From the Cars section of today's paper :

1)Larger trunk
2)Longer wheelbase but the same length as the Maxima
3)Handling very neutral, neither plows or wags it's tail
4)5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic with notched shift gate.
5)TC is extra and only if you get an automatic
6)ABS is extra also
7)If you get ABS, then you can get side and roof airbags. again
8)Nissan expects 1 in 5 to get the 6-cylinder.
9)Leather is extra
10)The dashboard is Orange at night....yuck!
11)Price as tested - $27,100 (not worth it IMHO)

If the altima is going to be over $27k, then I guess the Maxima will creep up into the $30k+ range. (also not worth it IMHO)

 

27k!! for an Altima? That cant be right. If that is correct they will lose a lot of sales.

Spiro

 

Hmm, well the price seems high , I think the V-6 should come in right around 24K and not more, it is a pretty popular model cause it is cheap and raising it over maxima prices is a nightmare, they are stepping on their own feet ( maxima ).
I am curious to see it when it comes to the showrooms. It looks a lot better than the current one. Even though I think nissan should have upgraded the maxima instead of doing it to the altima. Why buy a maxima now. 20 extra hp is not worth the difference anymore, besides it is smaller. Unless they are planning on moving the maxima more upscale, maybe in the high 30's range. I dont know, I am a little confused with the whole altima - maxima strategy.

 

I read somewhere that Nissan is trying to push the Altima into the Maxima sales and the Maxima into new higher end territory to possibly compete with higher brands. That leads to all kinds of speculation as to what they will do with the I30 and new I35. If those get too high they absolutely will not sell.

 

All we have to do is wait and see what is going to happen. The auto industry is unpredictable! hehe

 

All we have to do is wait and see what is going to happen. The auto industry is unpredictable! hehe

 

Based on that information, I'm even more confident that the Maxima is going to be somewhere around mid 30's fully equipped. I love the Maxima and always have, but $30K....no way.

 

nissan might follow in the footsteps of toyota. remember the cressida give way to the camry an I think the cressida then grew into the ES300. maybe the maxima is going to
be sold exclusively as an infinity.

 

Dont get me wrong but didnt the Cressida become the Avalon? Maxima's are really nice cars, my parents owned 5 of them, I dont think they will give their flagship model to Infiniti.

 

27K! That's more than a fully loaded V6 Accord EX and even a little more than a CL-P. I don't care if it has more HP than both of these cars, but I'd take either over the Altima. Nissan has to stop letting blind people design their cars, those things are ugly.

 

Dude, I looked at a 30th Anniv Maxima last weekend ... WAY over $30k.

 

The new Maxima is going to compete against the likes of the Toyota Avalon (full size). Meanwhile, the new Altima will compete against the Accord and Camry.
As far as Infiniti goes, their screwed either way with the new Maxima/Altima.

 

Toyota has had the worst designs ever lately. Everything they produce right now is UGLY.

Nissan is headed that way.

-J

 

What about the Lexus ES300, that would be the Infiniti's I35 competition along with the TL-S.

 

I meant internal-wise. Nissan is stepping over their own feet. For example:
- new Altima bigger and more powerful then current Maxima
- new Maxima with 6 speed will be faster and less expensive than the Infiniti I-35 and I-30
- all the luxury features from I-35 and I-30 will be in the new Maxima and some in new Altima (things like navi and HIDs)

In other words, all these new cars are eating each other's sales. They should have kept it distinct like before and should be upgrading them in their own respective class (Altima=compact, Maxima=midsize, Infiniti=luxury).

IMO, the TL-S is still the best bang for the buck.