lightonthehill

george - I will be glad to hear your thoughts after you have the opportunity to see these 8th gens for an extended time up close. I know there are things about this car that did not turn folks on at first, but the thing just looks different up close in person. For instance, one of the things that turned lots of folks off in those early photos were the radically oversculpted sides. But when I spent over two hours walking around the car and trying out all four seats, and studying it from every angle, I hardly noticed the sculpted sides. The reality is that the sculpting is barely there, only a very slight departure from no sculpting, so, unless the light is just right, it isn't really that noticable.

The reality is that, having spent time up close to this car, I really like its looks and especially the very high quality interior. I felt like I was sitting in an upscale Audi.

I had already planned to cover/paint the 'motion' V in the grille the same color as the body, but, if I get the silver Maxima, then there would be no point. I think the grille is not as noticable in person because we are looking down on top of the hood, rather than getting down low where Nissan seems to love to photograph this car.

One thing I sort of worry about is that the Maxima is more expensive than it was just a few generations ago. It is now a major investment. But then there are far more features on this 8th gen than we had only a few generations ago. The price is great for the features included, but I am afraid it is losing the 'affordable' from the old 'affordable 4DSC' motif.

george__

iTrader: (1)

^
Maxima's getting freakishly expensive down there too huh!?!?!


I want to race this against the the HD2 kit Maxima :P... Have to wait for Nissan to get some in stock for test driving first

Minarets

I live between Nissan HQ and the Smyrna plant. I have seen the new max without taped over badges of late. I like its looks. Saw a silver one driving yesterday. Sadly, my 2013 will probably be my last.

With my job requirements in sales, where I drive about 40k miles a year (I get an allowance) the max has been priced out of reach. I bought my 2013 with employee discount and with current incentives and received about $10k off of sticker.

I will have to look more towards a Mazda 6 priced vehicle.

That said, I enjoy cars and will surely see many new maximas from employees at HQ and new buyers. I have always loved maximas since my first in 1997 which was a 1994 model. Had 4 since.

lightonthehill

Minarets - Sorry to lose you as a Maxima driver. We need more here like you who appreciate the Maxima for what it is, not for what they want it to be. At least the Mazda 6 is an excellent vehicle, and can be fun to drive. My daughter has a manual tranny 2015 Mazda 6 and loves it. And you will save a bundle of money. The list of features and goodies on the Maxima SR or Platinum is very long indeed. But the MSRP for either of those two versions is almost $40K, and my daughter paid almost $15K less for her (rather well equipped) Mazda.

Best of luck to you, and, if you perchance win the lottery, come on back (with a new Maxima) and we will have fun here.

Minarets

Thanks. I don't plan on going anywhere as I love cars and have an affinity for maximas. I love reading reviews and will for sure love reading and watching new owners reviews on here and on YouTube. Good luck to all as I think this maxima has a ton to offer.

lightonthehill

Since you live between Nissan HQ and the Smyrna plant, and drive around 40K miles in that area each year, once the new Maximas go on public sale, you will be seeing dozens each day. You might as well log on here and express your thoughts on them. True car fans are always appreciated here.

I also like your board name. Minarets are so colorful, expressive, artistic, and break the boring mold of 'squaredom.' They are also symbolic of endless time. They have been around thousands of years, and will still be there till the end of eternity. Hopefully, so will the Maxima.

Minarets

Ha, I am a big Dave Matthews Band fan and they have a song called Minarets and it's stuck with me on message boards for years.

I am already seeing several Maximas (I assume all employee driven) and they look quite good. You are correct, there are tons of nissans and infinitis around here all the time. I want my wife to go work at Nissan. She is looking for a new job and she wants a new car, what seems like every year, so it's a perfect fit for her.

I know several people at the plant or at HQ (sadly none can help with a job) but all get amazing emploee discount on cars. Since Nissan is non-Union the car deals are their main attraction. Most of the time the price per month includes insurance and is well below what one would pay to own that same car. You normally get 30k miles a year and have them for 12 months. I guess it's a lease. But a new car every year you can pick your colors from the factory and get 30k miles and get great pricing is quite the deal to me. My wife drives a M37 now and me a maxima. We already got the company mold. Now I just need her to get on board there and reduce our cost.

saltohio

Thanks for making the pics. available.
I like the interior, side and rear profiles.

The front side view is horrible imo. Don't get what they were going for.
The chrome bar and suspended burger look cheap and ruin an otherwise nice look.

lightonthehill

The front is part of Nissan's plan to have some recognizable uniformity through their car line. I initially had mixed feelings about the front, but realized almost immediately that there were things we could do to make it look better. I think the first step for many would be to make the main grille bar the color of the body, either by covering it with plastic wrap or by painting it. The logo could also be painted a less conspicuous gunmetal or black or even body color. It can't be easily removed because there is a radar sensor in the bottom half of the logo.

