up' on the true status of any situation.

I feel one of the reasons Nissan did not make big changes to the 2006 is that the car has been successful 'as is'.

Having said all that, I, like others, will be very interested in seeing where Nissan is now headed with our Maxima. This could get very interesting . . .

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

once again, great perspectives Light.
Another reason why I doubt the article is the fact I own Nissan Stock and occassionally read their headlines. Each time I checked, monthly Sales continued to be up from 2004 including the Maxima.
This source answers none of my speculations, so I feel a title change is needed...

Monotaur

Something else that I thought of last night is that they didn't include the tire pressure monitor system (TPMS) that some of us were expecting in any mid-run redesign (now they'll have to include that in the next year's design). At first I thought that this might be a sign that they'll make some more pronounced changes for the MY07 and include it then (or maybe even a late MY 35th AE?), now I'm just not sure... lots of speculation at this point, but no answers.

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

35th is 10 years from now, I hope more than a few pronounced changes occur by then. if you meant 25th, that's this year. I thoguth the TPMS was gonna be required soon?

Monotaur

Yeah, sorry, meant 25th AE. And yes, I've read that TPMS will be required by next year.

NissanFreak2000

Good article, it looks like Nissan may finally seperate the Maxima from the Altima in the next gen of both cars. At least they realize the two are way to close to each other, especially with the Altima SE-R floating around now. At least it sounds like the rumors of Nissan dropping the Max are false. Can't wait to hear and see what they have planned for the 2008 7th gen.

belal242

Great Article, I think we may all have an idea of where the maxima is going. I think i feel better now. I think the hybrid maxima for 2009 might be in the picture, And i also think the 6th gen has sold alot, I see them every where in the DC metro area.

MaxMus

As much as I see 6th Gen Maximas on the roads, I highly doubt the car is selling poorly.

gen2000

Sport Concept Pictures !


http://www.nissanperformancemag.com/.../sportconcept/

Tek-Niq

iTrader: (3)

maxima's is all I've had since I bought my very first car, I'd be pissed if they drop it.. hopefully they have plans to boost it up to the 300hp range and keep up with the big boys..

cool pics gen2000.........

RHMax

Nissan sold enough 6th gens (04's and 05's) so far here in the Southern California area that I can see, and I see quite a few of 05's w/ new dealer plates lately too. "Back to the Futre" of the Max, I agree that '07 model will be introduced early in 06, with more significant changes, as posted in another thread.

He's right! You can also buy a the top-of-the-line Camry (Accord) with a V-6 engine with about the same hp as a ES 330 (TL) at a lower price. Thousands of $$$$ in savings.

RHMax

Tek, I've never noticed your wheels until this sig!!!

Wakkus_Maximus

Nice pic Tek.... There's a Furious wheels car show on September here in Puerto Rico... I'll try to go and take some pics like yours...

Tek-Niq

iTrader: (3)

thanx guys, that pic was from the meet on sunday, they had models so I took some lol...

check my gallery i have some more girl in it:

http://tekniq.homelinux.net/gallery/CE-meet?page=1

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=424540

brewboy13

As I agree that most people don't see much of a difference between the Max vs. Altima, but I see a huge difference. Price wise I only paid about $500 more for my SL vs. an Altima 3.5 SL. I think if most people would look more closely at the two they would see a big difference especially in the interiors and really not much of a difference in the price. The Altima is just very cheap in many ways accept engine. I know Maxima lovers know this but the average consumer may not see it. IMO.

blackpaladin67

RHMax

When is production date?

maximob

What Wheels???

maximob

I was originally looking at the Altima (sorry guyz...this is my first max, so I didn't know). I found a V6 alt nicely featured cost almost as much as a max with everything included. At the dealer I test drove a maxima and was completely sold.

James_05SE

As of July, year to date, the 2005 Maxima has sold 44,193 vs. 42,884 for the 2004, a 4% increase in 2005 over 2004.

http://www.nissannews.com/corporate/...02095035.shtml

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

What wheels??? Didn't see any, just hot bumpers and headlights...

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

atta boy....
Maxima is selling
so does that mean about 90,000 6th gens sold in 03?

JoesRedMax

iTrader: (1)

Hard to believe that the Max is not selling I am starting to see a ton of them popping up all over Rhode Island. I think the next gen will have to be at least 300 hp to stay ahead of the Avalons and Accords.

