New Nissan 240 HP 3.5L V6

Hey people....um, I just saw the new 2002 Nissan Altima. Life, is not fair. On top of looking absolutely STUNNING (stance reminds me of GS300/400), it will come standard with a 180 HP 2.5L engine, with an optional 240 HP 3.5L V6 that is found in the new I35's! In addition to a more powerful engine, Nissan has switched to Aluminum for several of the body panels...which Nissan claims a 55% weight reduction compared to the old steel panels. The car itself is actually larger than the current generation Maximas (don't know about interior room though). On top of all this goodness, it also comes with full independent front and rear suspension (bout time!) based on the Skyline GT-R and the Q45. Life is not fair. Styling wise, it looks beautiful and comes with optional 4 lense Xenon HID driving lamps! Don't forget to check out the shifter...looks like Nissan is gearing up to compete directly against Lexus, Acura, and even it's own luxury line, Infiniti!

So does this give us Max owners a glimpse into the next generation of Maximas? Can we predict an even more powerful engine for the next generation Maximas (260+ HP?!?!)? Will the next generation come standard with Xenon HID lamps? Will the Maxima return to it's former glory (in terms of suspensions) with a new front/rear all independent multi-link suspension? Let us hold hands and pray!

This car absolutley blows my mind! And to think I JUST bought my 2000 Maxima like, last August...if there is a God, he is playing a cruel, cruel joke on me (and my bank account!). It finally looks like Nissan is getting it's act together.

Check it out at www.nissandriven.com (http://www.nissandriven.com) . You will be blown away!

Also check it out at www.freshalloy.com (http://www.freshalloy.com) .

Please post your thoughts and reactions!

Actually the new Altima is slipping in to replace the current Maxima's roll. The new Maxima is going to be built off of the Q45 platform, much bigger.

From what I read at freshalloy.com, the next generation Maximas will be built off the same platform as the next generation Altimas.

"The new Altima will share it's platform with a new even larger Maxima due out in 2004-2005. The new Maxima will be based on stretched wheelbase of the same platform."-- freshalloy.com

This could be purely speculation, but who knows? What's interesting is that they had a pretty good "rough picture" of the main characteristics of the next generation Altimas would be like if you take a look at their archives.

I felt that the next gen's would probably have 180 HP engines a while back when they introduced the current generation Sentras (140 HP?). The 180 seemed to fit nicely between the Sentra's engine and the Maxima's. The current generation Altima's engine seems very underpowered to me.

the 2002 Max WILL have a 260hp 3.5l with a 6spd, but the redesigned 2003 Max will be larger and will compete with the Toyota Avalon... :( i guess we should all save our $$$ for a 2002 Max 6sp... and for me personally... like 10000 more $ to make it look not so frickin ugly
haha imagine an Altima as a sporty car hahaha :D thats sick