Just read a article in AUTOMOBILE MAG December 2004. That the 35th Anniversary Edition 350 Z will have 300HP & similar torque. Available in January. Wow !!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

I considered posting in off topic but relatively speaking I figured 5.5 Gen Maximas might be intrested in being that it is natural & not forced induction there might be some available horses out there for the 5.5 Gen guys. So really it is not off topic ..........Hence this is why I posted here.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=352681

 

Let me rephrase........ What is it about the new AE Edtion 350Z 3.5 liter compared to the Maximas 3.5 liter that gives it the 300 HP if it is not forced induction? SR2ODEN hows that?

 

Hotter cams, different intake induction, etc... I believe.

 

Maybe more of Nissan's creative creation of our 255hp.

 

I would love to get my hands on the AE 350Z but I don't think it's affordable to buy one.

 

Since the new 2005 G35 Sedan is moving up to 280hp and the G35 Coupe being bumped up to 290hp+ they had to give the Z more power to compete. I am curious to see what Nissan plans for the 25th anniverssary Maxima.

 

At the current rate of year to year sales drop in Maxima sales (which has been going on for quite some time), I would be surprised if Nissan did anything at all to mark 25 years of the car.

The Altima is now their bread-and-butter in the mid-size sedan market, and it seems to get the golden-child treatment. Since the new Altima, the Maxima has become a hard-sell for dealers, I'm sure. I would assume it's easier for a customer to think that the Altima is 'almost' as good as the Maxima for a few thousand less than it would be for the customer to think that the Maxima is better than the Altima for a few thousand more. Most car buyers want value, and the Altima gives it better than the Maxima.

If Nissan would just work on the torque steer issue of the current generation Maxima, tighten up its suspension even more for the SE model, maybe give the line a 'SE-R' trim, and push for more 'sports sedan' promotion again, then maybe things would turn back around for the Maxima.

Peace.

 

One note not all Z's are getting the bump just the Track model and the 35th Anniversary the rest of the lineup(Performance,Enthusiast,Base) which make up 95% of Z sales remain 287HP. They did a few things to tweak the motor on the 35th anni/track, but also note that torque has gone down a bit from 274 l/b to 260 l/b but the curve is broader now on the newer Z engine as well.

 

As Nissan started to move the Max more upscale in 02 they planned on drastically cutting Maxima production from that year onwards, they knew that some that went for the lower level GXE Maxima (5% of 02/03 production vs near 30% for 00/01) would opt for a 3.5 SE Altima. Thats why production went from 120,000 in 01 to 90,000 units in 02 and to 83,000 in 03. In 02 the Max offered many more features standard than the 02 Se Altima and fully loaded a whole lot more including available nav,auto entry system,heated steering wheel, memory seats,HSLD etc. alot higher quality interior and it clearly was in a different category than the Altima. Fast forward to 05 the Maxima still has few features not offered on the Altima but the interior quality of the 05 Altima is almost on par with the 05 Maxima (neither are not as good as 5th gens interior quality) so with the packages that most buy the Altima offers a better bang for the buck now.

 

The G35 sedan auto is 280hp, but the 6 sp will be 298hp.

 

A salesman at the stealership told me that Nissan was slowly growing the maxima into a larger sedan that would eventually have a V8. This was back in 02 just after we got our Max....anyone else hear this? What about AWD??

 

If they kept the Maxima's FWD layout and used a V8 engine, I can't even think of how bad the torque steer will become...

If they do use a V8, AWD will be a must do.

 

Oh yeah...he mentioned RWD with the V8.

 

Right...I'm sure nissan corporate called him directly to either ask his opinion or tell him the future company plans, when they've gone to great lengths to not discuss it with anyone in the automotive world.

In other words, he was guessing as much as anyone who replies to your post is guessing.

 

Wow! I heard the same thing from a Nissan rep at the Jacob Javitz convention center NewYork Auto Show Back 2 years or so..... actually what ever year it was I think it was 2002 the 6th gen had not come out yet & was not at the show. I mentioned to the guy that I was dissapointed that the new Maxima was not there & he said it would be at the Detroit show at the end of the year. I asked about changes to the Maxima & what he new about it & he said the same thing about a possible V8 RWD in the near future after the 6th gen. That they were probably going to be some sort of sister car to the Infinity Q45. Take this for what it is worth but this little oriental guy new his stuff.

