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Nissan Altima
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Comments
For a family car i'm sure the Altima SE will be a hoot.
The Altima is still FWD..so it can't be that much fun.
Bob
Right topic....dont get me wrong, I never implied that the Avalon would be a "bad" car to copy. The Avalon is essentially Toyota's version of a big American car. While senior citizens might appreciate the confortable ride and roomy interior the car is boring with a capital "B". I would expect Nissan to spice up the the Maxima even further even if it got bigger. Kinda like a Japanese BMW 7 series.
I found these pictures on the net, I can tell you right now the Gray and the blue Interior isn't as nice as i expected. I like the Black Interior that is displayed on Nissan Web Site.
Climate control would be nice to have, but the biggest potential problem may be poor gas mileage compared to the competition just as $2 per gallon gas is coming.
Here is a link to the Picture i was talking about
http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/01images/02altima_int.jpg
If you buy a 2002 Accord, a few months later you may see photos of the 2003 and wish you had waited.
The only thing that be any smoother on the Accord 3.0 V6 is the shifting of the automatic transmission.
The new Altima is one nice looking car and should be on her list of cars to look at.
The Altima now does 0-60 in a Maxima shattering 6.3 seconds with its 5-speed manual. Because of this huge increase, Nissan is giving its Maxima a 260hp motor and a 6-speed to compensate and to keep it in front of the Altima. If you gave the Altima that same 6-speed its performance would most likley be on par with the Maxima because of its weight advantage, obviously this wouldn't be acceptable for Nissan as it'd lose massive amounts of Maxima sales to the lower priced Altima. So they're giving the Altima the 5-speed to effectivly slow it down. heh.
Again this is all speculation on my part.
The current generation maxima is only going to be around for one more year. Its getting totaly redesigned to be sold the Summer of 2002 as a 2003 model. The redesign will enlarge the car and move it up in price to the level of Toyota's Avalon. When this happens, I can see the Altima now getting the 6-speed as it will no longer be competing so closeley with the Maxima, and also helping to keep it competitive against the upcoming 240hp Accord.
I'm really curious as to what direction Nissan is planning on taking with the next Maxima. Will it be performance oriented? I mean if its Altima is already doing 6.3 second 0-60, how much faster can they really make the Maxima before it treads on the 2003 Z car's turf?
The plot thickens.
Catherine Heins is looking for people to interview who have switched from American to Japanese cars in the past few years-- especially folks who wouldn't have given a Toyota or Honda the time of day in the 1970s.
She's a business reporter at the Yomiuri Shimbun, which is the biggest daily paper in Japan with a circulation of 14 million. They are writing a feature story about Japanese automakers' continuing success in expanding production in the U.S. and snatching market share from the Big Three even on their former home turf of light trucks.
If you fit this description and are willing to be interviewed, please call her directly at 212-582-5827 or e-mail her at [email protected]. As always, you can contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions.
Thanks,
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PR Director
Edmunds.com
They say the 2002 Q45 does 5.9 0-60. MT in it's lastest issue could only get 6.5 out of 2 different Q45s.
As a matter of fact almost all manufacturers are conservative in their performance numbers (unless they're owned by Ford) as to compensate for those who live in areas where a cars perform less admirably then in the rest of the world. Areas like high altitude or excessivly warm climates.
Until 5.9 is realized, I'll stick with MT.
Let's see, The Maxima doesn't live up to its 222bhp, THe I30 doesn't, the Pathfinder doesn't live up to it's 250bhp.
ALl the magazines have gotten similar times with the Camry and Accord V6 models, compared to the Maxima automatic, yet the Maxima has a better power to weight ratio.
qin2,
Stop defending Nissan/Infiniti. Don't act like they don't twist stuff around and nudge things for marketing purposes. Lexus claims 0-60 of 5.9 for the SC430 but no magazine has gotten it, Lexus also claimed 7.1 for the IS300 and only one test has yielded that time and the rest have been in the neighborhood of 7.4 or so.
