Nissan Altima - Sports Car?

[RoadRash]

I can't believe what I saw on Motorweek this am. They said the new 2002 Altima does 0-60 in 5.9 and 1/4 mile in 14.4 @100mph. They said this is with a new V-6 and manual tranny. The scary thing is they also tested the Mustang Cobra which did 0-60 in 5.4. What is this world coming to? Does this mean the Neon and Civic will cease to be the wanna be sport car? Will we now have to put up with Altima's w/ ridiculous triple wing spoilers, bazooka tubes, and bad paint jobs?:scream:

 

[ktmboy]

Wave of the future baby- they're downsizing our cars, and taking away our 2-strokes!:think

 

[KXaggerator]

They had better improve the handling of that car or people are gone get hurt. I have rented a 2001 Maxima while working in Vegas in the past and I liked the car. It had the 240 hp motor and felt some what solid, passed well, but was a little slow off the line. The last time I rented a car in Vegas it was an 2001 Altima and I casually went to get onto the Paradise Rd. on-ramp and the car suddenly started to slide towards the wall, but I recovered before I hit. I was taking the turn at only about 10 mph over the posted speed limit. :scream: The car felt solid even as it let go, there was no warning. Like I said this car sucks in my opinion. I have a '93 Toyota MR2 that I love to zip around in and I know for sure that I can take that same turn at nearly twice the speed of what I was doing in that Altima, yet I would not have slid out. I think the idea of putting a strong engine in a car that handles like a turd is a mistake.
In my MR2 one night I passed a guy in a street prepped Civic to get onto the highway when the guy snapped and pulled right behind me and followed me into the tight 360 degree on-ramp turn posted at 25 mph. I stepped on it and at about 50 mph the Honda spun out as he was trying to follow me through the turn. Luckily it was late and the road was empty, so he just spun out. I slowed down and saw that he was ok, so I just went down the highway at 70 when he passed me doing over 100, I guess his ego was hurt, poor thing. I don't care how fast or loud a car is, if it don't handle the twisties I am not interested. There are too many stupid people in stupid cars out there, we don't need any more.

 

[Hucker]

Maxima, Altima 2 different cars. This year the Maxima SE gets a 255HP, mated to your choice of a 4 speed auto or a 5 speed manual. Perfect car if you ask me. What else can you haul you, your wife your 3 kids and still smoke all the little rice-rockets that rev on you at the lights?

The Altima is a bit smaller, but still gets a beefy 240HP engine. When is GM/Ford going to catch up with these cars? not for a while I'm afraid...

Gets great gas milage, comfortable, looks pretty mean. I think Nissan is definetly taking a step in the right direction. Now if they would onyl bring over the R34 Skyline, that would be peachy :)

 

[KXaggerator]

I like the Maxima, it is a solid car, but unless they make the Altima handle much, much better they should not put such a powerful engine in that car. If a car with that much power can not do at least .85g on the skid pad or better it is unsafe by my standards. There is a company in the San Diego area that imports the R32, R33, R34, and someday the new R35. In defense of American cars the 2002 Corvette Z06 has 405 hp, does 1.01g on a skid pad, 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds and costs less the $50,000. Otherwise I am under impressed with American cars in general.

 

[KelvinKDX]

Nissan is going to start selling the Skyline in the US - but alas not the GT-R (R35).:(

The Skyline GT-R has been my dream car for quite a while.:cool:

As for the new Altima - haven't driven one - don't plan to.

 

[Hucker]

Originally posted by KXaggerator
I like the Maxima, it is a solid car, but unless they make the Altima handle much, much better they should not put such a powerful engine in that car. If a car with that much power can not do at least .85g on the skid pad or better it is unsafe by my standards. There is a company in the San Diego area that imports the R32, R33, R34, and someday the new R35. In defense of American cars the 2002 Corvette Z06 has 405 hp, does 1.01g on a skid pad, 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds and costs less the $50,000. Otherwise I am under impressed with American cars in general.

Yeah, Motorex imports them. Also if your a Lancer EVO fan, there is a company with a banner at www.lancerforums.com that is importing the EVO VI and VII.

On a side note, I can't believe Nissan is going to disgrace the Skyline name on that POS they are badging it as. Unreal....

 

[JuliusPleaser]

Front-wheel drive reeks!

FWD cars have NO soul. Even the really fast ones feel goofy off the line. If it's not rear-wheel or four wheel drive, it's not a sports car.