Amongst FWD sedans it is a muscle car...then are Pontiacs and Caddys muscle cars too?

 

Sure, a Grand Prix GTP and and an Eldorado most certainly are muscle cars in my book.

 

something else to consider is that the muscle cars of old were a way to get great power and compete with more expensive sports cars of the time.

The GTO and others cost way less than a corvette and european sports cars.

Sure you could consider any big hp making car a "muscle car" but every muscle car of the 60's was affordable to most everyone.

I think a Maxima does well in that its fairly quick AND not very expensive (i guess), however i wouldnt say that it competes with other "muscle cars" of today for around the same price.

Another thing i think of when i think of "muscle car" is the great sound coming from the dual exhuast, compliments of a big lopey cam

 

factory 60's muscle cars did not come with big lopey cams. I could probably trick alot of people into thinking my mustang has one, but infact it has a 50psi difference spread across the board on the compression test, It wont hold an idle below 850rpms and the whole car shakes if the engine isnt accelerating or running really rich. I think the main problem is people forgetting the first post.... "Modern Muscle Car"

 

what comprises a muscle car to me is a sort of threshold horsepower benchmark, stock, *from the factory*. body style, power to weight ratio, and vintage/era notwithstanding, anything above 300hp has got to be a muscle car. so the new stock maximas and Z cars do not fit that. the '61 Impala SS 409 came stock with like 360hp or something like that. so, yeah, that is a muscle car.

i don't even think it is technically legal anymore to sell japanese cars that have above 280 hp.

 

You're totally right, people need to keep it real. Since this is a Maxima forum, if somebody said the Maxima is the best car on the road, barr none, there'd be plenty who agree. But that's not realistic. If you think a Maxima is a muscle car, then good, as long as it makes you happy what the heck, call it a muscle car. Just understand that the general population wont agree.

I simply can't understand why so many people cannot accept the Maxima for what it is. They feel some need to elevate it like it's the vehicle choice of the gods or something. They'll go on and on on why a Maxima is great and an A4 1.8T or 325 is inferior, when imho it's the other way around. Most people got a Maxima because it was the best car they could afford at the time. What's wrong with that? So someone else has a muscle car, or a German car. So what?? If that's what you want, then save up your $$$ for it, don't elevate the Max and coast or slack at your current job. my .02

 

That would have been 360 gross hp. Take that down to net crank hp and it will be barely on the border of your criteria.

 

Agree 100%!

 

To the general public the only cars that are allowed to be labeled as "muscle cars" are american cars with V-8's and rear wheel drive. This is a fact. I am not saying I agree, but it is difficult to think of the Maxima as a muscle car.

 

I always considered muscle cars to be cars that the "every day Joe" could afford but still compete rather closely with the "super-cars" of the day. The old muscle-cars did just that (for straight-line performance, anyhow). Maxima's have trouble beating other family cars, and have no chance against a Ferarri (of the same year).

 

Then the Mercury Grand Marquis is more of a muscle car than the Maxima?

 

Maxima=performance sports sedan. period.

 

Sure they did, some manufacturers even had optional cams you could choose from. Im not talking Funny Car cams, but they were larger than the regular cars of the time.

 

If thats the case, then take the power that many Maximas make and id be willing to bet that my trucks lug nuts take more torque than a Maxima engine produces

 

The maxima is a great car but no muscle car. Muscle car are known for brute rwd V8 power pushing an over weight goliath to sub 14sec 1/4 times. The maxima is the polar opposite of that having a highly refined (at least the 3.0) and renowned VQ engine and a great power to weight ratio.

 

No.


The M45 is cool and all, but I don't like how Infiniti used the muscle car marketing thing. It does look like it could be a more modern/luxurious version of an old malibu or something (thinking 64) as far as shape... but it beesa Japanese.

You gotta think about where the cars are made and the typical aspects of the people where they're made.

Domestics - American Guy - loves sports, is big and brawny, likes loud and heavy things things, works hard.

