The Nissan Maxima is the longest-lived, continuously produced product line in Nissan's portfolio. But while it's always been a relatively large sedan (and sometimes a wagon), the Nissan Maxima's personality has changed several times over the decades.
The Nissan Maxima built upon the success of the Datsun 810 sedan Nissan introduced as a 1977 model. The largest car Nissan had sold in America up to that time, the rear-drive 810 wasn't pretty but rode well, drove well and had the 2.4-liter inline-6 from the 240Z under its hood. When the cleaner styled, square-cut and more refined second-generation 810 appeared for 1981 (sill powered by that Z-car six), the top of the range was identified as the Maxima. By 1982 the 810 and Datsun names were gone and all of Nissan's biggest sedans and wagons were Nissan Maximas.
The third-generation 1985 Nissan Maxima was still squarely drawn, but featured front-drive and a 3.0-liter V6 for the first time. But it was that car's successor, the fourth-generation 1989 Nissan Maxima that would define the car's direction for the next couple of decades.
That 1989 Nissan Maxima was beautifully designed and brilliantly marketed as the "4 Door Sports Car" or "4DSC" as a sticker on every example's side glass stated (there was no wagon). Carrying over much of the third generation's mechanical package, the fourth Maxima was nonetheless a better-handling car and a much more satisfying one to drive. It sold like mad. And suddenly the Nissan Maxima was an entrenched presence in the market.
While the 1989 Nissan Maxima set the tone for the Maxima, it was the 1995 Maxima with its brilliant VQ30DE 3.0-liter V6 that set the pace. With 190 horsepower, it turned the front-drive Maxima into a rocket. More precisely it turned the Nissan Maxima into a moderately priced sedan that could run with — and sometimes away from — more expensive German cars. A modestly updated fifth-generation Maxima appeared for the year 2000. And in 2002, the Nissan Maxima got a new 255-hp, 3.5-liter version of the VQ-Series V6.
The Nissan Maxima still holds the top rung on the company's sedan ladder in America.
