04 maxima

has anyone seen the new 2004 maxima...

i mean what is nissan tryin to pull here! the car has no body features that resemble the 2003 maxima. i personally think that the rear of the car is screwed up but the front doesnt look too bad. i saw it in the latest issue of sport compact car magazine on page 28. i dont see any good in the new maxima

can anyone tell me what they are tryin to do with the car?

Originally posted by dafugitive67
has anyone seen the new 2004 maxima...

i mean what is nissan tryin to pull here! the car has no body features that resemble the 2003 maxima. i personally think that the rear of the car is screwed up but the front doesnt look too bad. i saw it in the latest issue of sport compact car magazine on page 28. i dont see any good in the new maxima

can anyone tell me what they are tryin to do with the car?

They're going away from everything the Maxima USED to stand for. Looks, perfromance, appeal, and at a good price. They are ditching the Maxima in favor of the 3.5 Altima. Its a shame. I assume that the new Maxima's will be pretty fast, but the looks could defeinitely grow on me some more.:rolleyes:

maxima is moving upmarket, to compete more directly with tl type-s, es300, i35(if it stays around), while the altima is now gonna be the one to duke it out with camry and accord

hopefully the camry and accorns overrun the altima :D

altima is getting more sales then the max now. i think they are trying to make it look more like the altima with a little more power, luxury, etc. so that more people will go for it.

i wish they wouldnt have changed the body style so much, i like the way the 4th gen looks :(

Its sad, there gonna never go back to the 4th gen days:( I was in High school when they first came out. Yup it was the shit, you were a baller if you were rollin one.(sigh) those were the days

still the good ol days for me, well at least another 3 months or so:bandit:

I'd rather pay 8 grand for a 4th gen and spend the difference making th 4th gen faster and recondition it to look new and say to hell with anything past 4th gen. i don't dislike the 5th gen, but they just strayed away from the format. i can look at my dad's 93 maxima and i can see how the styling evolved into a 4th gen. the 5th gens just look like a whole new car. the 5th gens are hot in their own way, but they should have branded it as a new nissan car and kept the evolution form a 4th gen going
hopefully they'll keep evolving the engine properly, maybe they'll evolve it into being turbo charged

Originally posted by 97wvmax
still the good ol days for me, well at least another 3 months or so:bandit:

Why, are getting rid of her?

Originally posted by Paonessa
I'd rather pay 8 grand for a 4th gen and spend the difference making th 4th gen faster and recondition it to look new and say to hell with anything past 4th gen. i don't dislike the 5th gen, but they just strayed away from the format. i can look at my dad's 93 maxima and i can see how the styling evolved into a 4th gen. the 5th gens just look like a whole new car. the 5th gens are hot in their own way, but they should have branded it as a new nissan car and kept the evolution form a 4th gen going
hopefully they'll keep evolving the engine properly, maybe they'll evolve it into being turbo charged

In a way the 5th gen still resembles the 4th gen. The front and back were changed, but the body stayed very much the same. Look at the arch shape of the body on the 4th ond 5th gens, they are very similar.

Originally posted by Pick


In a way the 5th gen still resembles the 4th gen. The front and back were changed, but the body stayed very much the same. Look at the arch shape of the body on the 4th ond 5th gens, they are very similar.

Now that I have noticed for a while

Originally posted by MaximusGTR
Its sad, there gonna never go back to the 4th gen days:( I was in High school when they first came out. Yup it was the shit, you were a baller if you were rollin one.(sigh) those were the days

The 3rd gen guys would say that they were the last 4DSC. The 4th & 5th gen is a disgrace to the Maxima name in a way because of all the cost cutting Nissan did to it. It is nice to see that Nissan is making an effort to bring back the Maxima name, in whatever form that may be. I like the 6th gen, but I wouldn't buy it just because its not what I'm looking for in a car. Nissan is on the right track. Altima will take the Maxima's current market and the 6th gen will compete with the big boys. The Altima is what the 5th gen should have been... Minus the interior... Gawd I hate that interior. :p

Originally posted by Pick


In a way the 5th gen still resembles the 4th gen. The front and back were changed, but the body stayed very much the same. Look at the arch shape of the body on the 4th ond 5th gens, they are very similar.

