I am writing a research paper comparing the three best generations of the maxima family. If anyone has some good info, or links i would greatly appreciate it.

The assignment is to write a research paper regarding 3 of the best, worst, least, or most of any specific topic. Once we pick a topic, such as the three best generation maxima's, we have to come up with three specific criteria in order to rank them 1, 2, and 3. Using the criteria as a guide we must backup our ranking.
Our grade will be based on our ability to follow the correct format.

__________________________________________________ ________________________________

This part of the research is to just give me a general idea of where my peers stand, and to tell me which generations to focus on. I do not know what all of the pros and cons are of each generation. This is pure research, which can be very persuasive.
I was planning on using something like this for my introduction.
The paper will be done after spring break. I would post it earlier but the teacher uses turnitin.com and I will fail if my stuff is out there when I turn it in.

 

wish i could write a paper on maximas! I had to vote for the 4th gens becuase i own one but i really love the 5th gens with the 3.5 liter. I just love the max because its such a sleeper. So my top 3 would be 4th gen, 5th gen with 3.5 then the 6th gen becuase they are pretty damn sexy too!

 

I'd say 3rd gens, 4th gens and 5th gens. Or all in one: VQ35 in a 4th gen.

 

Maybe you should work on your writing skills first.

 

probably the best way to go is explain the first and second generation, to show where maxima's came from, then do the car you have (3rd gen I guess), and then do the 5-6th gen, to show where Nissan has gone with it.

 

Lol, spell check won't help you figure out if you need to use "righting" or "writing".

 

OMG! I didn't even catch that. Ooops, sorry guys.

 

Damn what class is this? I am glad you are writing on something you have an interest in but I really don't see where you are going with the paper. What is there to "research" on basically peoples opinions?

It would be more interesting, and academic, if you were to trace the developement of the Maxima through the years. What outside factors influanced changes in design? How were they marketed? Ideally you would want to get your hands on some material that evidences Nissan's thinking. And some old car advertisements as primary sources.

I want your paper to be sucessful, but I think you need to come up with some more sophisticated questions that simply "what is best."

 

The only thing your poll is going to show is the demographics of the forum because most people are biased in favor of whatever generation they happen to own and probably aren't going to be objective.

A much better thing to do would be to look at say the 3rd gen compared to cars of its time versus the 4th gen and cars of its time and then the 5th gen versus the cars of its time, etc. Look at the compe***ive marketplace, and how the car stood in the market. Did it stand out? Yes or no. How was it received in the press, and how much enthusiasm was there for it? How did it compare to its peers from a pricing standpoint and how did it perform? What sort of features did they have.

If you take that approach, there is a TON of research and writing you could do. I bet I could fill up at least 10 pages, single spaced, 10pt font, not including images. I think there is also one particular generation that will stand out a bit more than the rest, and it's also not very likely to win the poll (that's a hint)

 

Now thats what im talking about. Those are some perfect criteria for me to use.

Thanks for all of your suggestions guys. Keep them coming.

 

Need an unbiased source for why the 3rd gen is better than any other gen?
















thats not me

 

only 1st and 3rd..... RWD max and FWD AWIS pwns all

 

Interesting results in that poll... not quite that unexpected... but interest nevertheless...

Btw, we wanna see the final paper...

 

3rd, 5th, and 6th gens. Third gen because I own one. 5th because 6 speed tranny and 3.5L, 6th just has some.....

 

[QUOTE=zoltan]I am writing a research paper comparing the three best generations of the maxima family. If anyone has some good info, or links i would greatly appreciate it.

This maybe a difficult topic. I doubt that you will find any articles or reviews that compares three generations at once. You might want to go on to Car and Driver magazine's website, as well as Mmotortrend's, then edmunds.com, carpoint.com and come up with reviews for each generation separately, then try to see how the authors feels about each car and write about the differences. On your own, you could do some work by comparing the several main criteria: performance, handling, and reliability. You can poll .orgers on each of those items and write about them in your paper. Be ready not to simply "copy and paste" what others are telling you, but to explain the reason, insert your own comments, etc. You could come up with stuff, but your prof might lower your grade if in your paper you won't explain this:

-if lets say 3rd gen was the most reliable, best handling, true sports sedan, then does it truly mean that is was the best generation of Maxima ever made?
-Why do you think that the best gen Maxima is supposed to have the best handling, performance, and be called a sports sedan?
- How do you know that Nissan has always intended the Maxima to be a sports sedan?
Hope that helps

 

Thanks for the suggestions. Keep them coming.

 

I would think the teacher would be going "why is this kid writing about a 4 door fwd family sedan?" heh

 

He doesn't care what we write about, it just has to be school appropriate, and it must follow the format he gave us.

 

I would highly recommend you search one of the numerous arguments for the 3 vs 4 vs 5 vs 6 etc. gen maximas.

 

i say # 1 is hte 4th gen becuase it looks nice and you could stick a vq35 in it. next would be the 5.5 gen and then the 5th gen and then 3rd gen. or at least that is hwat i think. good luck.

