Sadly, my personal needs had me trading in my '12 SV for my new Mafia Truck:



I needed the cargo space and my Max lease was creeping up to the end. Was waiting patiently for the 8th gen to arrive, but alas, from the 8th gen thread links, they are now calling it the 2016 max, which means it is still a long way off.
I'll still visit regularly to keep up on the scene. As Mr. Hill stated, you always come back to the fold.

But I wanted to point out some observations...Comparing apples to oranges, but still...
I miss my Music Box in the Max. The Jeep offers a single CD player in the armrest, which eats up most of the space. Although there is every conceivable jack for electronic devices (plus a true 115-volt power plug, which is nice since my Samsung car charger died), I liked the fact that I could load all of my collection into the Music Box without having to convert all of my CD collection to a thumb drive first. My kids have all of the Ipod stuff, but I prefer the old school CD load.

I miss the front storage. The glove box in the Jeep holds little more than the owners manual, and maybe a pair of gloves. The Max glove box holds a small child. You would think a midsize SUV would have more center console storage than a sport sedan, but nope.

Mileage is about the same, although on regular instead of premium for basically the same power.

Getting used to an 8-speed auto instead of the CVT. I'm still torn over which I prefer. I do have the paddle shifters, which I never used on the Max and will never use here either. But they look nice.

I could go on, and I love the off-road capability, but I remain awaiting the 8th gen Max as a potential second vehicle if and when it ever arrives.

 

Yes, the 2016 Maxima model is launched the year before. The 2015 calendar year Maxima is the 2016 model year. Last I remember people saying was around March-April 2015 but Nissan will not leak any information, of course.

The current 7th gen was launched/released in 2008 but was called the 2009 Maxima.

 

Congrats on the new wheels! Were going to be in the market for a new vehicle next year when my wife's lease is up and are highly considering a grand Cherokee is the the altitude edition? We test drove one and loved it just a bit on the higher side of what were looking to pay.

 

AlDente67 - We will miss you. You contributed thoughtful posts.

I am sorry the 8th gen Maxima was delayed. A Nissan expert (and Nissan employee) told us on another board here on maxima.org what some of us had suspected. The 8th gen design and specs were fairly locked in back in 2012, and it would have already arrived, but for a few problems such as the newest, stronger Nissan CVT had a glitch uncovered in the new Altima design a year or two ago.

The 2016 8th gen will arrive in the March-June 2015 window, probably in April or May. We will know for sure when the 8th gen is introduced this winter, probably at the Detroit Auto Show a week or two into January. It will be very close to the Nissan Concept Sedan in design.

 

I really like it. Was never a truck guy before, until I drove this one. The Ford Explorer Sport also interested me, but not at 50k. It was really cool with the 3rd row seat, but I realized I never have 7 people in the car.

The Altitude is basically a Laredo with the blacked-out trim and rims. No power tilt wheel, no dual sunroof, no lane change warning (unless you want to add it). It has all that I need and nothing I don't. The higher level GC trim levels have all the bells and whistles, but I decided not to pay for things I never used in the Max (like the dual pano, never even opened the shades in 2.5 years)

You should be able to negotiate a cheaper price at month end if you want to pursue it.

 

Mr Hill, I'm not dead yet. I'll be keenly watching for the 8th gen rollout, so please do post any news you stumble upon as it comes.

My wife owns a '13 Altima 4-cyl and loves it. No issues with her CVT. Maybe just lucky.