looks familar?


http://homepage.mac.com/vlad4/M4.jpg

 

That looks like a car that use to be on a TV show.

 

making cars that fall apart?

 

hmm....looks good though

 

i'd take the Z8 over it.

 

Body lines like a Z8, but with X5 front end.

Tifosi

 

looks similar to an R35

 

Nissan copied AUDI. BMW copied nissan. I rather go with nissan. G35 2 door anyone? And dont tell me that BMW is better mechanicaly then nissan. They have their ups and downs.

 

Nissan should get smart and copy BMW. Good styling is good styling whether it's copied or not. Left to themselves Nissan made the 5th gen Maxima. I don't think anyone to date has figured out what they were thinking style-wise. They drove an above average model right into the ground. Rebates surfaced after only being out 1 year. But they shaped up with the Altima. They just have to figure out now how to make tight steering and good workmanship. Oh no, if they did that they might as well call themselves Honda Motor Co. and sell cars at list price!

 

Man, it's so many car makers today copying one another it's not even funny... I saw one car while driving from work one day and thought it was truly another car all together. I guess their running out of fresh ideas. DO you think?

 

Hondas, next to Toyotas have the least communicative steering of all the imports. They are a poor basis for comparison. Nothing, and I mean nothing, steers like a BMW.

 

well, think about what audi and honda thinks about nissan...
http://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=286490

 

hahaha...thats what i was thinking...
bmw doesn't need to copy anything...they're set

 

I would have put Nissans below Toyotas on that list. I've driven an M3 right after driving a 4th Gen Maxima and I can say for certain that Nissan engineers don't have a clue about steering feel or they don't particularly care. Most Hondas have a lot weightier steering which I prefer over Nissan's overboosted systems in their Maxima and Altima.

 

not really the former owner of audi owns nissan/renault now so i am guessing some of the former designers came along with him, look at the side pics of the 350Z and the TT

 

I've retardedly confused one of those Lexus' for a 350Z a few times...of course they were flying by me at high speeds

 

Nissan did copy BMW. The 3rd gens are "copied" from the E34 5 series ('88-93 I think).

 

I cant stand remarks like that.

If you are so rich why the fukc are you driving a Honda??? GO drive a an M3. How can you compare a maxima to an m3. Maxima is the best car for the money.
Botton of the list hah?? Can you spell that HONDA has tranny problem on all their vehicles like TL, prelude, oddesy, accord.. What does nissan have??? Warped rotors??? I can live with that.

Dont ever compare apples to oranges. M3 is a sports car and a maxima is a grocery getter. End of story.

resale value??? Honda is like 400-500 more at the auctions.

 

i agree

don't compare m3's to maximas, its like comparing an escalade to a toyota rav4. its like me saying how toyota doesn't have a clue at making a powerful engine. one is a world class SUV and the other is a go kart on big wheels, go figure.

 

I disagree and agree... My previous 91 Infiniti G20 had great steering response. I drove my G and a BMW Z3 back to back and there wasn't much difference.
My 96 Max on the other hand isn't too much different than my 95 hardbody with 16" wheels on similar H rated tires. Steering response, that is.

 

everyone copies everyone else, its like they all went to the same design school, and they copied from each other while they were in school, stayed best friends, and still copy from each other...

if everyone copies everyone else who will be left to copy?

 

I care about looks. What do our parents tell us, beauty is only skin deep. My dad even told me a couple times that a woman's looks fade but what's inside is important. He's supposed to tell me that. But do I want to date an ugly girl with a great personality, or a hottie?

Nissan has had trouble building good-looking cars. Altima is not bad-looking, but it has the loose steering and cheesy fit/finish. If Nissan needs to copy someone else to get better steering and better fit/finish, so be it. As long as they do it. Whatever it takes, they should do it. But if you don't have limited funds, why buy a Nissan at all?

 

 

Nissans financial situation doesnt really put them in a great position to make something totally original, they can somewhat, but they sort of have to rely on what works, and whats in their best interest, which dont always happen to be what people want. Look at Honda for example, they made the all new civic for 2001, and when they introduced it, lot of people hated it, and it drove its sales down, enough to the point that you could pick up a new 2001 for about same as a left over 2000.