As time passes, I have grown to like the front a little better, and if I opt for the Brilliant Silver color (most likely my choice), I may do very little to the front bar and logo, as they will already be body color.

It is going to be interestimg to see the ways folks here find to individualize the fronts of their 8th gens.

lightonthehill

Dave Matthews. A band with music that is actually music. No twerking necessary.

I regret that you are unable to get on at the Nissan plant. That would have been perfect for you. That car deal sounds very good.

They do treat Nissan drivers very well. Whenever I visit the Nissan assembly plant, I am allowed to park in the portion of the lot nearest the door because I drive a Nissan. But I have a habit of parking as far from store/factory/church/restaurant doors as possible, in order to greatly reduce the chances of door dings. My wife and I have always parked at the very far end of any parking lot. Walking is good for folks.

I hope your wife can get on at the plant so that your family will have access to a very good car deal. Let us know if you see anything exciting that 8th gen Maxima drivers have done to their cars.

Randy

Tuesday May 19 - I had my chance to see the 2016 Maxima.
Spent almost 2 hrs going over the car. No test drives allowed !
Car arrived early afternoon for training and then used for evening event.

There has been a lot said already by other about 2016 Maxima looks good and bad. Well pictures don't do it justice. The version I saw was Platinum Coulis Red with Charcoal Leather , extras included rear spoiler, splash guards,Illuminated Kick Plates. All I can say is WOW. I really like the Coulis Red so much that I am adding it to my list of possible colors which now stands at 2 - Pearl White and Coulis Red with Cashmere Leather. In speaking with the Nissan Trainer ref the 2016 Maxima I learned several things that have cleared up some confussion on my part and why certain things changed. First I had to know what they mean by Hydro Electric Power assist Steering. Did this mean that the Rack and Pinion Power Steering is no longer and we now have a full time electric system like the Altima. Answer is no. The major change here is the power steering pump is no longer driven off the engines serpintine belt but nowi s driven by electric motor. He said this was done to save weight and help increase MPG's. Like most
others I was dissappointed by the rear lights but it is what it is for now. Sounded to me that the Nissan rep was also trying to play those lights down somewhat. I went over as much of the car I could. Sitting in car felt good won't know for sure until test drive. Love the fit , finish and feel of the interior materials, very upscale. At first was a little surprised that the front window visors did't have the extensions that current and past maxima's have. After mentioning this to the rep he said the visor as a whole now slides
to cover the area you want to block sun from. Other area of concern was the Trunk now that they have removed the strut setup. Talked to the rep and he said if you take a close look at the angle of the roof line and where it ends you will see there isn't much space to put all the needed hardware required for the strut setup.

Last we talked about release date. As been said on this site by many other June 3 ,2015 is the offical release date. Sometime late next week but no later then June 3 dealers will be informed what there allotment will be with arrivals coming by mid June. Again I could say a lot more but I do think they hit a homerun with this car. I look forward to a test drive very soon.

Randy

Minarets

Shipments leave Smyrna this weekend for dealers. Saw them loaded on trucks ready to go today.

lightonthehill

These may be the 'presold' one that have already been 'ordered' by customers anxious to buy early, and also to earn the three years free service. I think those cars begin being distributed to customers beginning June 3rd, and there is always dealer prep (removing all protective material and checking all fluids, etc, and final wash and shine, and paperwork, etc) before the car can be delivered to the customer.

There are hundreds of Nissan dealers across the country, so it will take a while to get any kind of supply to all dealers. Soon be time to begin checking the back lots of dealerships.

lightonthehill

The Coulis Red with Charcoal was the one I spent over two hours checking out. Like you, I really liked the Coulis Red. But I finally made my decision for Brilliant Silver over Pearl White, Gun Metallic and the red.

Also like you, I must have the Cashmere interior because of the broiling heat here in middle Georgia.

Because of an unbelievably jammed schedule between now and mid-July, I had pretty much decided it would be late July before I had time to begin shopping for my 8th gen. But a series of exchanges with a person who works in Smyrna/Nashville and is associated with the intro of the 8th gen has put me in a position where I just might take time to grab one in June. Just need to do some more math and have my perfect 7th gen with Tech and navi assessed.

Randy

Light
You really think the Dealers are going to discount the car so soon ?
I guess it can't hert to try! Do you know something that would be helpful
to us ? Chatting with the Sales manager the other night lead me to believe
that for a short time anyway its going to be hard to get the model and color you want , however she wasnt aware of any production increase and doesn't know how many and what version are coming in first time. She does hope to have at least one at the dealer by June 3 that I can test drive unless it is sold. Anyway the excitement keeps on building. Really want to drive one.

