Malikor

Hi all,

I've been a Nissan guy for the past 10 years and I love my Maxima to death. The idea was initially to get a new Max or Altima but apparently neither is available with a manual 6 speed. So I did some looking and found my way to the G37 sedan. After looking at the available options and trim levels, I decided that I really like the 6 speed and the all wheel drive. Talked to a rep at the Scottsdale dealership and he told me that combination was not possible even from the factory. Now, I've got a couple of questions for you guys.

Does anyone know why the AWD system isn't engaged fulltime? It makes alot of sense to have it engaged full time. Having it engaged fulltime removes a layer of AWD system complexity and yeah I know it does put some additional wear and tear on the forward differential and front tires. To me, for the additional driver control its a worthwhile trade.

Is the AWD 6 speed manual such a hard thing to do? How to get the factory to see that its not that hard to do? Do we as paying consumers have to settle for what "they" give us or do they supply us with what we want since we're buying?

Arvig

Malikor: To answer the first question, it isn't engaged all the time, but the intent is to have it be RWD for more "sporty" handling, be it sedan or coupe and then engage when needed. The car does have a switch to hit "snow mode" too, that does engage AWD all the time until the car is moving at...I want to say 18 mph but could be slower or faster, then reverts to RWD unless the sensors think it's needed. So, when it's snowy or rainy, or if you just want to leave it on you could, for at least starting off until you're up to speed it will be on all the time. (Assuming leaving it on all the time is safe, I'd assume so but I never looked that up in the manual, I do turn it off if there's no snow, turn it on when there is).

Having said that, I live in an area that usually has a lot of snow, this year has been an exception, but even so we've had our days too. First day I got my G37x Coupe I had to drive home about 30 miles in the snow. It handles very well IMO, regardless of if the car is all the time AWD or just engaged when it's needed.

2) No idea on why there's no 6MT AWD, I'm not a mechanic nor have enough knowledge to answer. I did have a MT car in the 90's that was full time AWD, the cheaper models were FWD though but I'd assume that's not the issue.

digitaldistorte

It's really a simple case of marketing. The coupe appeals to people interested in performance and the intricacy of rowing their own gears, so the 6MT is a pretty common configuration in the coupe. There's a pretty big market for that (see: This site )

Now, the sedan appeals to a different set (in general!). They're older, have families (kids...), and are usually more interested in a comfortable vehicles that are easy to drive and look nice to them.

Now, the AWD model is appealing to the people that are the above, but also live in areas where it's common to have inclement weather, as they have to trade off weight / MPGs for such.

Now, define the set of people that want a Sedan with a 6MT and AWD...it gets smaller and smaller. As a vehicles target market gets smaller, car manufacturers are less inclinded to devote R&D time to making sure the configurations jive well.

Keep in mind these are market generalities, which is what car manufacturers look at - they know there's a few people out there interested in such

Canadian144

Welcome to the forums! I would contribute something but the two posts above mine pretty much covered what I was going to say!

Malikor

Well, I can understand the above points. The reason I originally posed my questions is my job can take me to anywhere in the country for however long. My need is for a sedan sized vehicle that can transport the basic necessities (clothes, PC, etc.) to hold me for a few months. As an engineer, I can see no real manufacturing or assembly line difficulty in making the AWD 6 speed from the factory. Volkswagen, BMW, and Porsche (just to name a few) cater to their customers desires in manners like this and those are all factory orders. Anybody have any idea how to contact the factory directly? Where is the production factory located? I have a willingness to jump through hoops as long as I meet my end result goal.

Canadian144

I highly doubt that they will make a one-off car for you. I don't know of a single car that Nissan makes that has a 6MT and the ATTESA, other than the R32-R34 GTR's. No G has ever had 6MT/ATTESA and the R35 GTR as you know is ATTESA but does not have a 6MT.

If you really want 6MT/AWD, I'd look at another manufacturer... BMW 335xi, Audi S4, TL SH-AWD, Subaru STI or Legacy Spec B.

digitaldistorte

Car companies don't custom build to order for a one-off car. I happen to work for one of the few fully configurable build-to-order manufacturer (pick a motor, pick a tranny, pick a drivetrain, and if it fits, we'll put them together just special for you!) of mass-use vehicles, and unless you want something with 18 wheels, it ain't gonna happen. Small vehicle manufacturers have a set of components with pre-determined compatibility that have a few interdependancies.

And you're an engineer that doesn't see the difficulty in that you'd now have one more configuration to design for, build, then and test for reliability?! You think the Auto and manual tranmissions are the same dimensions & weight & distribute power in the same way to the drive lines?! This, in addition to having a very small market for people that would actually pay for that?!

Audi doesn't offer a sedan with a manual tranny bigger then the 4-series. The only exception might be the S6 (Edit Thats a negative)...i checked, you can get a 535xi with manual from BMW, but you can only get it with the 35 drive train (twin-turbo I-6). The G Sedan is really in the A6 / 5-series size line in the German car manufacturers. I believe you could look at the Acura TL line - i think they might have an AWD/6MT model. I don't know poop about the Lexus lineup...

Arvig

Other people have commented, but to add to their comments, here's some other things to consider. Volkswagon, Porsche and BMW, to name the three automakers you mentioned had the time to test their AWD manual transmission cars before offering them. Your custom order of a G37 AWD 6MT (guess that would be a G37x 6MT?) wouldn't have that, you're basically asking them to make a prototype car. How do they warrenty it, when they wouldn't be fully sure that the combo of a AWD and 6MT is as reliable as the other standard models drivetrains until the car is tested. I'd assume you're not willing to wait the time they would want to take to test such a car, if they actually did take the order. So, you either end up with an untested prototype or a car perhaps months later (or more?) then your initial order simply due to this. There's also the issue of expense, the expense to hire someone to engineer the design, if you do allow them to test it to make sure it meets their quality standards, and of course the expense to halt the factory from standard production to make your one up custom car if that expense is great enough to mention. It is a factory set up for mass production being used to make just one car as a custom order, even if only for a short amount of time.

I could continue, but I'm sure you see that between my post and others that a factory and corporation designed around mass production isn't going to custom make one car for you. Literally the only custom cars like that I can think of that are made by large automakers are limoseens for world leaders, like President Obama's Car (I think his car was made by Cadillac, and not customised by a second party), or the Emperor of Japan's Toyota Century Royal Limo. Even a "custom" like the Shelby Mustangs was still a mass produced car, even if in limited production, and they still made/make prototypes to test before a final product.