<A HREF="http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/020730/200207301610000828_1.html">This is an interesting article about the new Honda Accord's engine which is rated at 240hp- it is a direct response to the Altima's 240hp 3.5 engine, which we all know is an engine shared by our beloved 350Z....</A> I mention this article here, and not in the off topic section, because this article could imply that this new "horsepower war" in the mid-sized sedan segment could indirectly drive the horsepower rating of future versions of the 350Z:

<B><I>"Nissan is ready to take on Honda in power and sales. "I don't want to get into a horsepower war with anybody but I will say there's an upside potential on the V-6 Altima," says Wayne Adair, Nissan's director of marketing for North America, noting that the same Altima engine is used in the Maxim and the Z Car to put out nearly 290 in horsepower. When Nissan launched the redesigned Altima last year, it said it planned to sell 190,000 vehicles a year. Today, Adair says the car is selling at a pace of about 200,000 vehicles a year, up from the 146,000 Altimas the company sold in 2001. Nissan believes it could sell as many as 250,000 Altimas a year by 2005."</B></I>


It is a given that the 350Z should have a significant horsepower advantage over the Altima and every other Nissan product (let's forget about the GTR for the moment here, as definite plans have not yet been announced...) Thus, If the dramatic performance-based competition continues in the mid-sized segment (as "threatened" in the above quote from the article...), I think Nissan will be forced to <B>enhance 350Z power/performance</B> at a similiar rate...Thus in a few years, due to increased competition with the Accord & Camry, we could see a 260 or 280HP Altima, along with a 320+ hp Z... I find this particularly interesting as the last 2 generations of Z-Cars (Z31 and Z32) did not see any significant power increases throughout the lifecycle of the car...

Ethan

 

I think this HP war will only go so far. Nissan absolutely got this thing started though. Pushing the Altima to 240HP and Maxima to 255HP (class-leading bigtime) that put alot of pressure on the other manufacturers. Personally I think very soon BMW will have trouble helping people justify a 330i with 225HP for $40K considering the Altima, Maxima and G35 all have MUCH more power. Same with Audi and MB. That will force everyone else to increase their HP so they won't look inferior. BUT.. I think that can only go so far. The 350Z gets pretty bad MPG to achieve its 287 HP. For a sports car thats ok, but for midsize cars that can be a deal breaker. Unless these companies find ways to get much better MPG out of larger V6 engines, I don't think the HP war can go for too long. Of course since Honda wants to play by bringing the Accord to 240 HP, its very likely in the next few years the Altima will be 255 HP, Maxima 260 HP, G35 Sedan 275 HP and the 350Z 300+ HP without FI. All of this is defintely good for the consumer!

I see your point though that if Nissan is forced to increase the HP on the midsize cars they defintely have to increase the HP on the 350Z as well or it loses its perception of extreame performance.

 

I agree the new Accord is ugly but regardless it will sell simply because so many people are loyal to Honda. Just the fact that Nissan no longer has the HP edge with the Altima will probably push Nissan to increase the HP across the board. The good news is we all know the VQ has so much potential that Nissan can easily accomplish any gains necessary while other companies may have to design a completely new engine to keep up.

 

Nissan has already bumped up the hp on the Altima for next year's model to continue staying above the competition. 2003's are going to be rated at 245-250hp.

 

I was a big BMW fan but I think it's crappy the way they charge you for an engine upgrade. Look at the domestics they may ding you $600 for a larger engine, with a BMW you need to step up by getting more features with the larger engine costing more like $6K to go from 189 hp to 225 hp.

I mean I love the 5 series, but the cheapest one is like $39K 525i with 189 hp, the G35 sedan may not be as refined, but it is as big and has 71 more hp for $7K less.

 

I personally dont think hondas 3.0 can phase the altimas 3.5 just because of the fact it has loads more toque. this issue was sighted in an article at edmunds.com as well. they did a review on it, and i have to say i feel bad for the poor honda. http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadt...3/article.html
heres the link. i have had two 3.5SE altimas and never have i driven a honda which came close. i currently have a 2002 maxima

 

OK, i dont love the new accord or anything, but how can you say its butt ugly if it looks almost identical to the Altima up front, and the rear of the coupe looks like a benz?? Id give it a 7.5 of 10

 

Slexis-

"...buttugly! Literally!" -VQracer

Wild guess here, but I am guessing that VQ is making a directed comment about the "butt" of the Accord in the picture below his comment. Don't see a resemblance to any benz in that picture, not sure about the coupe.

As for the front, I believe the key word is "wannabe."

Just a guess though

JD

 

The front end on this car just looks cheap and kind of weird. Not sure what there were going after there. It will be facelifted in a couple of years. The coupe has nice lines, but it just seems to be missing something. It's very plain, like most of the rest of Honda's lineup. I mean, is the new Pilot like the most BORING SUV out there??!

 

Depends on what you put in the class. Pontiac has had 240+ HP in the Grand Prix for a few years now, and it is a mid-sized sedan. You can even go back a few years to the SHO for similar HP numbers.

If you want to limit it to imports, sure. Mid-sized sedans, though, and you're argument leaves stuff out. "Bigtime?". Nope.

 

The front end is not very attractive and the rear end looks like the Acura CL, except smaller. The interior is pretty nice and a lot of Honda buyers don't care much about the exterior, but the interior sells them on the car. It will be an interesting market segment in the future to watch. Guess right and you may make some money on the stock of one or more of these companies.

The Altima is going to stress performance, the Honda will stress comfort and reliability, but also tout their performance upgrades and the Camry will stay the same; an appliance approach to motoring, dull as dishwater. Non-enthusiast car people are going to continue to be comfortable with this approach. What will be most interesting is will the SUV market start a downward trend as this progresses? Probably not, but some drivers are not continuing to buy SUVs when they trade or sell them, according to some reports. I say maybe.

Boomer--don't need no stinkin' mid size car or SUV. The Z is it!
BR/FR/AT