Sorry if this is a repost, but my friend just told me about the 250hp Altima SE-R...... wtf.... I have nothing against it. I like it too, but what does this mean for the maxima. Surely they arent going to have a 300-350hp Maxima are they? Just wondering. Since this is a gen forum post, ill post anything that bothers me.

 

my friends and I were discussing that the other day.. it seems they're making the Altimas really powerful nowadays.. it's either, they're going to up the standards of the Max's.. or they're just going to have two very similarly built cars... hmmm...

 

they started phasing out the maxima in 1995

 

from the stuff I've heard, they're actually planning on making the Maxima a RWD V8 platform in '06 or so. not sure how true that is, but if you look at the last 10 years of Nissan's model line, everything has stepped up a notch..

2000 sentra = same size and options as 97 alty
2003 alty = same size and options as 4th gen max
2004 max = boat compared to 97 max.

from the way everything is going, it's the next logical step. why shouldn't nissan's flagship be a large, V8 luxo boat? Lexus is. Infiniti is. (I've heard the '06 Max will share the Q45 platform)...

 

"2004 max = boat compared to 97 max"

haha yeah i agree on the fact the 2004 is a boat.
Man i will always love the 4th-5.5gens.

 

The alty SER is 260 hp and the regular one is 250 hp.

 

i read a few years back in road and track that the max is gonna be the lux car ..and the altima is gonna become what the max is currently is now...jus follow the growth of the altima engine and youll see

 

I saw a story about that in an other website, 4drsedan .com or somthing like that. they say that they( Nissan) plan to make the Altima to a 4dr performance car and the Maxima will be a sporty luxury car, The only thing that we can do is wait and see lets hope it goes to the RWD platform.

 

i hope the can make the max like the 4 door version of the z.. kinda how the g35 and the g35 4dr are similar. or if the make if a 2 door rwd boosted v8. that would be nice also.

 

isn't the next M45 based on the FM platform? (like the 350Z, G35 and FX35/45)

If so, I'd rather any RWD Maxima's be based off of the M45, and not the Q45.

heck, the M45 that's due to come out is already a bargain, imagine it in "lesser" trim with "only" a 315 hp vk45de instead of the 340 hp version of that V8...it would be nice..

-vq

 

It's just too bad that Nissan got rid of the I30/I35 series...now there will be no more luxury edition of the Maxima.

 

i think the current max is alot luxury... anything more would be uncivilized

 

the reason the maxima has gotten bigger and heavier and less "sporty" is due to the fact that its original consumers are getting older. The ones who once bought, 3rd and 4th gens new are into their 40s and 50s now. I guess nissan feels they need to make more of a "lexus" or "acura" type vehicle for that consumer group. I dont totally agree with this because if nissan came out w/ an 04 that was a somewhat normal size and had similar traits as the older maximas, 20-30yr olds would still buy them. I feel the 5th gen was the last of the "original maximas" as you may call it. Believe what you want, but this is what i have heard from nissan.

 

No the L31 is larger than the A33 which is larger than the A32. The A34 is larger than the L31.

 

Tru Tru. I heard thats what Toyota was going to do with their Avalon, make it a rear wheel drive car with AWD option, but since that it is still biult in the USA next to the Camry, they decided to keep it front wheel drive and just add a 3.5L 270hp motor to save money. But basically the new one is gonna be as big as the LS430, and built off of the GS platform (or something like that) The following generation will get the rear wheel drive. I guess companies are starting to notice how popular the 300C is and want to compete. So like you said, the only logical step to take is to make it a rear wheel drive car with a bigger engine.

 

what needs to happen, is put the V8 on a RWD platform in the skin and body of a 3rd gen. That's the ultimate Max!

 

The maxima will never be what it once was, 4th and 5th gens were the last greatest gens hands down....6th was ok, but not as good as the 5.5th gen...7th gen won't be exciting. good bye great maximas, and hello lame grandma cars again.

Tony

 

Nissan is stepping on its own toes with the altima and max. Both are the same size, basically, and the same power basically. So, the only real difference is the exterior and interior.

In regards to a RWD platform don't count on that any time soon. The dodge magnum has the hemi and RWD, much like its luxury counterpart, the chrysler 300c, but where do you see this with the imports? Lexus has RWD. Toyota does not. Acura has RWD. Honda does not. Infiniti does. Nissan does not. Don't count on a V8 any time soon, either.

I suppose that the natural progression for the maxima is to something larger, so as to distance itself from the altima, but most definitely it won't be anywhere near 06 that they have a RWD v8 platform - if they ever do.

