Why cant there still be a (real) Maxima?

"awmaster10" (awmaster10) 01/02/2017 at 22:30 • Filed to: nissan, maxima, toyota, g35, 350z, lexus, gs300, rwd

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The Maxima used to be the sedan you buy if you need about the same space and practicality as an accord, altima, camry, etc. but wanted it to not make you sad every time you drive it. The Maxima in its prime had 255 Horses, weighed 3200lbs, and had an LSD. It didnt look too bad either. Now the maxima is an overweight ugly boat, and still has basically the same motor. The i35 of the same generation was also basically the same car but with a very nicely done, yet simple, interior:

I Guess an argument can be made that they went in an even better direction by introducing the g35, which is basically everything great about a Maxima, but with rear wheel drive. Ill also say that the g35 sedan doesent look as bad as people believe, its just that most of them are riced out.

Rico > awmaster10 01/02/2017 at 22:39

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The reality is Nissan puts out mass market FWD econoboxes now. The only car they care about is the car that nobody cares about: the GTR.

Infiniti on the other hand has been trying hard with their red sport line but at the end of the day they are hamstrung by shitty chasis. The Q60 Coupe looks nice though.

awmaster10 > Rico 01/02/2017 at 22:44

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Yeah If nissan made 1 great light RWD chassis like GM, Ford, and even toyota have been able to do, they could refresh the Z line, make the q60 a beast, and also make a great 4 door sports sedan to compete with the SS since nobody else is in that price range. It would be so easy.

Steve in Manhattan > awmaster10 01/02/2017 at 22:45

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I recall seeing Maximas with an odd thin sunroof that ran most of the length of the roof ... who thought that was a good idea?

wafflesnfalafel > awmaster10 01/02/2017 at 22:51

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I don’t think there is enough room in the domestic sedan market anymore. It’s niche was, “a bit faster, a bit sportier, a bit more fun to drive” - which I love, but just isn’t there anymore. The SUV market is so much bigger and folks that wanted performance are moving as you point out to an Infiniti G or settle for a CUV get a jacked up pickup or something...

mazda616 > awmaster10 01/02/2017 at 22:57

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Nissan doesn’t know their place anymore. They are between an economical and a sporty image, and they come across as neither. They’re just kind of...there.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Rico 01/02/2017 at 23:02

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IIRC, the chassis is absolutely fine, it’s the drive by wire steering that single handedly ruins the drive.

cbell04 > awmaster10 01/02/2017 at 23:03

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As a previous 92, 95, and 2002 owner I %1000 agree with this post. 4dsc

GhostZ > Rico 01/02/2017 at 23:12

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Tricke down branding. “This is the company that made the GT-R! The rest of their cars must be fast!”

ranwhenparked > awmaster10 01/02/2017 at 23:15

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810 Maxima is best Maxima.

LongbowMkII > awmaster10 01/02/2017 at 23:17

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I really like the G35 sedan. But I don’t want to own a 15-20 year old VQ motor when I’m in the market for one. The following gens don’t look nearly as good.

Under_Score > Steve in Manhattan 01/02/2017 at 23:17

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Those were the mid-2000's ones.

LongbowMkII > Steve in Manhattan 01/02/2017 at 23:17

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The toaster slot? Yeah, does it even open?

awmaster10 > LongbowMkII 01/02/2017 at 23:21

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For what its worth, my 15 year old vq35 runs great, but I can understand the frustration. Wish they had just kept it the size it was.

Steve in Manhattan > LongbowMkII 01/02/2017 at 23:22

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For that sort of money, it had better.

Phatboyphil > awmaster10 01/02/2017 at 23:42

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See V6 Honda Accord

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > awmaster10 01/03/2017 at 00:24

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If you want a new car that is what a Maxima was.Of coarse you get a turbo 4 instead of a V6, and i don’t think you can get a Manual any more.

Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition > awmaster10 01/03/2017 at 00:27

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My aunt had a third gen like a 93 or 94 when I was a teenager. It was a manual and was pretty new when I drove it. That car was a blast.

awmaster10 > Phatboyphil 01/03/2017 at 00:28

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3600lbs though, and the interior is about as good, except 15 years later.

RallyWrench > awmaster10 01/03/2017 at 00:51

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Pepperidge Farms remembers the 4DSC. In high school a buddy of mine had an ‘86 Max and aspired to own an ‘89-up Maxima, we all thought they were the shit.

samssun > awmaster10 01/03/2017 at 02:42

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Came here to post the G35/37. But the real answer is that the Mazda 6 took its place.

