Nissan maxima, the blacksheep of nissan

[TB1996]

OK, dont let the thread title misslead you. I PERSONALLY am ALL for the nissan maxima. i love this car soo much, this is my second thread about it online. anyway, this little story is about how nissan has SERIOUSLY misplayed how they make and market this car, the FORMER FLAGSHIP car of nissan. Car buffs like me remember back in the 1980s and early 90s. The maxima WAS a japanese BMW killer. If the evo is considered a iphone killer by many, the maxima was a BMW killer to many. In fact, it killed the WHOLE american luxury car game also. The 1981 thru 1984 maximas were REAR WHEEL DRIVE, SPORTY sedans. The refinement and midsize package was straight german with a FLAIR. I remember, brothers who didnt or who couldnt afford a big luxury cadillac or lincoln during the 80s, they were running cutless supremes, regals, monte carlos, UNTIL the maxima took over the midsize personal luxury sedan game, with a sporty flair. Maxima was CRUSHING everybody with its look and package. In fact, the package was soo good, that nissan itself copied the look and package with the nissan stanza around the same time period, even though the stanza was front wheel drive.

The beginning of the end came in 1985 when nissan went to front wheel drive with the maxima. How you gonna be SPORTY, but run the front wheels?? FIRST mistake in the maxima game. Toyota, seeing how the americans wouldnt or couldnt compete with the german luxury game, stepped to the plate with the original lexus LS 400 IN 1989. Nissan and Honda, not wanting to be left out, started infiniti and acura respectively. Little did i know this was the beginning of the end for the maxima. Here is the PROBLEM:

The infiniti G35. The infiniti G35 really IS the maxima. Why do you say? The drive train layout and the PRICE are all maxima. A fully loaded maxima is right smack in G35 territory price wise. WHY would anybody with common sense, buy a front wheel drive maxima, when they can get a NAMEPLATE AND REARWHEEL DRIVE for about the same money??? To make matters WORST for the maxima, the altima has filled the role that the maxima DID have as the bread and butter front wheel drive competition to the honda accord and toyota camry. Its like when volkswagen tried to pass off the volkswagen phaeton as a luxury volkswagen, but with a audi a8 price tag... uuum, no, we rather have a audi a8, thank you very much.

what is nissan to do?? the car obviously still sells pretty well, its still a head turner, but it has NO MISSION. If they take it rear wheel drive, it will take sells away from the g35. If they lower the price, they will steal sells from the altima. WHAT can nissan do with this car? Make it rear wheel drive and rebadge it as a entry level infiniti?????????????



STILL A HANDSOME VEHICLE:

INTERIOR CAN BE MISTAKEN FOR A INFINITI:

THE 1986 BODYSTYLE, STILL MY FAVORITE. COULDNT FIND ANOTHER GOOD SHOT OFF THE VEHICLE:

 

[djkidrich]

I liked my Maxima when we had it, had to trade it in cuz they were stealing the lights

 

[3rd__Optic]

Nissan needs to make the Maxima an AWD platform on some level or offer it in some type of package being that the engine technology is shared with the GT-R. Why not go all the way out and keep it in an affordable price range

 

[Mt. Yukon]

Kill it... Or the Altima... Their choice, but something has to give. I love the way they look... But I will not do FWD under any circumstances, so more than likely will never buy a Maxima...

 

[mk23666]

 

[Complex]

1986

How old are you muthafucka

Maximas are still cool, but the new ones have been pussied up like the Altima. The inside still look good though.

Why do dudes keep making threads like you're Dale Earnhart running in circles.

 

[A to Dah K]

i see a SHITLOAD of maximas on the road,i dont think nissan is sweating ur opinion.
most people that buy cars dont even know the difference between front and rearwheel drive.
all they know is they like how it looks and the bose is knocking.

 

[Nzinga]

What exactly is the advantage of being rear wheel drive?

