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Nissan Maxima 2004 Redesign
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Comments
grill looks likes a 20 year old oldsmobile.
I guess after 3 Nissans I will have to go elsewhere.
I think the roof thing is silly...that's all I'll say about that.
I'm not a huge fan of the steering wheel (It looks better in the G35) and the orange gauges can go too. The center stack looks kinda empty...
I don't like the Nissian "hood ornament" but they did need to change up the grill a little (the current max looks similar to my buick regal from the front)
Most importantly, the ride, fit/finish, and price will make or break the car.
It looks like an altima, (If it walks like a duck...) so they'll need to improve the road noise/ride. It's got to be put together better. and needs to be priced right...
just my $.02
The interior looked fabilous with leather seating, guages, and steering wheel using the same accents as the Murano. The only thing I didn't like was the bottom half of the instument panel where it seems empty and out of place. The Murano does't do that.
As for the drivetrain. The engine seemed good with its rated horsepower. The tranny looked excellent with its CVT/AT and six speed manual except NO AWD. Thats the biggest disappointment.
This car could of been an Audi killer but it looks like it won't be. Although the 04 MAX offered dynamic wheel stability and tranction control it doesn't quite substitute with a vehicle with AWD. Besides the law in many states require chains if not equipped with 4-wheel drive. Even with the above features you still have to put the chains on. Big Bummer!!!
So from that, this car will be off my radar until either the laws have been updated or the MAX gets an AWD.
If you are willing to spent that much money you can start looking in to some European cars or perhaps luxury brands like Infinity and Lexus.
It is more fan and much better to have 220hp with RWD than 265hp with FWD
p.s Maybe my problem is that I bought my Nissan Maxima 95 GXE for $18699 back in 1995
and click on Nissan. There are pictures and a text article included. Interesting that Autoweek calls the new Nissan Maxima grille a "love it or leave it" feature.
I own a 2003 Altima and I'm impressed with its looks. The only thing I don't like are the clear tailights (most people feel differently).
When a vehicle has a flaw somethimes it can be corrected or improved upon in the aftermarket. I significantly upgraded the Altima's cheap interior with an aftermarket leather package.
I will also consider changing the tailight lenses (appears body colored or red lenses may be available in the aftermarket soon).
On the other hand the Maxima grille is probably a love it or leave it situation.
My suggestion would be upgrade an Altima interior or wait a year or so for Nissan to do it. Cheaper and more attractive choice than the Maxima. If you can live with the grille ( I think the rest of the car is ok) than it's just a question of how much a Maxima will set you back (Is it worth $30000 plus).
As for styling critiques, I saw the 2004 Malibu today and it was pathetic. I thought Lutz had kicked some butt in the styling department. This thing makes a Dodge Aspen look state of the art. What makes it even more absurd is that GM does a pretty good job styling trucks but just doesn't have a clue with cars (Impala, Saturn LS, etc.)
Agree about the Malibu. It looked promising at first (considering it's based on the Opel Vectra and on the same platform as Saab's 9-3) but the end result is, well, ugly. There are some promising things from Lutz and GM though, specifically the Pontiac G6 concept. Very handsome.
As for GM styling, its one thing to make a good looking concept and another to transfer it over to production vehicles. Until GM starts accomplishing that transition they'll remain mostly a truck seller.
So, when I say I don't trust American reliability, I have a reason.
Obi
Nissan moved Maxima production to US in order to cut costs (shipping, taxes, its.) But what the consumer will get out of it? $28,000 to $34,000 car?
Would you pay Rolex price for Timex watch?
Or regular everyday German cars like Opel, VW ?
If second, than I agree US made Japanese cars are better.
It seems the US made Japanese cars is becoming hot issue. I've driven Honda Odysee which was made in Canada and also driven new Honda Odysee which is made in Alabama. To be honest. I will not buy new Honda Odysee again. It has lost the touch what it had. My brother is trading it for Acura as Acura is still coming from Canada. The interior of new Honda Odysee sucks.
While most people get pretty passionate and opinionated about Japan vs. US made Japanese cars (probably due to the more diverse in culture between the Japanese and Americans as opposed to Canadians and Americans), I don't think there has been any empirical study or statistics comparing or validating the superiority of US vs. Canada made Japanese cars. If you know, please advise.
On the other hand, I venture to guess that most people might agree that US made Japanese cars are better than Mexico made Japanese cars (unless you are Mexican). Funny how nationalism affects how one may perceive things even though there are no facts backing up the perception. Just my thoughts ... and I am not Japanese or Canadian
Virtually every initial quality and long term survey is in agreement, German cars, most made in Germany, do not have the reliability of Japanese, no matter where they were made.
