My friend and I are currently in Sydney on vacation. The Maxima's down here are freaking ugly! They share some parts from the I30/I35 and some other parts that just take away from their style. I am having a hard time containing myself every time I here a Nissan Skyline spool up. In addition to the Skyline's there are 2 litre turbo charged Silvia's,Pulsar GTiR's,twin turbo Soarer's(like the Lexus SC300)Subaru WRX's are as common as a Ford Taurus on Main street! Most of the turbo cars have HUGE afternarket Front mount intercoolers and Big Bore exh's and loud blow off valves. There are hella sweet Holden's here too. There are a ton of Ute's with the LS1 Gen III motors and some with 6spds. Ford has some nice lookin cars down here too. Anyways just wanted to give ya all the scoop.
Dave & Rachel
02 Maxima SE
85 El Camino w/GN drivetrain project
Currently on foot hoping to rent something cool & unavail. back home.
Interesting perspective, Dave. I always wonder why some "versions" of cars are in one part of the world, and not here in the States. Seems to me, If Nissan wanted to spice up the max sales, all they had to do was offer a 2 door that was 3 or 400 lbs lighter (the skyline). How's the gas prices down there? Probly in litre's and hard to figure a comparison to gallons...
i was there earlier this year and the ford falcon's have v-8's in them...they kinda look like the SHO's but a little more aero-dynamic and are f@#$ing fast!!!!!!!
Heh, yes, Skylines (both 2 door and 4 door varieties) are as common as flies in the summer, as are Holden Commodores and Ford Falcolns, lol. Not sure if its the same across the ditch, but you'll probably see a few riced up Nissan Primera's as well.
Both Ford and Holden come in the V8 variety, and loyal supporters of both camps bicker about which is better/faster
Yes, Holden and Ford have some kick arse engines now..
With Holden using the GenIII LS1 pushing 300kW (or 400hp) and Ford introducing the new XR6T (i.e. 6 cyclinder turbocharged!), these local cars are matching or surpassing the performance of the japanese imports!
Skylines and Silvias (S13, S14, and S15) are very common cars in Perth (Australia). The skylines and older S13 silvias/180sx are realatively cheap in Australia as they are grey imports from japan.
The other popular grey import in australia are the 4Lt V8 Toyota Soarers (i.e. SC400) and 2.5Lt Twin Turbo Toyota Soarers... they have great performance and good standard of luxury.
I fell in love with the looks of the XR6 and the Holden Ute SS. One sales guy was really cool and loaded me up with sales brochures and reading materal. The new Maxima looks different as well. Not sure I like it but then again I'm not sure I like our version. I like the back but the front is ***
Notice how those sorta vehicles (eg utes, etc) aren't as large looking physically down here? I visited the US earlier last year (2003, NJ area) and that was the big thing that stood out in regards to vehicles.
You should be there for Bathurst, when they race the Fords and the Holdens against each other
We were only about 10-15 mins away from Eastern Creek Raceway. I tried to check it out but they were closed. I did notice that there was a lack of SUV's but it was also pleasant to see everyone driving the speed limits. I guess the lack of SUV's is due to the price of fuel down there? I really enjoyed it down there and would love to go back. Your chips at KFC are way better than the fries in the US! I am glad to get back behind the wheel of my Max =)
Dave
02 Maxima SE
85 El Camino w/GN drivetrain in the works
We were only about 10-15 mins away from Eastern Creek Raceway. I tried to check it out but they were closed. I did notice that there was a lack of SUV's but it was also pleasant to see everyone driving the speed limits. I guess the lack of SUV's is due to the price of fuel down there? I really enjoyed it down there and would love to go back. Your chips at KFC are way better than the fries in the US! I am glad to get back behind the wheel of my Max =)
Dave
02 Maxima SE
85 El Camino w/GN drivetrain in the works
Well, in NZ we have quite alot of SUV's here now. The roads here r not quite big enough for SUV's. But, we got sum.