 

[dnell]

Not much can be said or done about the Maxima. It won't take away sales from the G, but it would canibalize sales from the M. Basically, RWD is reserved for sports can and German luxury. Its unfortunate, but that is the way it is.

You can't really name a single RWD sedan on the market right now that isn't offered by a luxury maker. The most recent non-luxury offering was from Pontiac, and you see where that went. Pontiac's failure with the G8 basically killed the RWD sedan movement in anything other than the German definition of Luxury.

When/if GM decides to bring the G8 back to the US retail market as a Caprice, and IF that Caprice gains traction in the market, you might see Nissan return the Maxima back to its RWD roots.

But as of right now, I don't see it. Nissan already has two RWD-plated vehicles in its fleet....the GT-R and the Z. Not to mention the Titan and Armada SUV which are both BOF RWD trucks. All 4 of the vehicles are killing the CAFE for Nissan. If the Maxima went RWD, it would hurt the CAFE rating. And I don't think Nissan is willing to risk it unless the Maxima was going to sell over 100K units in RWD form, and rigth now its barely over 50K for the year.

I am a BIG fan of RWD/V8 sedans. I drive a E-class 550 specifically because that is the kind of car I like. But the state-of-the-times is making this kind of a vehicle less and less attractive to buyers, and car manufactures are a trendy group. As long as the liberals keep pushing for tighter and tougher emission standards and mileage, and the preception that FWD offers better fuel economy...you just aren't going to see RWD sedans in the market outside of the nitch of Luxury and/or sport. Sad day indeed....

 

[mk23666]

1986

Why do dudes keep making threads like you're Dale Earnhart running in circles.

Word.

 

[dnell]

Kill it... Or the Altima... Their choice, but something has to give. I love the way they look... But I will not do FWD under any circumstances, so more than likely will never buy a Maxima...

Altima sold 200k units for 2010. Its by far the number #1 selling car Nissan makes. Period. Across all brands: car, truck, suv, crossover, etc. They ain't killing that, best believe me!

What exactly is the advantage of being rear wheel drive?

A RWD vehicle offers a superior driving experience over FWD or AWD.

 

[MoneyInTheBank]

I had 4 maximas...

1981
1984
1988
1994

 

[3rd__Optic]

It's actually supposed to be more economical to build FWD for the sake of fuel, moving parts(transmissions), handling in slippery weather(ice, and slow) etc. etc!!!

What exactly is the advantage of being rear wheel drive?

 

[Cock Head Jones]

soon as they dropped the 3.5 altima it was pretty much downhill from there in my opinion.

no clear reason to own one at that point.

 

[Real1]

Ya'll are smoking crack if you expect to see the import brands start turning their bread and butter cars into RWD.

Who really wants RWD? Performance enthusiast! Do you really think performance enthusiast are lining up for the Civic, Altima, Sentra, Accord, Maxima, or Camry? Hell naw!

Even when you look at import cars that have/had a following from the "Ricers", like older sentras, civics, and accords, there isn't a big demand for RWD. The ricers grew up on front wheel drive, no torque, and not alot of HP. They LOVE the fact that what they like is not a FWD, 300 HP, tourqe monster of a muscle car.

 

[A to Dah K]

Altima sold 200k units for 2010. Its by far the number #1 selling car Nissan makes. Period. Across all brands: car, truck, suv, crossover, etc. They ain't killing that, best believe me!



A RWD vehicle offers a superior driving experience over FWD or AWD.

ofcourse altimas sell more
they are cheaper
people buy them for their kids going away to college and shit

 

[Don Juan]

You might want to read a comparison test done by motor trend between the maxima and the (at the time) new pontiac G8, this was back in 08 I believe, it talks about how the nissan engineers made the decision to keep front wheel drive even though they considered RWD at some point.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/112_0808_nissan_maxima_vs_pontiac_g8/index.html


but what it comes down to it it's bean counters, it was cheaper fro them to use the altima's chassis to keep cost down, and truth to be told only a small percentage of the population cares about RWD/FWD when buying a car, some people dont even know what it means.