Tatanko > awmaster10 01/03/2017 at 07:26

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As a 3-time owner of a Maxima, I have the same sad thought from time to time. Nissan doesn’t make anything I would buy right now with my own money (there are better/more exciting options than the Z and GT-R in their respective classes right now).

I wouldn’t consider the G35 a RWD Maxima though... I mean, the right idea is there, but it’s still a bigger car. The Maxima always had a way of feeling and driving a lot smaller than it really was, while still being a fantastic DD or grand tourer.

I had a ‘95 (auto), ‘98 (5-speed), and ‘03 (6-speed w/ HLSD). Loved all three to death and never got sick of them. Great cars for learning how to wrench, too.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > awmaster10 01/03/2017 at 09:17

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It’s not that the Maxima got fat and boring, it’s that all cars got fat and boring. Drivers cars are dead. Instead we get 2,900-pound hatchbacks with electric-power-steering that people here can’t get enough of. I’ll stay in 1970.

awmaster10 > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 01/03/2017 at 15:13

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Drivers cars arent dead, theyre just either expensive or underpowered:

brz

m2

miata

chevrolet ss

etc.
Cheap powerful drivers cars are dead. 15 years ago the maxima made 255hp, which in that light of a platform was very exciting.

awmaster10 > Tatanko 01/03/2017 at 15:16

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The first generation g35 sedan is very involving, and 3400lbs isnt all that bad. It also had a great interior, and was so cheap by the second owner that youd be crazy not to consider it when shopping for a used car in like 2010. Now, they are quite a bit bigger, or at least bigger looking, and the vq is too old to be exciting. But yeah im jealous of your 03 6 speed LSD Ive driven one and its so fun to just floor out of corners and feel it tug you forward. Extremely FWD feeling, but in a good way.

awmaster10 > samssun 01/03/2017 at 15:18

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Eh, the maxda 6 weighs about the same but is much larger physically, and has 180 horsepower...thats down 75hp on a 15 year old maxima. g35 has 328 horsepower and is 10 years old, so thats probably what id consider the most worthy succesor.

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > awmaster10 01/03/2017 at 15:42

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BRZ: weighs 2,800 pounds
M2: 3,000 pounds
Miata: Electric power steering
Chevy SS: 40,000 pounds

Drivers cars to me are things like the Lotus Elan, AH Sprite, Alfa GTV, and old 911's. Once you’ve driven cars like those, you can’t go back.

awmaster10 > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 01/03/2017 at 15:49

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If youre not trolling then you might just have a fetish for old cars

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > awmaster10 01/03/2017 at 19:12

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I do. Driven all kinds of hot stuff, M235i, McLaren 650S, Huracan, but nothing compares to old cars, man.

B_dol > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams 01/03/2017 at 20:23

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WOAH, the M2 weights closer to 3400 lbs. I was nearly ready to place an order if 3000 was true.

Tatanko > awmaster10 01/04/2017 at 07:27

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My ‘03 was an SE Titanium Edition with the special Polished Titanium paint and black leather interior. Every option except the factory nav. It was THE perfect Maxima in my opinion, and I knew it would be my last so I wanted to go out on a bang.

The seller was a fellow member of the Maxima forums who contacted me about buying his car from him, he said: “I think you’d like to have this, and I want it to go to a good home.” I wasn’t even shopping for a car. I drove 6 hours roundtrip twice in a single week to southern VA to see it and then buy it. No regrets.

awmaster10 > Tatanko 01/04/2017 at 15:05

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Thats amazing. Thats exactly how I would have wanted to go out on a series of cars that I loved. Its a shame there isnt a cool maxima anymore. Maybe you can buy an infinti or acura or something.

Tatanko > awmaster10 01/04/2017 at 15:15

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I went from that to a 2010 Accord Coupe V6 6-speed (again, fully loaded except nav) and now I have a 2016 GTI SE 6-speed (again, fully loaded except nav basically). The Accord was a little better put together than the Maxima with tighter steering and better brakes, and the GTI is better than both of them at absolutely everything.

awmaster10 > Tatanko 01/04/2017 at 15:19

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Yeah GTIs are great, all those generations of fine tuning mean its basically perfect in every way besides reliability (Which isnt even that bad) just like, say, the 911.