 

maybe theyll make maxima's a full size sedan, to compete with larger sedans, like the 7 series, LS series, and RL's. VW came out with phaeton. Maxima's should be up there with the luxury lines, except its a budge luxury line. nissan can make full size maxima's, but i dont know if people would want to buy it.

 

Another thing Nissan needs to work on is there after sales service. From a thread sometime ago, it was closer many people was opting for something other than a nissan just because of stealership headaches (to get things done under warranty!!)

 

I highly doubt nissan will take a mid priced sedan and try to compete with 70-80,000 dollar cars like the 7 series and Phaeton.

How the hell does a car that will be priced WELL BELOW 50,000 have to do with a car priced ar 70-80,000??? AND how the hell does a 30,000 maxima fit into the picture??? And I assume you are talking about the V8 Phaeton not the 100K dollar W12?

None of the cars are even in the same class except the Phaeton and 7 series. Do a little more research on cars.. Maybe Ford will revive the Escort and have it compete with the new Acura RSX or Ferrari.

 

Geez man, chill out... its not a big deal... Chun was just thinking maybe Nissan would produce bigger better Maximas, and do away with it being a mid-priced sedan... he didn't say to sell the current Maxima to compete with the luxury sedans... besides, its his opinion on something that is pure speculation, so why the stinked reaction?

And maybe Ford will revive the Escort to compete with the RSX... heck the Neon SRT-4s are already faster than the RSXs....

 

Btw, its not that I agree with his ideas.... just disagree with your crazed reaction.... but hey, I guess that's your opinion...

 

All this "maybe they'll..." and "I heard they're gonna..." speculation is bull****... waste of time, but you guys still do it every so often like something's changed.

Why bother? You don't know anything more than what other people who don't know anything tell you.

 

Yeah, that is true... but if they wanna do it.... let em be.... nothing that anyone says is gonna stop em from speculating, so why bother with it?

 

A little of the mark in comparisions but a comparison none the less. I think, I repeat " I " think AKA " My 2 cents" in case Mdloops goes on another bashing spree. That if Nissan went the route which is highly possible being that the Altima is gaining serious ground if not allready taken the throne as the New Nissan mid size car. That the only evolution would be for the Maxima to seperate its self from the Altima wouldbe a AWD or RWD V8. When you look at the invoice price of the Lexus GS 430 RWD V8 being $41.376 nissan could cut some corners & get a invoice price down some where in the mid to upper thirties.There could be a market for such a beast to compete with the GS 430, Audi A6, Jaguar type S of the world. Once again only my opinion.

 

Good point puppet. I guess this is what I meant to say. I will never buy another Maxima because of these reasons:

1) NO standard LSD for FWD
2) Putting power to the ground is horrible. Not to bring up GTPS but they put like 300 FT LBS of torque to the ground with total EASE
3) I want 300HP and that will never be usable to a Maxima unless turned into AWD or RWD. Or unless they modify suspension and drivetrain setup
4) Handling is terrible for a "Sports Sedan"

That is about it. I LOVE everything else about the car. I have the 6 speed and wish I could put the power down better. I drove my brothers new GTP and you hit the gas, both front tires stick, and the car is shot forward like a missile. Plus I am from NY and I am not too confident how this car will handle the winter.

 

Sorry guys, didn't mean to bash.

 

That's funny, because even with what you're calling crappy traction our cars will beat his GTP

 

No problem.... it was your opinion... and I was just giving mine too....

 

In order to compete with the big boys, they need to add AWD, a V8 (Titan engine?), more leg and head room to the back, more plush, ect, ect. All this will move the price up to the same range as the BMW's and pheatons. Basically, Nissan screwed up a while back when they made the new Altima. When they went to the larger body style, they basically had two cars competing for the same market. Now they need to up the ante on the Maxima. Hence the large gen 6. I'm just looking into my crystal ball here, but I think I see a patern. Can you say, 4 door g35 look alike? That's basically what the 6th gen seems to be patterned on. But, then again, in high school I was sure I'd be a millionare by now, so what do I know....

 

Maybe Nissan wanted a car that was able to compete with the base models of Toyota and Honda, hence the 4 cyl available with the Altima, and the Maxima would always be more expensive than base Accords/Camry's and have worse gas mileage due to the V6.