 

[Complex]

ofcourse altimas sell more
they are cheaper
people buy them for their kids going away to college and shit

You must know a bunch of rich kids, because the people I see in Altimas are 20 and 30 something year old chicks.

Now Sentras are another story

 

[Pockets]

Loved the Maxima, I had a 1994 model. I think they screwed up when they started blurring the lines between the Altima & Maxima.

 

[Mt. Yukon]

Altima sold 200k units for 2010. Its by far the number #1 selling car Nissan makes. Period. Across all brands: car, truck, suv, crossover, etc. They ain't killing that, best believe me!

And thats fine. Hell to be honest, even if the Maxima was RWD or 4WD for the price they run Id more than likely get something else. My thing is they really need to stop trying to market that bitch as a 4 door sportcar when anyone who knows a little something about sports cars knows that a car that big and heavy with FWD isnt a sportscar... PERIOD... I dont car that theyll go fast in a straight line on the highway, can I throttle steer it coming out a corner???

 

[bborn]

peace

Yeah, that G35 [which is almost Identical to the Maxes] with the rear whel drive is smooth & responsive but my Max 'surgeon' had a few tricks up his sleeve to get some 'effectiveness back' for those of us pushing 4th & 5th Generation setups - sick exaust package, vented brake upgrade, HIDs, sick sporty suspension drop with the Tein & Tekiko parts alongside of a rebuilt engine, babied with strickly synthetic, performance plugs & whatnot, clean like a baby's bottom on the inside

The maxima WAS a japanese BMW killer. If the evo is considered a iphone killer by many, the maxima was a BMW killer to many. In fact, it killed the WHOLE american luxury car game also.

The control & responsiveness that 10 yr old car has shown {with the expertise of the driver of course }, with the exception of the M3 & M5s of course ( but damn sure lit up an X5 M series one night without really trying ), it still is as have smoked Many a BMW, weekly.
Now if they turn out & throw out that whole G set up for the V8 M Infinities, now THAT'S another discussion wholeheartedly.
Interesting article.

peace

 

[chillwillwonka]

Loved the Maxima, I had a 1994 model. I think they screwed up when they started blurring the lines between the Altima & Maxima.

Bingo! It has nothing to do with FWD. I live in Michigan and wouldn't be caught dead in a RWD car in the winter. Its almost suicidal.

 

[Dr. Truth]

FWD , Pass, Shitty front Pass. The cost is damn near the same as a G35. I'd rather have a better looking faster G35 than that silly shit.

 

[DragonXJC]

IF you want a real wheel drive Maxima.......get the

 

[Dr. Truth]

IF you want a real wheel drive Maxima.......get the

The M45 is 20K more than a Maxima not to mention larger and faster. Not a good comparison more like. G37-Faster than Maxima about the same size.

 

[big pimp]

 

[TB1996]

Nissan needs to make the Maxima an AWD platform on some level or offer it in some type of package being that the engine technology is shared with the GT-R. Why not go all the way out and keep it in an affordable price range

i thought about awd also. good look

 

[TB1996]

what exactly is the advantage of being rear wheel drive?

ask german luxury car buyers.......... there are soo many advantages of rear wheel drive, its not funny.

 

[elchoccolatte]

You dont wanna fuck with that RWD in the snow, If u live more or less where it's not prevalent(SNOW) by all means "Go 4 Urs", I would like to see it in an AWD platform, then maybe i"ll do a 4Yr plan with one..., Had 4 Nissans, only 2 remain...

 

[Dr. Truth]

You dont wanna fuck with that RWD in the snow, If u live more or less where it's not prevalent(SNOW) by all means "Go 4 Urs", I would like to see it in an AWD platform, then maybe i"ll do a Yr plan with one..., Had 4 Nissans, only 2 remain...

G37 comes in AWD

 

[big pimp]

Had 2 maxima's
1983
1990
Them car's ran circle's around a lot of car's on the road.