Euro Imports - Euro guy - dresses better than most, concerned about image, likes being expensive

Asian Imports - Asian guy - Small yet strong, efficient, smart, resourceful, works smarter not harder.

 

Back in the '60s, there was no standard method for rating horsepower, so all of the figures were extremely high. Now, they're all SAE Net numbers, which means they are much more accurate. The Maxima rating of 255, whether it's correct or not, is more accurate than any example from the 1960s and early '70s.

 

Do you torque your lug nuts to 265 lb-ft ?

 

If the Maxima is a performance sports-sedan, what is an M5?

 

So I am a white guy who grew up in the heartland, the plains of Nebraska, eating beef for dinner. I worked hard in school and am now an Engineer. I try not to work any harder than I have to (so that I can enjoy life), but work with maximum efficiency and effort when things need to get done. I could care less about sports and don't really follow them at all. Not even auto racing. But I am also 6'3" and 230 lb, not exactly small (used to be 300lb!). And I don't like loud and heavy things, either. I don't even have an intake on my car because I prefer the quieter stock setup. And my preference for cars is in the following order...

1) Japanese
2) European
3) American

Your stereotype is just that. A stereotype. Sometimes they fit, but other times they don't at all. There are many reasons why the cars are made the way they are from the different continents, and trust me, it has very little to do with the "typical aspects" of the people from those respective countries and continents.

 

As for whether the Maxima is a musclecar or not?

It's a family sedan with some muscle, but it ain't no "musclecar"

Sure, it'll beat some of the old musclecars in their stock form, but can you just "drop in" a big block into a Maxima and get it running sub-10 1/4 mile times? Nah...


$0.02

 

I don't think of any new car as being a "muscle car". When I think of a muscle car, I think of cars that would be in a Car Craft mag.

 

That's all it was... a stereotype, buy hinting at some of the methods designers use to design their automobiles. It was a silly comparison as was intended, but coming from a marketing angle I know for sure those things run through the minds of designers.

With vehicles from the top 3 Japanese manufacturers.. I'd say you're an in-the-closet asian dude

 

I bet my truck is faster than your truck

 

WOW MOST OF US WERE RIGHT THE MAX IS NOT, I REPEAT IS NOT A MUSCLE CAR

http://www.musclecarclub.com/musclec...finition.shtml

if a muscle car club is not right, i don't know who is

 

that is all.

 

Me no think so.

 

Wow, you're in school I hope, and not in marketing. If 3M had marketers like you, they wouldn't be at the top of their game like they are. Amazing how that dot-bomb stuff meant nothing to 3M and they reached an all-time high on Fri.

Yo, I'm 6'4" and there are 3 Chinese people that report to me, all 3 over 6'. I must be a closet Asian dude too? Stereotype and marketing don't mix. If you plan a career there, start learning about demography. I still think you are out of touch, do you still think the SAT is what gets you into college too and determines how successful you will be?

 

ahahaha that's hilarious, sig material.

 

You're all missing the point. You see, I started a thread on the PIT forum on a web page called modermnusclecars.net What I found on the forums were mostly posts about old muscle cars, so I started the thread asking what's up with all the old cars since it's a MODERN muscle cars site. I then said that my Maxima was somewhat of a modern muscle car. Everybody else over there said no way, so I looked to Maxima.org for help. I guess my thread should read "is the Maxima a MODERN muscle car." I know it's nothing like the old muscle cars, but nothing these days is like those cars. If you could define a modern muscle car, I think the Maxima would fit in. That's all.

 

Not sure why you decided to pick on me since i was just messing around with Steve on that post. Did you expect me to post an in-depth analysis of marketing? :rollseyes: As far as demography, i know what's up but as always with all kinds of marketing, you have to brainstorm and take in all possible factors. You can't leave anything behind. I didn't want to go into great details that's why i loosely stated "I know for sure those things run through the minds of designers" and not "I know those thoughts are the be-al, end-all of marketing."

Btw, i had a horrible sat and gpa and got in solely on portfolio and interview. I hope all this doesn't turn into some kind of argument. Much apologies from me for bringing my West Coast forum mentality over here.