 

Be sure to get your hands on some production figures. You will want to comment on how many of a certain generation were built and what effect this may have on your poll results. Just taking a look at the nubmer of threads in the 4th gen forum compared to another may tell you some things.

I still feel the more effective paper will have some hard evidence in addition to polls and opinions. But you know your assignment better than I. Good luck!

 

"Cost cutting measures made the 4th generation Maxima the best model produced."



I can see it now.... Winnar!!11

 

1st gen - RWD All wheel independent suspension, straight 6 (virtually unstoppable) easily swapped to a 280ZX turbo motor
2nd gen - FWD AWIS introduction of VG30E motor in a FWD vehicle, fairly easy swap with Z31 turbo motor
3rd gen- FWD Last gen with AWIS, introduction of DOHC motor in a Max (VE30DE) end of VG motor in a MAX
4th gen - FWD went back to a solid beam rear axle, got VQ motor and OBDII
5th gen- FWD still had solid beam axle, got larger VQ and 6 speed
6th gen- FWD (still) return to AWIS, still VQ and 6 speed, got goofy glass roof or normal sunroof. got stupid climate control / radio display setup ALA' 80s GM junk. too small back window, too low rear roof.

 

I'm not sure how that would be research. Isn't that an essay? Research to me would be showing that a Japanese car is now basically nothing more than a Japanese branded product, assembled in a non-unionized US state, and comprised of components originating in Mexico and China. Finding the root causes on why the above has taken place, with the typical unsophisticated Nissan buyer paying more for the product in relative price than ever before. How if we were to buy products from Japan, due to the collapse of our US dollar, a Maxima would be in the neighborhood of $55,000 today, whereas in 1998, the Maxima was actually built in Japan.

 

 

Thanks for all of the suggestions guys. Keep them coming.
Ill keep you posted on my progress, and all of the info that i find.

 

You may also want to include a section on the differences in the Infiniti I30 / I35, the foreign Maximas, and the differences in what they are called in specific markets, as well as trim level differences in those markets. It may be an interesting sub-text in your research paper given that the NA Maxima isn't the only Maxima out there and that the Infiniti line isn't sold elsewhere but it is sold elsewhere under the Nissan badge.

I don't know exactly how you could work it in, but were it my paper I'd definitely try to. It shows you're thinking outside the region and more on a world-wide perspective. I'd have to give extra points to you if I were the one reading it.

Good luck with your research. The more I think on it, the better I like your idea. Its broad enough to be well researched with plenty of specifics and data sources but limited enough so that you don't have to write 100 pages to more than get your points across. And this is coming from someone who once wrote (years and years ago) a 20+ page COMPLETE BS reserach paper on the "Deadly Effects of Rock and Roll Music on the Young!" If there are enough sources, you can write a good research paper on pretty much anything!

 

Got the go ahead from my teacher to start my research. I'm gonna need to find some articles, pamphlets, list prices, websites, etc... If anyone has any links with some good info I would really appreciate it.

 

First off. Drop out of UofA and transfer to ASU :P then continue research.

 

just go to a local nissn dealership and get old books from all of the maximas that you can find.

 

Old editions of car and driver and what not. Maybe even some old newspapers that have auto adds. Don't want all your sources to be from the interenet now. Get to that library.

 

wish i could write a paper like that. Im stuck writing a paper on "whether or not insurance regulations should still be placed by the states or the federal government".

 

Hmm. at the library now they don't show any books or magazines that pertain to maximas. They do have a chiltons and a haynes manual though.
Anyone have some old or new maxima literature they can scan/email or fax me?

 

go to the dealership parts counter. they usually have old books in their archives. thats how i got mine. you can check ebay too. mayby amazon too.

 

Thanks, i will call dealer tommorrow.

If anyone has any material they could send me please do so.

 

will i get it back without the pages sticking together? hehehe!. send me a pm with your addy ill send what i got. when do you need it?

 

I don't have a scanner, but I do have three magazines pertaining to the 1992 Maxima SE 5-speed. The VE30DE was introduced for that model year, so it was tested out.

Maybe you could find these at your library or buy them somewhere online. I only paid like $2 each for them.

Motor Trend, Oct. 1991 (Road Test)
Car and Driver, Nov. 1991 (Road Test)
Car and Driver, Aug. 1992 (Comparison with Taurus SHO and Camry SE)

 

Thanks for the suggestion.
I found some buyers guides at the library today, those were ok, but im looking for something like what you have Red92MaxSE.

 

i used to think univ. of arizona was a good school........not anymore.

no wonder they are good at sports. hehe

just kidding man. check out craig b's site i think he has some old literature scanned on it.

good luck with the paper. surprised 2nd gen hasnt gotten more votes. and 4th gen with the hub caps and minivan rear suspension is winning? barf

 

gotta give 1 vote to the 1st gen, since it was RWD!