Does anyone know if the 2003 Maxima is changing bodies or not? Does any one have pictures of the new model? I just signed for a 2002 SE but if they are changing the model I don't want to get stuck with something old.

 

Are they changing !? Bro, cancel that order!! This is what the '03 max gets:

-Total redesign

-RWD....Finally!!

-V8 Engine and 300+ ponies....Mmmmm

IMHO It sucks in a way tho. It's moving to more of a Q45 plot and farther away from a sporty car.

 

Oh yea, unfortunataly it also gets a higher sticker price.

 

I should then stick to the 2002 maxima, does anyone have pictures?

 

Umm, RWD and a V8 would make it MORE of a sports sedan. Are they also going to do a whole body redesign?

 

Yeah, it supposedly going to be as large as the current Avalon (puke). There are no pictures as of yet, but as soon as I can get my hands on some, ill of course let you know. (as if I have a specific connection, LoL).

And, nothing has been made official that it will be RWD, BTW.

 

In theory, yes. But do you consider the Q45 a Sports sedan ? I don't think so. It's an upscale luxary sedan with lots of power.

Yes, a complete redesign.

Oh, yea...it's going to be a fat pig too.

 

RWd and v8 are you guys sure. Whats the point of changing the car 3 times in a row. Thats just dum.

 

well, look at it this way; The 4th gen model was built for a few years, then the last year in production they made an LE (limited Edition) SE model that was supposedly better than the last. Well, the very next year was the redesign to the 5th gen. Now after 3 years, they will change the car again. Then after 3 or 4 more years, theyll cahnge it again, Im sure. Its a very expensive thing to do when you change the design of a car. All the stuff that goes into it as far as the designing, the building, the testing, the marketing..not to mention they have to build all new molds. But I guess thats what you have to do to keep up in the market.
The 6th gen will be more of a sedan than anything. I doubt there will be much sportiness to it. Yes, a larger more powerful engine will be very nice, but the Q-ship already has the 340BHP V8 but its weight holds it back so much. I think whats going to end up happening is the sentra will be the pocket rocket and the commuter car; the Altima will become the family/sports sedan and the economy leader; The 350Z will be the sports car and, well..the sports car; and the Max will end up being the luxury yuppie senior citizens "I only drive this to sunday service and the golf course" car (kinda like how the Q-ship is now. A practical battleship galactica!). Of course the trucks will remain the same. And so will that van thing.....LoL. I wonder what the Infiniti segment will turn out to be. Theyd better drop the G20 soon. Thats an open wound that wont heal. The Q-ship will always be. The I35 needs.....well, something and the QX4 is near perfection. I think they desperatly need more models to choose from. I wonder how well the "American Skyline" will do. I know I wouldnt buy one, even if I could afford it. They underestimate the American public when they say that they wouldnt bring over the Skyline as a Nissan beacuse they feel no one in American would buy a 90 thousand dollar Nissan. Well, they have a point, somewhat. If its built in the USA, I wouldnt touch it. If it is imported from Japan and the only thing they changed was the position of the steering wheel, Id be all over it....if I could afford it. If no one was buying a 90 thousand dollar Nissan, why would there be companies importing the damn things at a growing rate? I mean, that car is what Nissan needs over here. Yeah, it would compete with the Z, hell, it would KILL the Z sales, but who cares? Within a few months, people would be says, "Z who?". I dont think theres a car company in American what could even come close to that car if they were to bring it to our market. Honestly. Id love to be able to race those Porches and those BMW's and see the look on thier faces when I blow thier doors off....with a Nissan.

 

Do you consider the 540i and the M5 to be sports sedans? How about the GS400?

 

IMHumbleO, an amalgamation of power, size, build, and style (in & out) AOT play a role in whether or not it's a sport sedan

RWD and a V8 alone can't make it more of a sports sedan, put Q45's V8 in a 2k2 Max and you would have more of a sports sedan

basically, an LS430 is not a sports sedan

 

Damn. You got me there.

 

if thats true, its not a big deal.. the max is @ like 190 inch now with 108 inch wheel base adn the avalon is @ 192 inch adn a shorter 107 inch wheelbase. the altima is @ 191.5 inch now with 110inch wheelbase

 

None of guy's have any concrete info so why spread the B.S.? It's like a plague, all it takes is one "know it all" and before you know it there is 1000 people saying a rumor that one guy made up. First off, we have no evidence of the "2003" maxima being redesigned, as of now it looks like the 2003 max will be the same as the 2002. The most likely and logical model change will occur in late March 2003 as a 2004 model. Now what this max will be is un-known, no one has any concrete evidence to say what it will or will not be. I would not be the least bit suprised to see another 6 cylinder front wheel drive max.

Heres my a "guess" and only a guess I expect the new max to have 280 HP, FWD, 6spd and a bit more luxory, base price will be about $29,495 + destination, the car weigh in at about 3350-3450 lb's. Now I have no clue if this is what will happen, but that's my guess.

 

Most luxury cars are V8's and RWD...Most S-Class Mercedes, A8 Audi, BMW 7 Series, Lexus LS.

Erik

 

True, but either way, I think that setup would better suit the car than being a V6 FWD.
I dunno, I definately wouldnt complain.

 

Yes, BUT the Q45 is A LOT bigger than a BMW 5-series...or a Lexus GS.....sorry dude...no comparison there.

