So when looking at the 09 G37 cars, I'm trying to figure out which Nissan platform it's based on. Not sure why I care but I'd hate to pay big bucks and get a dressed up Altima, I'd rather get a dressed up Maxima.

So what's the deal, what Nissian body platform is the G37 sedan based on?

 

Nissan Skyline 370GT

 

Thanks, I just learned that it's called the FM platform. I'm glad won't be driving a rebadged Altima

 

Nissan cannot use the same platform for a dedicated front or rear wheel drive vehicle. There are some AWD models that are based on RWD platforms as a starting point however (G35 X)

 

The G rides on Nissan's FM (Front-Midship) platform which is the same platform that underpins all of Nissan's/Infiniti's RWD passenger cars and crossover SUVs. It underpins every vehicle in the Infiniti line (G, M, EX, FX) sans the QX (which rides on Nissan's F-Alpha truck platform) as well as the Nissan 370Z.

The Altima and the Maxima both ride on Nissan's midsize D platform which is the same FWD platform the Murano, Teana and the Renault Laguna ride on.

In short, they are not the same.

 

This isnt GM or Chrysler badge engineering...The Altima and Maxima are more alike than the Altima and G37 are. They are totally different cars on totally different platforms. Now the 370Z and the G37 coupe, you can say they are similar, but the G37 will offer more luxury refinement.

 

Thanks guys and good to hear. i just wanted to make sure I wasn't getting an Altima... (like getting a Camry when buying an ES350).

 

Honestly, I don't get it.
if you like the car, and like the performance
who cares if it's built on the same platform as another cheaper car?

seriously.

a platform is not all that a vehicle is.

 

it kind of is...
like a beetle and the Audi TT rides (last gen) rides on the same platform.. lol

 

I would like to see Nissan produce a RWD sedan under the Nissan name using the FM platform. I love the new styling on the 370Z. They just need to stretch out the 370Z and call it a 2010 Maxima. Discontinue the lame attempt at marketing the FWD Maxima as true sports sedan. Keep pricing around $30K. I guess the question is:

Would Nissan sell more Maximas if it was offered as RWD or AWD?.

Isn’t the Nissan Armada a dressed down Infiniti QX56?

 

The maxima will never be RWD. I think the closest it may get is an AWD model in the future, which even then would be a FWD-biased AWD probably. If they made the Maxima RWD, it would take away from Infiniti G sales.

 

A RWD Maxima will almost certainly never happen. Such a car would almost certainly cannibalize G sales. In all honesty the Maxima is a car that technically shouldn't exist. The 7th gen car would be better suited as a 2009 Infiniti I35. However, Nissan wants Infiniti to be taken seriously as a true BMW fighter and as such, even one FWD car in the Infiniti line would be seen by buyers as a cop out to compete with the Lexus ES350. So rather than give Infiniti the larger FWD JDM Nissan Teana to slot between the G and the M, they chose to downsize the car a bit and give it to Nissan as a flagship sedan to sit above the Altima but below the Infiniti G.

Regarding the Armada, it's not so much a decontented QX as the QX is a tarted up Armada.

 

FM Platform = Z Car platform. Rear wheel drive.

 

Lemme give you young pups a history lesson. The first Nissan Maxima actually was RWD and, in some ways, was kinda like an early 80s G35. It was not only RWD, it had the 240Z's inline 6, just as our G35 now shares the same VQ motor with the 350Z.