JoesRedMax

iTrader: (1)

I think Nissan should seperate the Max from the Altima, they are too close in HP. If your going to spend more for the Maxima then it should have at least 300hp as well as some other enhancements like standard DVD navi.

James_05SE

03* 86,758
04* 76,367
05 44,193 (YTD as)

Total= 207,318

* Since they started selling 04's in march then if half the max's sold in '03 were 04 models (were still cearing out MY03 cars) that makes the total at least 163,939. Not sure how to tell how many '04 models were sold in 2003.

James_05SE

They need to add damn MP3 capability to the CD player. Why can I get a $100 unit at best buy but I can't get my expensive BOSE upgrade system to play MP3s. This isn't 1996. MP3s have been around for a while now. And perhaps a input port for a iPod or portable MP3 player.

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

this is just for up to Aug. or 2/3 of a year.

gec

I've been through 4 generations of this car and proud of it....BUT...I'll tell you this, when they introduced this gen in 03' the storyline was they were moving the maxima up a class and moving the altima into the maxima's class. They moved the altima alright but didn't move the maxima....let me rephrase that --- they created the SL and made it with more luxury options---- oh and while on options...yes you could upgrade this gen with some of the packages they offer that truly do have comfort and style in mind...but you pay extra extra for them.... where acura & infinity offer these options standard across the board.... and for the price ranges these cars are in you'd think simple things could come standard in all models on the max... Please feel free to add to this list of things that should come standard:

Passenger Power Seat
Heated Seats
Drivers Seat Memory
Telescoping Wheel
MP3 Capabilty
Slide Seat on Exit
Lift Wheel on Exit
Rear Spoiler
Vehicle Dynamic Control
Full Size Spare


and most importantly

A FRIGGIN SKYVIEW THAT OPENS

kamski

iTrader: (9)

I fully concur, I think i might take my max to get the skyview moded to a side slide type or something. Maybe even one that pops off for those summer runs.

Frig, in canada I had to buy the entire leather package just to get folding mirrors and power seats. WTF, i kinda hate leather and now im stuck with a car with a cold azz in the winter and a burnt azz in the summer cause i wanted power folding mirrors and rear spoiler. in retrospect WTF was i thinking?

Kam

lightonthehill

Most of the items listed in the previous two posts are included in the driver preferred package, which only costs $600 or so on the SL. The driver Preferred package is more expensive on the SE because the base SE MSRP is around $27K or so.

The 'competing' vehicles (such as Accura TL, Avalon, etc) with these options as standard are not selling for $27K. Most are well over $30K. Making these standard on the base Maxima moves the price out of reach for some buyers.

I agree that MP3 should have been included with the Bose. Even my wife's 2004 Ford Ranger Edge pickup truck has in-dash 6 CD changer with MP3 standard.

I disagree that the spoiler should be standard. There are many folks who either do not like spoilers, or want a spoiler of their choice, rather than the tiny Maxima one.

I agree that VDC should be standard on all Maximas. In fact, legislation is underway in Washington to require stability control on all vehicles. The intent is to have this in place by April of 2009.

I'm not sure the full size spare tire/wheel should be standard. That would be fine for younger/strong folks. But many folks prefer the space-saver version. The full size wheel and tire are rather heavy for old or infirm folks to be lifting. I know I had to work to get the full-size wheel and tire (which I definitely prefer) out of my trunk. If the full-size is made standard, there should be a space-saver available as a cost-deductable option (like the HIDs on the SL).

Which brings us to the skyview. The glass is far too long to have a 'pop-up' option. In looking closely at the skyview and the shape of the car roof, having the glass slide to one side would require the loss of a great deal of headroom. Even then, I don't see geometrically where there would be room to open it fully.

An additional worry is that power sunroofs always leak water, so manufacturers have a system in place to handle the leakage. A totally new drainage system would be required for a skyview that opened.

Most importantly, a normal simple power sunroof adds almost $1,000 to the price of the Maxima, I cannot see a power opening skyview costing less than $1800; probably more. As for it being standard? Never on any vehicle closer than Zeta Reticuli.

Not on the list, but something I would like (and which will be required on all vehicles starting with the 2007 model year) would be a system showing the tire pressure of each tire, with a warning light/bell activated should a tire drop below a preset pressure.

We should always keep in mind that nothing in life is free. Every option made standard raises the base MSRP of the vehicle.