Quote:
Originally Posted by ZBro16
There is room for the Maxima to finally fill in a gap that Nissan has been missing out on - a performance sedan.
The Maxima competes in the segment of the Dodge Charger/Chrysler 300, Buick Lacrosse, Ford Taurus, and some others. In light of the recent push of Nismo branding, they have a major opportunity here to make it a player and truly differentiate it from what it has been previously - a [half-assed] premium Altima.
Also - even though I'm somewhat critical of the Maxima's current place, Nissan does need justification to push it, and they have it - the Maxima is the top seller in its segment, which has gone as a fairly unsung success in the mix of Nissan's portfolio. I would love to see it go RWD, which is a 50/50 shot in happening as certain members of its competition are RWD.
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RWD would never happen because that would immediately cut into Infiniti Q sales.... At best, if lucky? We would see some version of the juke AWD system on a 3300lb or lighter maxima sedan, if we're lucky? The next gen maxima at best will have a NISMO tuned CVT and optional 6 speed manual, as I believe nissans loss of manuals is a temporary move to offset the cost of selling manuals for now. In order to push with other technologies over the next 4 to 7 years. Manuals will start resurfacing soon, I'm sure...
The maxima needs to follow the same trends it had in 1989-1995. fwd/Awd would make a nice advancement into the next gen.