Not properly tuned ECUs, improperly designed transmissions & it's associated computers as well as gearing can affect 0-60 times.
Good God, I'm sorry but I don't trust MT or any car mag/journalist times. Most of the reports from the mags get insanely low 0-60 times and all the mags vary. Currently MT has the WRX hitting 60 in 5.6 seconds! R&T says 5.7 and Edmunds say 6.3. Subaru claims 5.9 seconds to 60 mph. Gosh, who do you believe?
My guess is MT will pull a 6 second 0-60 on an Altima SE, RT will get about 6.2 and Edmunds will probably clock in near 7 seconds. Does that mean they're all wrong? No, just that different drivers, different conditions of the track, the weather, the altitude, the engine, the tires will influence the times.
BTW, having driven a Max with a 5 speed and a Camry with a 5, there's a huge difference in torque delivery. The Max feels like a V8 it's got so much cruising power it's frightening how easily the car loafs at 85 mph. As for the accord, it's a joke. But then again you can only get it with an auto.
The TL seemed way faster than the I30. It wasn't even close. So where is the 227hp? So it has a 4 speed over a 5...whose problem is that? The I30, I thought was really nice in all other aspects and bettered the TL in turn-in feel and braking not to mention a way better stereo (the sunshade was cool too!). I actually enjoyed driving the I30 better than the TL. But not off the line...TL smokes the I30. (I30's engine is just as smooth if not smoother and has less of a rubber band effect..but the acceleration wasn't there.)
Let's hope they don't stick the current Maxima's crappy 5-speed in the very promising 2002 Altima. Nissan should have learned by now that it's not acceptable to have glaring weaknesses but they always seem to let one or two by. It's really too bad because otherwise their cars would be awesome.
If they were smart they would have put the 6-speed manual and a 5-speed automatic that would have on paper given them a competitive advantage over the competition...but of course that means they have to be smart.
Regarding the performance tests of the auto rags (i.e. 0-60, 1/4 mile, etc.), Car and Driver, unlike some of the other rags, actually goes to a lot of work to get these accurate. They always put exactly one gallon of gas in the tank, take multiple runs of which they use the average, and use a similar method... I've heard that Motor Trend has no such standards and that their numbers are all over the place, but I don't get that anymore so maybe they've improved.
Regarding the 6-speed, recall that when the redesigned Acura TL first came out in '99, it had a 4 speed tranny, no side air bags, and a rather crappy intake plenum. Fact is (IMO), Acura was putting out a car after the car had just been redesigned in '96, but wasn't selling well, so they had to do it. In 2000, they added the 5 speed auto, fancy intake plenum, side air bags, etc. 0-60 went form 7.9 to 7.4, and highway gas mileage increased from 27 to 29! I think that Nissan will take a similar course with the Altima. Since they only redesigned it less than 5 years ago, they want to get it out and start selling it as quickly as possible, but look for a 6-speed and 5-speed auto in another year or 2. I'm glad they're at least getting it out. The current car is sort of a stain on the horizon, with the sex appeal of a washing machine (sorry, current owners). Other things to look forward to are satellite radio (GM is putting it in some cars this summer) and possibly a fancy communications system.
Just my 2 cents.
blow out the sale of Camry and Accord if the price
tag is about the same the Camry and Accord. If any
body knows about the price for this luxury sedan please bring it up. Thanks ! BM
and may have a new horse power also for the 2002 model.
So I expect the new 2002 altima's price tag a bit lower.
We'll also have to wait and see what Toyota has in their new Camry. Last time around in 97 they introduced a car worse than the previous model with a plain ext and int., but was priced a little bit lower than before and it became the best selling car in America. go figure.
I have a feeling with the strong competition these days, Toyota will have another big hitter. I guess when your reputation is as good as Toyota, you don't have to show you car early to generate interest.
If the Altima doesn't offer automatic climate control..then I see that as Nissan making an effort keep prices down and expect super competive prices. Although I'm sure the new Camry XLE will have automatic climate control.