I have a question for you....do you consider this LS430 a "sport sedan"??? Becuase that's exactly what the Q45 is competing with.

 

.......hmmmmm, all it takes is one know it all? found him..

 

 

hope it will look like a 5-series bimma.

 

I think you are wrong. Cause putting limited edition badges and putting a V8 is quite different. Why change the car every year.
2000 V6 222, 2001 aniversary ED 227, 2002 3.5L 255, and now V8. Thats just Stupid. I will not buy it. Cause it will too big for me. I dont want a V8. It wilL be more expensive. And I dont like the altima to buy instead of maxima. So what that means is that Nissan will loose a lot a CUSTOMERS.

 

I'm going off all of the publically published information. Including Nissan's own press releases. The simple fact is new production is going to start in Jan 03. The simple trick is that they are going to make the 02 longer than normal. All the way up to the end of the year. Then there is no timelapse where they aren't going to make an Maxima. Nissan said the Maxima production has been moved to the US on the next Maxima. They've said it's going to be January. But don't type my word for it.

and

and

Obviously you're the one making things up. Nissan has said the 2003 will be redesigned and will be built in America.

Stereodude

 

Yeh, it's dumb, except for the part where you sell lots of cars...

 

so i assume the 2003 I35 will also kick ***? Maybe by then I'll want a Q .. or who knows

 

ummm, I went to the International Auto Show in SF last week and harrassed the Nissan sales people about the new Maxima. What they said was that, at one time the new Max was gonna be V-8 with RWD, but that was just a concept they were working on. He said that they got rid of that idea and that the next Maxima will still have the 3.5 L V6, but theyll tweak a few things to get more power out of it.

 

how about the body, what will it look like?

 

None...


larger, faster, more power, grace, and a wolf in sheeps clothing attitude.....



stay tuned...

i will NOT be ordering a 2002 SE 6-speed as planned

 

Don't get yourself in trouble again... make a new account to give us all the info.

 

laugh:

YES DO IT!!!!!! u want me to make you one and pm you the password? that way no one will find out

 

This is a great day for NISSAN and me! Finally RWD, is right. If stillen currently make so much for the Maxima now, think what he could do with a hairdryer and an intercooler. I smell twin turbo kit, as the SC400 Lexus has available. Or at least an SC kit.
OH, wait, Stillen never made a lot of Q45 stuff. However the Q45 never had much of a following as the MAXIMA. I for see progress, at the exspense of the up and coming maxima owners; they'll have to buy Altys. PRice competitive. Ya'll better stick to your current jobs, get a raise, or move up the Corp. ladder sooner.

 

id want a g35 if they made it 6sp and rwd or awd...

 

Someone at a dealership mentioned that the new 2003 Max would use the Altima model matrix.
Base & middle car would be 3.5l V-6 still.
SE models would have a V8.

None of this is confirmed, but, I did hear this at a Nissan dealership.

 

So if I use all the information I have learned in this thread, it will be made in 2003 and 2004, have both a V6 and V8, have both front and rear wheel drive and will be bigger. Damn, thats going to be one big *** car...

 

youre not listening to what I said, or in this case, you readit wrong. Im comparing the last years 4th gen model to the current 02 max. In the last year of production they "upped" something on the model. Im not going to start or be involved in an argument. Im not the creator or the designer or the president at Nissan, but I guarantee the Max will be different for 03; totally.

 

glad to know we got your gaurantee...

 

Is no one reading this post closely?

Nissan has said the car is being redone in 2003. Nissan has said the car will be based on the same platform as the Altima. Nissan has said the car will be built in the US and production will start January 2003.

I don't have a clue where some of you are getting your fanciful delusions of grandure. I provided quotes from Nissan Press Releases and Nissan Executives earlier in this thread. Did no one read them?

Lets rehash.

A press release from Nissan http://www.datadetroit.com/news/Nissan_100101.html

From Motor Trends News Briefs http://www.google.com/search?q=cache...10924.html</a>

I don't see how anyone can sit there and argue with Nissan's own statements about the car. Some of you need to come down from cloud-nine and return to Earth.

Stereodude

 

Ah, yes. Production will start in January 2003...

I guess that means that it won't get to the dealers for some time after that.

If you go back and read the press releases, the date for the "New Maxima" to come to market keeps getting pushed back. It is possible that it may not come out until late 2003 as a 2004 model. Notice, it doesn't say anywhere about the 2003 "model" Maxima like the press releases used to. The just say that production will start in 2003.

Either way, it definitely won't come out in late 2002 as a 2003 model like the 2002 Maxima came out in late 2001. I think they will either:

A. Release it as a 2003.5 type of thing and extend the 2002 Maxima into the 2003 year. Or release it as a 2004 in the middle if 2003. Car companies have been known to release something even as early as May and call it the "next" model year.

The ONE fact that I have heard is that the platform will be the Altima platform, not anything that new, but it will be lengthened. This is similar to the Acura TL being an Accord chassis, but lengthened. You can actually look at the underside of a TL and see where they added a little over an inch to the frame.

 

I was at my nissan/honda/volvo dealer last thursday to pickup a headlamp for my mom's volvo. I talked to the salesman that sold my mom her volvo and he said next year that the maxima was going to be bigger and make 300hp and 300+ ft lbs of torque. I asked if the new max was going to have a V8 but he didn't know that. The salesman drives a 2001 max so he's a good guy.