We all dream of the V8 RWD maxima, but I've never seen a lick of _official_ information indicating that whatsoever; it's all just pipe dreams on message boards

 

Yeah, in other words the Altima is already bigger than the 5th gen Maxima. And we all know that the 5th gen is bigger than the 4th gen.

By Nisaan making the Altima SER, they've finally acknowledged that the Altima will be their premier sports sedan.

I've always thought, and still do think that the 4th gen was the perfect size for a sports sedan. Anything larger was getting a bit too big.

As for what's next for the Maxima, look at Acura and how they dealt with the RL and the TL. The new 300 hp RL got AWD while the TL stays FWD. That's what's gonna happen.

As for Maxima getting a V8, no way. They can't offer a better engine than in the Infiniti's. It's stay a VQ35 somehow massaged up to 300 hp with AWD standard. Nissan will leave RWD and V8s to the inifiiniti side.

DW

 

Either that, or jack up the horsepower output on the upcoming VQ40.

 

they need to remake the 3rd gen, then it'll become a hot seller again

 

I can't really understand the Nissan plan..I heard that in '06 they'll have new Sentras, supposedly bigger...everything seems to be getting bigger with Nissan.

 

the jdm verison of the 6th is the Teana or something like that, and it came with an AWD option, perhaps that would be a option for the next maxima...but who really knows.....i say nissan doesn't know what the hell they are doing as for a plan...if you want a sporty car with power just get a 350Z, and i would never get a new altima, they are becoming like civics, everyone and there mother drives a phucking altima nowadays.....NISSAN RUINED EVERYTHING!!!!!! fourth and fifth gens were the only great gens.

Tony

 

by L31 i assume you mean the Altima chassis. for some reason i was under the belief that that the 2003+ altima and the 20004+ maxima were on a similar/same platform with different sheetmetal. do you know if there is some sort of model matrix that has the more current chassis listed?

i have had the pleasure of experiencing maximas from the 2nd to 6th gen. i love them all but for different reasons and individual traits.

 

car companies are starting to cater to young kids (dodge srt-4, chevy cobolt, saturn redline, hatchbacks out the asz, etc etc.). power and cheap is what they want.

goodbye maxima, hello altima

 

I think that the 4th gen is the best max hands down, and 5th gens are cool too but I dont really care too much for any other gens I guess I just dont like them no offense to anyone
Brandon

 

it took my 4 years till i got my 5th gen. I fell in love with the nissans once i saw the 4th gen max. They should definitely go back to the older frames... either the 4th or 5th.

Now for the Z... WHO DA HELL DOESNT WANT ONE???

 

I dont know about you but if I wanted a RWD v8 4dr I would buy a Caddilac, I think Nissan is gonna make the Maxima Extinct, so might as well hump Maximas while we still can

 

And which Cadillac would that be? Most of them are FWD V8s and ahve been so for many years.

 

None of those come with stick... so in that case I would opt for 540i.

 

According to my source at Nissan as long as there is a Nissan Manufacturing plant in the US there will be a Nissan Maxima.

 

Cadillacs are coming around. The new STS is RWD. But if you want a manual tranny, there's CTS-V, a CTS with a Corvette LT1 engine in it with a clutch and 6 speeds. I'm not really a fan of the new Caddy look (XLR, CTS, Escalade etc) so . . .whatever.

DW

 

Great point. Why would Nissan transplant the Maxima here if it were going away? That's a huge investment to bluff. Altima was already here, so why would it take over when they each have their own assembly lines? For those that want a RWD Maxima just get a G35. I like what Nissan has done and love my 04 Max. And why would they get rid of the Max when they almost doubled the projected sales witht the 04?

 

They are the same platform but remember a platform is scaleable.

The Murano shares that platform as well.

The '05 Frontier and Pathfinder share the Titan and Armada platforms.

 

Don't you mean LS1? That will be short lived though because the new LS2 is replacing the LS1 across the board. The new models coming out are RWD but I just wanted it to be clear than the older ones are not.

 

I agree with you, however BMW does not. The 540 is a little larger than a A33 and when you drive one it feels smaller because of it's ridgitity.

 

The conversation was what kind of US cars are offered as 4 doors, with V8, RWD and manual tranny. Can't think of any....

EDIT: Pontiac GTO, but that's 2 door. However with around 350 hp and price tag in area of 33,000, looks interesting.

 

The new GTOs have worse suspension than 4thgens stock.

 

You read a review somewhere? Can you link to it?

 

According to consumer reports, as well as car and driver. They didnt touch the suspension after they brought it over from Australia. Its still setup for a really soft ride(crazy body roll) and more geared to the ****ty roads over there.. well the ****ty roads in the US too. Definatly not sporty.