Yes, they have very similar roof lines. Only the 5th was stretched 2 inches so the back door is longer. There was little change between the two, when I first saw the 5th gen in Motortrend, I thought it was more of a major upgrade than a new generation. One look at the 6th gen and you know it is new. The 4th & 5th gen came out when Nissan was in its worst state financially.... Things are looking better now that Renault is involved. Hopefully now that the 6th gen is out, Nissan will improve the Altima's interior so I can trade my 2000 in. ;) Dump my mods into the 2003... all part of my master plan :)

nissan definately wants to make the 6 gen maxima run with the bigger /better classes.( lexus , acura bmw etc). i also do think they r going in the right direction. i only guess time will tell.:cool:

hmm.....when the 5th gen maxima came out...I though is the worst thing nissan couls bring.......but after looking at it for a while, and seeing more and more on the road, I started to like the 5th gen....esp. 20th anniversary edition.....and now I look at the 6th gen, and I don't like the exterior much...the interior is great......but it may take more time to get used to the exterior......and one other thing..I don't think nissan should have dropped the cornering light.....it is helpful.....oh well....I will still love the 93 max

N1smo, your car isn't a disgrace in any way shape or form, both of your cars look good and perform reasonably well for the money you paid for them. You take a look around and you really can't find a car that can do what the Max does for its' price. Your car gets you from point a to point B everyday and does it with style, speed and relative comfort.

As far as the 04's looks, I really don't see anything wrong with making our cars in the Nissan line-up look somewhat similar to the other. The Altima is a nice car and it looks good IMO.

Take a look at BMW for instance; they make all of their cars in the 3series look the same, the only changes major are engine and the minors being a few amenities but they all look the same and they are great cars that have a lot of sales success. Why shouldn't Nissan do the same?

The Altima did real well IMO when it replaced the Stanza in 93 (I bought it for its' performance and looks) and Nissan has managed to hit another homerun with its' redesigned Altima which IMO is the best looking Altima to this date. The 93 to 96 is the second best looking Altima, the ones in between were fugly IMO.

So Nissan decided to build the new Max with some of the characteristics that made the Altima a winner, I think this will work for the Max too.

Soon everyone will grow fonder of its' looks over time and forget about the Altima resemblance as the reason they like or bought one and fall in love with the best interior a Max has ever had and performance that will be unequaled for the price and amenities.

I look at the new Max and I've seen some pics of different colored ones and it is slowly growing on me, I love the interior, the rear will have to grow on me some more just as it did with every other max from 4th gen to the present.

They are trying to make the new Max a whole different car. It is now a 4 passenger car and they are calling it a sport luxry car. I saw the caar in my Autoweek mag. Somethings are nice like it engine nice hp but torque could be just a little better (like 10 more ft pounds). I think they are trying to make it more like a Altima on the look and also a little more like the G35 in luxry and performace. I have the G35 and it really luxurious and it is pretty fast (would like about 8more hp standard and 5 more ft pound of torque standard oh well always mods). I woudn't mind seeing some of it things in a Max but for about 28 is that worth paying for a Max when you can get the G35 which is known as a Skyline in japan. Don't get me wrong I like the Current 2003 Maxima they are nice but this new one the 2004 might be too much in a step in the wrong direction.

Originally posted by deadmaninc
They are trying to make the new Max a whole different car. It is now a 4 passenger car and they are calling it a sport luxry car. I saw the caar in my Autoweek mag. Somethings are nice like it engine nice hp but torque could be just a little better (like 10 more ft pounds). I think they are trying to make it more like a Altima on the look and also a little more like the G35 in luxry and performace. I have the G35 and it really luxurious and it is pretty fast (would like about 8more hp standard and 5 more ft pound of torque standard oh well always mods). I woudn't mind seeing some of it things in a Max but for about 28 is that worth paying for a Max when you can get the G35 which is known as a Skyline in japan. Don't get me wrong I like the Current 2003 Maxima they are nice but this new one the 2004 might be too much in a step in the wrong direction.

Actually it is still a 5 passenger Sedan with an option of 4 seats for the sport type edition of that model.

I disagree with a step in the wrong direction, yes maybe for those of us who already have a Max but for people who don't really know anything about the Max or its' history this car will be a hit.

Originally posted by bk2kmax
N1smo, your car isn't a disgrace in any way shape or form, both of your cars look good and perform reasonably well for the money you paid for them. You take a look around and you really can't find a car that can do what the Max does for its' price. Your car gets you from point a to point B everyday and does it with style, speed and relative comfort.