 

[TB1996]

i own a front wheel drive cadillac, love it, but i prefer a rear wheel drive setup for DAILY commute. better handling and driving dynamics.

 

[BDR]

The 4th gen Maxima hands down was the best one nissan made period. I owned a 99se model 5sp with vsld transmission.

Honestly nissan has a strong following with their maxima brand, we not going to talk about their transmission issues with the 6th and 6.5 gen models with the autoranny.

Once the 07 model came they completely got rid of the manuel option. The max is their flagship sedan now just like the M model on infiniti. Infiniti is not bringing back the Q anytime soon.

When I owned my 4th gen I had it for a couple,years until I upgraded to the G35 2wd model. A lot of maxima enthusiats are either upgrading to the Gsedans because they offer rwd and awd but morr importantly rwd with a 6sp manuel transmission or Bmw 335i. That is where the maxima crowd is going, only a small precentage is downgrading to the altima 3.5se models.

The avg maxima owner get the car soley on looks and nothing else so nissan aint killing either platform anytime soon.

As stated I upgraded from a 99 max to a 03 g35. From there im either gonna stsy with infiniti and get a g37 sedan 2wd 6sp manuel or get a bmw 3 or 5 series, either a 335i 6sp or 550i 6sp

 

[Djmarkxr7]

This seems to be a move done on purpose by not only Nissan but Toyota as well.

Remember that as Nissan had its Maxima, Toyota had its Cressida.

The Camry was a mid level car comparable to the Stanza.

BMW and Mercedes showed that 4 door sport sedans were possible so to that end Nissan marketed their newly redesigned 1989 Maxima as a "4 door sports car", and even placed "4DSC" decals on the rear windows to further the point.

What was missed by Nissan was a shift in the market, Toyota saw this and to that end ended the Cressida, moved the Camry up in position, and made the all new Avalon its flagship sedan.

The Camry soon became the #1 selling car in the world.

Nissan followed with ending the Stanza line and renaming it the Altima.

The "4DSC" movement by foreign carmakers did hasten the demise of American sport luxury coupes, namely the Lincoln Mark series (VIII was the last) and the original "pimpmobile" and one of GMs first front wheel drive vehicles, the Cadillac Eldorado.

 

[TB1996]

Not much can be said or done about the Maxima. It won't take away sales from the G, but it would canibalize sales from the M. Basically, RWD is reserved for sports can and German luxury. Its unfortunate, but that is the way it is.

You can't really name a single RWD sedan on the market right now that isn't offered by a luxury maker. The most recent non-luxury offering was from Pontiac, and you see where that went. Pontiac's failure with the G8 basically killed the RWD sedan movement in anything other than the German definition of Luxury.

When/if GM decides to bring the G8 back to the US retail market as a Caprice, and IF that Caprice gains traction in the market, you might see Nissan return the Maxima back to its RWD roots.

But as of right now, I don't see it. Nissan already has two RWD-plated vehicles in its fleet....the GT-R and the Z. Not to mention the Titan and Armada SUV which are both BOF RWD trucks. All 4 of the vehicles are killing the CAFE for Nissan. If the Maxima went RWD, it would hurt the CAFE rating. And I don't think Nissan is willing to risk it unless the Maxima was going to sell over 100K units in RWD form, and rigth now its barely over 50K for the year.

I am a BIG fan of RWD/V8 sedans. I drive a E-class 550 specifically because that is the kind of car I like. But the state-of-the-times is making this kind of a vehicle less and less attractive to buyers, and car manufactures are a trendy group. As long as the liberals keep pushing for tighter and tougher emission standards and mileage, and the preception that FWD offers better fuel economy...you just aren't going to see RWD sedans in the market outside of the nitch of Luxury and/or sport. Sad day indeed....

i just DESTROYED your whole argument right here. the chrysler 300 SINGLEHANDEDLY kept chrysler's name alive:

2011 chrsyler 300