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The Maxima used to be a competitor with the likes of Accord, Camry, Taurus. Since the redesigned Altima came out, it kinda took over that role, and the Maxima was put on a different shelf for a short time with not much more in room or power. Today the Altima is definitely the Camry, Accord fighter while the Maxima just seems to be an expensive, sportier looking Nissan with no place to go without moving even more into Infiniti territory.It's bigger than the Altima, Camry, Accord. But who does it compete with? The Chrysler 300 and new Ford Taurus/500 I guess. It is a sexy looking car but I feel it seems to have lost some of its appeal.

Competitor: Toyota Avalon

Quote, originally posted by silver_vibe »Competitor: Toyota AvalonThat's logical, but I agree that Maxima is sort of lost in the line up. The same VQ engine was detuned on the Maxima vs the Altima V6. Altima is being promoted as the "sports sedan." It's a shame, as Maxima was once Nissan's Flagship. I would not group it with Avalon because Avalon is Toyota's Buick. A car for older people. Maxima was once the "4 door sports car," and Nissan has taken most of the sports out.If there is a need for luxury sedan, shop Infiniti. I think this is the last Maxima in Nissan's line up.

Yeah the Maxima is pretty much invisible now (plus I live in the Detroit area anyway--it's amazing how different the car mix is when you get away from here), but luckily we had that free one that got totalled and spurred us into buying the Vibe.

I have a 98 Maxima 5-speed - and it IS a 4-door Sports Car - sweet car.

ya, hard to say... you can sorta compare it to the BMW 3 series, but not really.... kinda like the LGT Ltd/Spec B is compared to the BMW 3 series (awd), G35 sedan, and some of the lower end Mercedes 4matic, Audi quattro....I wouldn't compare the Maxima to the Avalon as that's more an old folk's car. Maxima is much more sportier!

The 95+ Maxima like the one you have (98) in SE trim with the alloys, spoiler and a 5 speed with leather were an awesome car when they were around. They are still frigin quick for today's standards.But I guess the new Maxima offers people a M35/45 size car at the cost of a G35 sedan. Since the G35 uses Altima frame and the M35/45 uses the Maxima's.The Avalon is definitely the Buick of Toyota's lineup. And I must say the new Altima's keep getting better and better looking. Great redesign, now if they can only fix that god awful new Sentra.

Quote, originally posted by Whelan »But I guess the new Maxima offers people a M35/45 size car at the cost of a G35 sedan. Since the G35 uses Altima frame and the M35/45 uses the Maxima's. Just offering a few corrections. Off the bat, G35 and M35/45 are RWD and Altima and Maxima are FWD so they are built off of different frames.

I agree with your thinking, but for whatever reason, i also think that the Altima and G35 use Nissan FM platform. I was always troubled by the fact that one was front wheel drive and the other is rear/AWD.

Quote, originally posted by RIT »I agree with your thinking, but for whatever reason, i also think that the Altima and G35 use Nissan FM platform. I was always troubled by the fact that one was front wheel drive and the other is rear/AWD.The FMs are cars like 350Z, G35, FX, and the Ms.Altima are off the FF-L which is the same as the Maxima. I'm sure the 07+ is off the FF-L too (or whatever new code it may be). But surely not the FM.