Agreed.... the Max is exactly what I want in a car, minus the damn beam suspension (well, maybe if it was RWD also). In the end, my decision came down to the interior. To me, the Maxima has the best looking interior period. It is so clean and simple but yet stylish at the same time... I guess its personal taste, but that was what sold me over the TL TypeS, Altima, and anything else in its class. But other than the beam suspension... I think the Max is a perfect car... Bose 6disc indash CD, leather with memory seats (this is a need because I'm a lot bigger than the wife and it sucks having to adjust the seats), sunroof, HID headlights.... Man, I'm gonna go seat in the car for a while just to get a sniff of that new car smell :D

Originally posted by deadmaninc
They are trying to make the new Max a whole different car. It is now a 4 passenger car and they are calling it a sport luxry car. I saw the caar in my Autoweek mag. Somethings are nice like it engine nice hp but torque could be just a little better (like 10 more ft pounds). I think they are trying to make it more like a Altima on the look and also a little more like the G35 in luxry and performace. I have the G35 and it really luxurious and it is pretty fast (would like about 8more hp standard and 5 more ft pound of torque standard oh well always mods). I woudn't mind seeing some of it things in a Max but for about 28 is that worth paying for a Max when you can get the G35 which is known as a Skyline in japan. Don't get me wrong I like the Current 2003 Maxima they are nice but this new one the 2004 might be too much in a step in the wrong direction.

The G35 is nice, I was thinking about it... but the wife overruled it because she doesn't like the interior.. hehe... Personally, I don't like the exterior either but then I love the fact that its a Skyline.. So, I guess it is an extremely well engineered car but it wasn't what I was looking for. I was actually thinking about getting the I35 (could probably rape the dealer because they are dropping the model) but I like the Maxima's interior just a little more ;)

As far as the 6th gen... I really don't know who Nissan is trying to market this car to. Definitely not marketing it to me... :p

I do believe that Nissan isn't marketing the new Max towards our types (performance/sportsminded) who are interested in a smaller less boat-sized car with mad acceleration and decent looks.

The new Max is to be aimed at a more upscale yuppie type who doesn't really care about the overall look factor and who is only interested in a decent car with smooth performance, not blazing speed and fast n furious looks.

Just look at the executive model with the 4 seat option, it isn't aimed at a family man so to say, more like it's aimed at a business minded type individual in the same frame as the BMW 5 series which is where the Max is aimed based on size and class.

I think once someone takes a new max and kit it up with nice rims/tint and lower it with a redesigned rear and tooth removal, all of us will start to like them more, just take a look at some of the pics I posted in the other 04 Max thread on this forum.

Oh i didnt know that it also came in the a 5 passenger version then I say it not totaly in the wrong direction if it also come in a 5 seater. The Max is actually in the same calss as the G35 Nissan is aiming the Maxima at the Acura tl type s, Toyota Avolan, BMW 3 and cars like that.

Originally posted by deadmaninc
Oh i didnt know that it also came in the a 5 passenger version then I say it not totaly in the wrong direction if it also come in a 5 seater. The Max is actually in the same calss as the G35 Nissan is aiming the Maxima at the Acura tl type s, Toyota Avolan, BMW 3 and cars like that.

Disagree on the marketing towards BMW 3 series, it is aimed at the BMW 5 series based on its' size, not the class it used to be compared to.

The Altima has pushed the Maxima up another niche and it (Altima) competes with the Camry, Accord and BMW 3 series.

Go look at Nissan's strategy on their marketing and they (Nissan) clearly aims the Max at the 5 series based on size.

i disagree that the new max isn't being marketed towards the same crowd. if anything, it is more so marketed towards the performace minded enthusiast. it's finally got the IRS back, 18's with 45 series tires on the SE, handles better than 5th gen...definitely not conservative looking, which is what the luxury driver looks for. it's going for sporty, to win back all those who left after the costcutting...

The 5th gen Maxima is bigger than the 5 series.... Nissan is not marketing to BMW owners.... That's Infinity's job. The M45 is the 5 series killer. But if I had the cash, I would get a 540i over any Nissan... They don't call them the Ultimate Driving Machine for nothing ;) Angel eyes... YUMMMMMY

Originally posted by bk2kmax


Disagree on the marketing towards BMW 3 series, it is aimed at the BMW 5 series based on its' size, not the class it used to be compared to.

The Altima has pushed the Maxima up another niche and it (Altima) competes with the Camry, Accord and BMW 3 series.

Go look at Nissan's strategy on their marketing and they (Nissan) clearly aims the Max at the 5 series based on size.

