I recently visited my local stealership and had the pleasure of viewing three new products close-up.

1. The new Sentra: Very nice! The one that was in the showroom was black with a black leather interior and a sunroof. It reminded me a lot of a small Maxima.

2. The new Altima: The were two models; A sliver 2.5 SL: This model had a cloth interior and dual exhaust. And a black 3.5 S with a black leather interior with extra chrome and silver trim in the interior. These cars were gorgeous. I particularly like the "fast back" look. The way the rear window slopes down over the trunk. I also like the nicer interior and the cool electroluminescent gauge package and the cool looking steering wheel. This car will be a formidable competitor to the Camry and the Accord.

3. The amazing new Infiniti G35: What an amazing car! 300+ horses with dual intakes and a beautifully sculpted grille! Inside and outside this car exudes performance and value. The two models I saw were the G35 and the G35x. I am looking forward to the G35 Sport model with the spoiler kit and the paddle shifters. I heard that it's possible that they may manufacture the G35x with a special sports edition with the same sport options next year. Hmmmm!

Up hear in Canada, the list price of a fully loaded Maxima SE minus the Navigation package is now a stratospheric $43K! The G35 can be purchased for about $39+ (Base price) and this car is comes complete with every option except a sunroof and Nav. If Nissan is going to sell any Maximas, I guess they are going to compete against two of their own products: The new Altima and the new G35....do I smell a new Maxima design coming for 08?

If I were on the market for a Maxima today I would probably go for a G35 sport model. Quite possibly the most gorgeous car on the planet bar any price! And I'm talking any four door offering from Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, Acura, Honda, Toyota, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, etc. This car is just drop dead gorgeous and the only thing that comes close is a photoshoped 4 door version of a Porsche Carrera! Even Infiniti's own M35/45 only comes close...and look at the bargain. You would have to spend a bank load for something like it from BMW or Mercedes. And it's fast...very fast. The car is also going to be easy to boost because of the twin separate intakes. Imagine supercharged or turbocharged versions easily over 400 HP!

Don't get me wrong, I love my slammed (lowered) and modded silver Maxima, it's just that there's a new kid on the block.....

 

xorbit -

Yes, the new Sentra has been said to look like a small Maxima by several here.

43,000 for a Maxima? is that rials or pesos or scalps or sheckles or euros or Canadian dollars? Can't be U.S. currency.

And whether you 'smell a new Maxima design for '08' depends on how you define '08. The '08 Maxima will arrive this coming summer and be virtually indistinguisable from the '07. But the totally redesigned 7th generation '09 Maxima will arrive in spring of '08.

As to the Infiniti, I thought Infinitis were rear wheel drive. If I lived in Canada, I would not even glance at a rear wheel drive vehicle. That is unless I planned to store it in the barn from September till May.

 

The price I quoted is in Canadian Dollars. Isn't that unbelievable? That's why some Canadians are now shopping across the border as in some cases one can save $3-5K!

Most Infinitis are rear wheel drive except in Canada we have the FX 35 and 45 available in 4 wheel drive only. The M45 and G35 Couper are available only in rear wheel drive while and the G35 and M35 are available in an X version as in G35x that's four wheel drive. There is a $2.5K difference in price for the x "upgrade" and this x upgrade is actually biased towards the rear.

Believe it or not there are a lot of BWM and Mercedes owners with rear wheel drive only. I happen to know a couple myself. One Bimmer and one Merc owner. They drive them in winter however they put their winter tires on (usually in November). They drive them up north to go skiing and they rarely complain about any problems....as these cars come equiped with traction control and VSC. Suprisingly even though there are x versions of the Bimmers and Mercs available they don't sell that many! Quite a few of the Bimmer and Merc drivers have a second vehicle that usually consists of a 4 x 4 SUV....Right now we seem to be seeing a lot of the Volvo SUV's arount. The other day I was in Westmount which is adjacent to downtown Montreal and is one of Canada's most upscale neighbourhoods and I counted 4 Porsche Cayennes...3 S's and one Turbo! These are by no means cheap SUV's .....in any country!

On another note, my friend with the Merc recently purchased a used Lincoln Aviator which is like a smaller Navigator. Really nice low mileage fully equiped and 2 years old. They paid $27K Can or about $24K US! This is a vehicle that used to sell for $55 K new! Talk about not keeping your re-sale value! The SUV with the highest re-sale value here and probably in the States is the Honda CR-V: CR-V stands for Crazy Re-Sale Value! LOL!