Randy

NissanFreak2000

So you finally decided on the color, lol, and went with brilliant silver!! I am still unable to decide between brilliant and gunmetal, lol. Maybe once I get to see them in person but I still think I will struggle, lol.

lightonthehill

If I lived in a less broiling climate, I would probably be deciding between the Gun Metallic, Coulis Red and Storm Blue. But we see 100 humid degrees far too often where I hang out. Both the Gun Metallic and Brillliant Silver are used on the Altima, so we can actually touch and feel these colors already.

lightonthehill

This is a situation that can turn into a bucket of worms. There are so many things to consider.

For one thing, dealers will not all get the same number of 8th gens. Larger dealers and dealers who have been meeting quotas and moving Nissans will be getting somewhat preferential treatment. The assembly line in Smyrna is already going full tilt on the 8th gen Maxima, because most dealers recently upped the number of new Maximas they want from Nissan.

A second consideration is that the car you want does not have to be at your dealer. If it is at another dealer in your area, I have bought it through my dealer and had it trucked to his lot. But I don't think this will be 'doable' until every dealer has a reasonable supply of 8th gens, and the initial buying crush has passed.

A third point is that every dealer is different. Some want to get 8th gens on the road so folks will see them and come to buy one. Others will, at least at first, demand MSRP PLUS the amount on the dealer sticker, which will be posted on the window beside the Nissan sticker and will include such things as upholstery treatment, extra paint protection, locking lug nuts, etc, etc. The first month or two, folks who REALLY want this car will pay that extra amount. But within a month, those type buyers are pretty much gone, and few will even consider paying those 'packs.'

A fourth point is that some folks either work at Nissan or have a family member who works at Nissan or have some strong connection to Nissan or have a very long history with Nissan/Datsun and are considered 'favored customers' or . . . the list goes on. Those folks get one of several reduced rates. But the reduction is not great, because there is only a few thousand bucks difference between MSRP and Invoice price.

A fifth point is how well the 8th gens are selling. A dealer who is selling them as soon as they arrive has no incentive to deal. A dealer who is having trouble moving the 8th gen will be willing to deal.

Of course all these considerations can be affected by exterraneous factors such as the desirability of the vehicle you are trading in on the 8th gen, its condition, whether you are paying cash or financing, who you are financing with, whether you have a history of having all your maintenance and repair work done at that dealer, and even time of month/year (have quotas been met?).

Many folks wait until Nissan has an incentive/rebate going on the car, but don't expect that to happen before late in the year or even next year on a brand new generation that is obviously going to sell.

It really is sort of a juggling act. We know that we would be able to buy this new 8th gen for not far above Invoice price by the end of the year, but then we have to consider that the value of our tradein might have fallen more than the price of the new Maxima.

So many things to consider.

NissanFreak2000

LOL, trust me, I know about heat, as I'm sure Atlanta temps are similar to the ones here in Houston. I looked at the two colors on the Altima, but since the lines are very different, the two colors look different when put on the 8th gen Max. Going to have to wait to see both of them on the dealership lot side by side to decide.

lightonthehill

I have heard horror stories about Houston's heat and humidity.

You are too much like me. I saw the Brilliant Silver on two different Altimas today, but I still want to see in person how it works with the sculpting of the 8th gen Maxima before I plunk down a bundle of cash.

A week from today will be the last day of May. The week following next Sunday will begin the arrival of 2016 Maximas at dealers. Many of those will already have been spoken for by early buyers. But not all. They will arrive slowly at first, then, before we realize it, there will be a selection of 8th gen Maximas at every Nissan dealer.

Let the fun begin.

Randy

Two news articals that Maxima lovers should read.

Maxima Almost Died
http://www.autoblog.com/2015/05/25/n...a-almost-died/

Will Nissans big gamble on Maxima pay off
http://www.autonews.com/article/2015...axima-pay-off?

I didn't realize that Nissan was going to kill the Maxima !
Thanks to Pierre Loing, vice president of North American product planning
who had to sell the idea of a new Maxima.

Randy

lightonthehill

After reading all the comments following those articles, I am truly surprised at those commenters' overall total ignorance regarding the specs of the new Maxima, as well as its target audience.

A manual in an low-volume upscale four door near-luxury sporty family sedan with the fuel efficiency requirements we now have? A dinosaur had to post that.

AWD? That field is already covered. AWD is not needed in most parts of the country, has too many drawbacks to list here, and adds another chunk of money to a car that needs to fly just below luxury prices.

Double the HP? Are you kidding? An absolute waste in a FWD family sedan that now moves to sixty in under five seconds.

CVT kills it? Conversely, the CVT is fast approaching the point it will not only have better fuel efficiency than any other tranny, but will out-accelerate most any other tranny.

I could go on, but I will just repeat that those commenters are about three decades behind the reality curve. To not like a car is one thing. But to not like it because it is not the same as it was in 1984 (RWD, Auto/manual) is to show an inability to move forward with one's life as the world progresses. That is truly sad.

Thank goodness, the folks at Nissan are smarter than most internet commenters. This car is going to sell.