The 6th gen is the size of the Lexus GS. It is just getting too big for my taste. I guess you can have a big sporty sedan but definitely not the same 4DSC recipe that made the 3rd gen great. Only time will tell if this Max will draw on the same crowd... But you can subtract one from that group because I wouldn't buy it.


Originally posted by thrasher
i disagree that the new max isn't being marketed towards the same crowd. if anything, it is more so marketed towards the performace minded enthusiast. it's finally got the IRS back, 18's with 45 series tires on the SE, handles better than 5th gen...definitely not conservative looking, which is what the luxury driver looks for. it's going for sporty, to win back all those who left after the costcutting...

i would get a 04 maxima but man i find it looks too much like the new altimas

is it me, or is Nissan making the Maxima uglier each year ?

no it's not you
the maxima does get uglier each year.

I don;t think the Maximas are ugly. I think they have to grow on you though. I'm speaking of the 2004 BTW. Its a shame that a Maxima has to grow on you though. back in the day, they were lovely right out the box:(

Originally posted by MaximusGTR
I don;t think the Maximas are ugly. I think they have to grow on you though. I'm speaking of the 2004 BTW. Its a shame that a Maxima has to grow on you though. back in the day, they were lovely right out the box:(

Which Maxima was lovely right out of the box? The 2nd gen was nasty. I thought the 3rd gen was ugly and still do... I liked the Toyota Cressida back in those days (the last gen). I thought the 95-96 Maxima was butt ugly... But I had a 96. So, the only one that was lovely out of the box was the 97-99 in my opinion. The 02-03 definitely looks better than the 00-01. I'm gonna convert my front end to a 03 later this year (around August, when I get it turbo'ed).

Originally posted by Pick


In a way the 5th gen still resembles the 4th gen. The front and back were changed, but the body stayed very much the same. Look at the arch shape of the body on the 4th ond 5th gens, they are very similar.

all nissan's have that look. my old 96 se-r had the same "arch" just in different proportion due to the size difference. the front and back of the car are the first and last things you see. they're what make the impressions and they were so drastically changed that it looks like a whole different car. i think if they were next to each other and i didn't know either one as a maxima, i'd think they were too unrelated cars. i would however assume they were from the same company, just not both maxima's

Originally posted by n1smo


Which Maxima was lovely right out of the box? The 2nd gen was nasty. I thought the 3rd gen was ugly and still do... I liked the Toyota Cressida back in those days (the last gen). I thought the 95-96 Maxima was butt ugly... But I had a 96. So, the only one that was lovely out of the box was the 97-99 in my opinion. The 02-03 definitely looks better than the 00-01. I'm gonna convert my front end to a 03 later this year (around August, when I get it turbo'ed).

Just my opinion n1smo, and alot of people I deal with say Maxima's were tight and anyone I knew back then wouldn't mind having one. I started liking maxima's every since the 94 SE w/ the white face gauges. This guy had one at my school back in 95, and from that point on, every since the Maxima's changed there body styles, I've never heard any complaints from anyone( at least around me). I bought my 95 because I used to get my ass handed to me whenever I raced any Maxima whether it be on the freeway or street and I had a car that wasn't stock at all. Anyway I like ANY Maxima from 94 up. Just my thing I guess.

well it's good to know others have similiar opinions :)

found this article:

http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caranddriver/roadtests/2003/march/0303_roadtest_maxima.xml

god...i can see that they are tryin to compete with different classes of cars...but i think that what nissan will do is that they would have to make a totally different car to compete...they need to make somethin new and interesting to keep the consumers entertained...an example is the 350Z..o lala...haha.

Originally posted by n1smo
The 5th gen Maxima is bigger than the 5 series.... Nissan is not marketing to BMW owners.... That's Infinity's job. The M45 is the 5 series killer. But if I had the cash, I would get a 540i over any Nissan... They don't call them the Ultimate Driving Machine for nothing ;) Angel eyes... YUMMMMMY



I never said that Nissan was marketing to BMW owners, I said that in terms of size the new Maxima is aimed at the same class as 5 Series cars, there's a difference, I never made it seem as though they are going at BMW specifically, just in terms of size and target area they are looking at it is clear that they are looking in the same arena to appeal to buyers who may otherwise be interested in a car in the size of the 5 series but who aren't necessarily financially capable of buying the more expensive 5 series.

Go to www.nissan.com and read up on their strategy and you'll understand what size, the Max is aimed at. It is a fact that it has been pushed upscale in terms of size and luxury to be aimed away from the Camry and Accord and more towards the Avalon and Acura 3.2TL in terms of size and luxury.