__________________ The first Maxima to be even bothered being lowered in Wellington, New Zealand PINTO POWER
Yeah, really annoying when the size goes to their head and they sit their bull bars on the back of your bumper Also annoying that since most of them are diesel here, when they take off at lights, they dump a cloud of black diesel fumes in front of you to inhale I now drive with outside air turned off when driving in the city .
i hav fam down under.. and i go there every few years.. it sucks comin back.. my grandma lives on the gold coast. when i go there im always about 10 minutes from the coast. theres always skylines there. i drive up in here 4 dr camery for the early 90s, and get blown away.. its like huh... i didnt have a max when i was last out there, but i still saw them, nice but design is lacking.. the kool cars out the are the imported and converted firebirds.. rare as all hell. skylines are just to common out there.. the holdens are sweet tho.. look for the commadore ss ...the ford falcon is nice too. have fun.. eht part u visiting
all that skyline talk sounds good to me. those maximas dont look that bad ..lol they look kinda like infiniti's to me. not much longer before the chariot comes to town ,,hope to go to aussie with the chariot too.. enjoy !
Meh, Skylines, lol. They're too common here now. They can be had for NZ$5000 (about US$3000). You're right about the Infiniti look, the I30/I35, Infiniti, Cefiro and now the Teana all share the same look with the NZ/Aus Maxima. Maxima here is Nissans luxury car (they're now marketed as "Luxury you can get into", heh).
I bought a 1998 Maxima 30GV in totally stock form a week or so ago, and from what I've seen on the web the American Maximas seem quite different? I read something on this sites FAQ's about *rear axles* (http://www.maxima.org/maxfaqs/sub_pe...Performance_5c). Are they rear wheel drive in the states? Mine is most certainly front wheel drive. Pics of mine are at http://gallery.wg.id.au/maxima if anyone is interested.
I have to say though, I am thus far very impressed with my Maxima. Very comfortable all round, and a lovely car to drive.
I am in Perth Western Australia, and I don't see many of these cars around at all... I've seen perhaps 3 others in the last week? Am I blind or are there just not many around down here?
I'm not sure what the FAQ means, it could be talking about the very early Maxima in the USA, as the Maxima in the US is front wheel just like ours, and has been since the 2nd gen over there.
There's not a huge difference between the US and Aus/NZ Maximas apart from outside body design, IMO the US Maxima looks Camryish from the front . We've got a hybrid between the US Infiniti I30 and the US Maxima. On the outside it looks pretty much identical to the I30 except for different bumper design. On the inside though it looks the same as a US Maxima.
They are nice cars, always enjoy driving mine, just looking forward to the day when I have some spare cash to spoil mine, lol
I bought a 1998 Maxima 30GV in totally stock form a week or so ago, and from what I've seen on the web the American Maximas seem quite different? I read something on this sites FAQ's about *rear axles* (http://www.maxima.org/maxfaqs/sub_pe...Performance_5c). Are they rear wheel drive in the states? Mine is most certainly front wheel drive. Pics of mine are at http://gallery.wg.id.au/maxima if anyone is interested.
I have to say though, I am thus far very impressed with my Maxima. Very comfortable all round, and a lovely car to drive.
I am in Perth Western Australia, and I don't see many of these cars around at all... I've seen perhaps 3 others in the last week? Am I blind or are there just not many around down here?
Nah, all the A31, A32 (your model), and the A33 Maxima/Cefiros are front wheel drives cars with normal aspirated engines. However, the A30 Cefiros (not sold in Australia) has a RB20DET (i.e. 2Lt turbo) engine that drives through the rear wheels.
There are a few of these A30 Cefiros in Perth now... but still not as common as the S13 and Soarer imports..
P.S. Have you seen a gunmetal/black A32 Nissan maxima with 18" chrome wheel cruising around town
Also annoying that since most of them are diesel here, when they take off at lights, they dump a cloud of black diesel fumes in front of you to inhale 
. We've got a hybrid between the US Infiniti I30 and the US Maxima. On the outside it looks pretty much identical to the I30 except for different bumper design. On the inside though it looks the same as a US Maxima.
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