If you know of a survey that says otherwise, please tell us, because I don't know of any.
quoted from caranddriver:
"The four-door sports car lives on. At least Nissan would like to believe so. While we wouldn't go quite that far, we do recognize that the Maxima represents significant improvement over its predecessor. Foremost is an all-new multilink independent rear suspension that should improve ride and handling. The Maxima's 3.5-liter V-6 gets boosts in horsepower and torque - up to 265 hp and 255 pound-feet, respectively. Transmission choices range from four- and five-speed automatics to an optional six-speed manual. Differentiating the new Maxima from all other sport sedans are a Skyview roof - a fixed glass window that runs nearly the length of the roof - and an optional Elite Package that replaces the rear bench seat with two bucket seats. Moving the front-wheel-drive Maxima more upscale are standard xenon headlamps (3.5 SL), 18-inch alloy wheels with 245/45R18 tires (3.5 SE), vehicle dynamic control, dual exhaust with four ports, and an eight-speaker Bose audio system with in-dash six-disc CD changer. Safety features are abundant, and include front, side, and curtain airbags, front-seat active head restraints, and seatbelt pretensioners and load limiters. Maxima will be built at Nissan's Smyrna and Decherd, Tennessee, plant, and will go on sale in March for between $28,000 to $34,000. Which begs the question: why buy a Maxima when the same money will get you a rear-wheel-drive Infiniti G35?"
Obi
As for US versus Canada versus Japan production etc... If I understand the argument correctly the premise be states is that if automaker "x" takes a car produced in Japan and makes it in another country (e.g. Canada, USA, etc...) then the quality of that product goes to crap? What a load of crap! That makes the assumption that all of the quality control and manufacturing standards that this automaker has put in place to win their hard EARNED reputation for excellence and for some unknown reason they are going to toss all of that out window and are now going to produce an inferior product and destroy their reputation; I don't think so. Rather it seems this is a case of someone who "perceives" a better value because of a known reputation. These are the same people who buy an "expensive" wine or champagne because of name or inflated pricetag on the bottle when they could have purchased something much better for half the price.
Hey to each their own. If it helps you sleep at night because you bought a name that works for me. However spare me the xenophobic arguments unless you can back up your statements empirically.
on car quality by location, couple of major factors affect it, such as plant management (mostly dyed-in-the-wool managers who enforce the quality standards and manage the production processes subject to those standards), the plant workers (mostly if not all local residents) and the various car components and materials (many supplied by local contractors and sub-contractors).
by process of elimination, 1) it's reasonable to say that the veteran plant management can be as good as any within the company, and thus can account for only so much of the quality deviations, 2) the workers are trained in the carmaker's quality philosophies. while a learning curve is involved, eventually these workers can be as good as any worker from the carmaker's home country, and 3) the local component and supplier vendors, while they must pass meet specifications, are farthest from the carmaker's management control.
the big differentiator is that, as more the rule than the exception, a car made in japan has behind it a supply chain (contractors, sub-contractors, shipment companies, warehouses, etc.) who think and execute in concert with the carmaker's goals. collectively, this system and all the businesses make up a "japan inc." whose products - cars, videocams, televisions, etc. - are consistently of high quality.
thus, a car plant that doesn't have this infrastructure can produce cars that have more defects than those made in the home country.
looks like a rare carlos goshn misstep.
Otherwise, I guess I will be looking at the Mazda 6s and the Accord. Other than a terrific engine, I am not impressed with the Altima. It really is too bad to see Nissan make what appears to be a big mistake.
Do you think they visit Edmunds, Townhall? I hope so, they would learn a thing or two.
Each car has its own niche. Max does to. As long as it is better than the last gen Max, i think it will do just fine,
tho i do agree with most of you about the styling
maxxed out: the G35 coupe has 280hp., while the sedan has 260 hp, actually less than the 265 in the max.(might not be as bad of a comparison with the G35 as most seem to think?).
first of all, the 04 maxima is much nicer then the strange looking 03 and prior. i think it looks really nice and i'm willing to bet the public accepts it well at under 30k. it's a great move up from the altima. you'll see a bundle of the new maxima's on the road over the next few years.
this talk of gobbling of sales with similar models is more perception then reality here as well i think.
the i35 may very well be gone in the future. we just don't know what nissan/infiniti's plans at this early stage of major rebuilding are. i'd say so far so good with the altima,z,g,and maxima. all very nice cars, which have and will cotinue to win awards.
Your not gonna buy it, ok, but you dont have to complain over and over, if your not gonna buy it JUST because of the grill, ok, great, but you must be real picky to miss out on sometin great just because of sometin on the outside that takes 1/20 of the car.
Think bout it, it's better than any previous Max and has more amenities than you could imagine on a car in its will-be price range
We also thought the roof glass was weird.
But, like the shape! (a lot more than the current model.)
The only thing I don't like about the '04s is price. I hope they keep it somewhat reasonable. However since a loaded 3.5SE alti is pushing 30 large...I think a loaded max will be at least 35ish :-(
I also have heard absolutely nothing about the I35. Either Nissan is doing a great job of hiding it or it is finished. I read somewhere a long time ago that Infiniti will offer only RWD cars, so it makes sense that the I35 would be phased out (if that's the case).
Overall...I'm all for the new max (grill and all).
Besides the hated grille, the new Max looks better in every way. You've to give credit to Nissan for continuing to take chances with the designs.
Max for 35K, won't they encroach onto G35 land?