As for the 'why buy Nissan at all' comment, honestly, even if i had endless riches, id still want a GTR over any sports car. Your gonna have to realize one day that, for every ONE of us enthusiasts, theres TEN or more that don't think like we do, they dont want sporty stiffer steering, or stiffer suspensions, or IRS vs the Beam, they didnt buy the car for its sportiness, they bought it for its luxury quality, and for its price range the Maxima was hard to beat, think of whats in the class of the maxima, not a whole lot, its a bracket above accord/camry and a bracket below TL/ES300/GS300 in price that is, and u get a car more luxurious than accord/camry but for less than the acura or lexus competition. Stop complaining about what the Maxima ISNT and see what it IS, if u could swap right now for one of the maximas competitor cars in same price range, would u do it?

 

The average Maxima buyer is what, in the late 40's, yet the average age on this forum is somewhere between 16-20 judging by the posts. Most people who are 30 and under imho have limited funds. 2 excellent cars that make great daily drivers with terrific road feel are the BMW 325 and Audi A4 1.8T. Both have what, 70-80 hp less than a Maxima yet cost more than a fully-loaded Maxima by 4-5 grand. We can definitely say that it's rare a buyer would be comparing these cars head-to-head, because a Maxima buyer is usually tight on the purse strings. Similarly equipped, both the BMW and Audi would be easily 11 grand more and the Max would still have more hp. I highly doubt there's anyone on this forum who would prefer soft, mushy rides and steerings to the Audi or BMW. The one thing that people sometimes overlook is that you do get what you pay for, there is no way around it. Maxima is a good car if that's all you can afford. But the other saying is penny-wise and pound foolish, and that comes into play when you look at cost to operate. max is no longer cheap at all.

 

Are you saying a BMW and an Audi are cheaper to operate? I seriously doubt that.

 

Germans break more then Japs do.

 

i dont disagree that BMW and Audi FEEL better to drive, but is it really worth the extra money is the question. I, myself, would not pay an additional 15k for a loaded 330ci vs a loaded maxima just for the feel of the car. The BMW/Audi image is still not worth that money to me either, if anything i would buy a G35C and be happy with it, and still spend less than a comparable BMW or Audi.

The maxima doesnt cost a lot to operate, my 2k maxima is reaching 70k miles, and engine and transmission have no problems, only problems ive had, blown rear speaker, my fault, bad motor mount, my fault, weak transmission, my fault. Only things ive had to pay for was, regular maintenance.

 

Totally agree. The most expensive maintenance item on a Maxima is the platinum plugs. Pricey but they last.

With the Audi A4 you got a;
turbo, short oil life and some stress on the motor
5 valves per cylinder, Nissan can do it with 4, considerably less complicated cylinder head.

With BMW you've got double VANOS and high price of entry, high maintenance costs, etc. And it still isn't as reliable as a Nissan. Even their high profile M3s, with wizzbang racing technology, like a throttle butterfly PER CYLINDER, has problems. I like BMWs, but I like to drive hard, too, and not have to worry about something breaking, or the bill from BMW customer service

I like technology, but sometimes it can be too much for the car's purpose.

DW

 

How the hell am I so rich? I do drive a Honda...I work for my brother designing stuff so your Maxima doesn't have such a small aftermarket. When was the last time you made anything to expand the Maxima aftermarket? I drove my friend's M3 right before I tried out Shadow's car back when he had 17's and Intrax springs. I never said I owned the damned thing or was able to buy it.

I wouldn't be on this board if I wasn't a Nissan enthusiast. My family has an '01 Altima, '97 Maxima, and a '01 Sentra if that's brand loyalty for you. I've spent more time working on a 4th Gen Maxima than a lot of people on this board. My next car will likely be a G35 Coupe. That said Nissan cut a lot of corners on the 4th Gen including removing a lot of character in the handling and feel of the car. I can't say that for the older models but my younger brother's altima feels like a cheap clone of the Maxima w/ light steering and zero feedback.

Ask Shadow which car is more fun to throw into corners...His Maxima will destroy my car in a straight line and in cornering speeds but it has no feel. That's why I said the Maxima has comparably crappy steering feel to most BMW models.