mixshows

it all started when i was about 10-12, someone had just bought a 88-90 maxima, and when the person sat down the seat belt would automatically slide up securing the person to the seat, i thought tthis was the coolest thing in the world (dont scoff, at the time it was a big deal). the car looked awesome as well!

the designs look better n better with each maxima that came out, and ive been wanting the 6th gen since the first day i saw it,everytime me or my girl would see it on the road we'd point and say "nice car! lol

enough of my cheesy story, what made you buy a maxima?

Outlawd

iTrader: (2)

I wanted to get away from Hondas/Acuras and move into something that was more sporty/luxury yet still affordable. Well, the Maxima was it!

04BlackMaxx

I wanted to roll in luxury but had to keep it in the $30,000 range...was looking at used E classes, then saw this new maxima that just came out and it blew me away, a new car that looks this nice, has *****, and is this loaded, sold!

jman7777

Dad bought one when i was 10, it was a brand new 1995 SE, and i've loved maximas ever since.

!PrjctMax!

iTrader: (38)

Fried got a 95' GXE and then a 97' SE and I liked the power of them...and assuming that the 04' would have more power.....I liked it!

Originally I had my eye set on a 02-03 3.5 SE Altima, but dad did not want want to look at a "little car"

4MySwee

iTrader: (2)

Was in the Market for the 3.5 Altima.(Along with a few features of course). I saw the Max, thought the price was way more than the Altima until I read sticker......I knew for about the same price.....$1500.00 more, I could have Macy! Mind you, this car had way more than I even knew was available on this car (Bose, Xenons, heated steering wheel and power folding mirrors). I couldn't believe the deal for a car with all that and the infamous VQ35......I jumped in with both feet and haven't regretted yet, nor do I think I ever will!

SilverMax_04

This is easy:

- The size of this 4-door sedan (almost a full-sized car).
- The modern, powerful VQ engine (V-6 with modern engine technology).
- The 6-speed manual trannie.
- The price versus comparable sedans.
- The awsome styling.
- The reliability of Nissan vehicles versus domestic.

I only hope that Nissan revisits their decision to no longer offer a 6-speed in the Max. (I would much rather buy another Max than buy an Altima -- or a somewhat smaller and more expensive Infiniti.)

SmokeNismo

same thing happened to me. I was looking for a good v6 highway cruiser for my daily 60 mile commute and the altima seemed to be a good choice. At the time i was comparing camry, accord, and altima. accord was too small, camry v6 was weak and its a very boring car. my mom has a 2002 4cyl camry and its so damn boring. So when it came time to look for deals for the altima i was looking at some newspapers and there was only about $2k difference between the Altima SE and Maxima SE, so I was like forget the altima, I can have a luxury car for about the same price and performance.

RHMax

Looked at a lot of cars in the $30k range, nothing beats the Max. Same as when I bought my 2000 SE, The closest choice was I30t. I like the max's look better. However, if there was an equivilent A34-based Infiniti, it might be different. I didn't like the looks and size of the G35 sedan as much.

(_(V)_)ystik

My brother had a 96 altima back in the day, which I really liked a lot. Come 02, I picked up 2002 Altima SE, which I really loved. Put 90k miles on it until I totalled it, and I had zero problems with it. I was initially going to wait until the 07 Altima hit the streets, but after test driving a few Max's, I really liked them a lot.

I always thought the Max was just an altima in disguise. The two really are quite different though.

lightonthehill

A long-time friend who worked in my office had a new 1981 Datsun Maxima, and, having two growing teen-age children, I was impressed with how much more room it had in the back seat than my 1978 Datsun 200SX.

At the time I got my 200SX, I had seriously considered getting a Datsun 810 (which became the Maxima in '81), but the 810 was around $7,000 (a lot of money at that time), while the 200SX was $4,500.

That same friend traded his '81 Maxima in on a '83 Datsun Maxima diesel, and drove that car for over a decade. He said it was the best car he had ever driven.

Datsuns took the name of their parent company (Nissan) during the '83 model year, with most vehicles having both 'Datsun' and Nissan' on them. By '84, everything was Nissan, and Datsun was relegated to history.

I had been looking at the Maxima very hard for four years, and when the larger 2nd generation '85 came out in fall of '84 with front wheel drive and the 'Z's big 3 liter engine, I bought two exactly alike with all options; one for my wife and one for me.

And never looked back.

2theMaX05

iTrader: (1)

I liked the big bodystyle and room

eribs4e

Had my second child on the way and was in the market for a new vehicle. Unlike many of my buddies I wasn't quite ready to bite the minivan bullet so I was looking for a nice car that could easily accomodate 2 car seats but still had all the styling and options I wanted.

Being as I favour the imports to domestics (first car was a 1999.5 VW Jetta that is still rolling strong) I started looking at the new Honda accord and was close to buying it but it still looked to much like "my moms car". Then I visited the Nissan dealership and saw my Maxima just sitting there in the showroom....perfect color, all the right options and after some pretty easy negotiating got the price right where I wanted it. The rest is history. I've got a nice car with all the safety features for my family and it looks and performs nothing like a "family sedan".

eK9aT10pSi

iTrader: (1)

for me, it was the original commericals that came out a while back about the turbo'd [sound fx in the commercials] max was driivng around. i am a boost junkie. i wanted an overall fast car. going from a turbo'd civic with all the upgrades to something that was already fast and fully loaded. i miss the power of boost but the n/a power of this car is very pleasing! maybe in another year or maybe when i finish college, the car will be paid off and maybe thorw on a supercharger. i was in love with the body stying and design.

1stmax&lovinit

hi guys i'm new to the forum and i'm william . now answering this thread i used to have a 2004 toyota matrix stick wich is a nice lil car and on june 2004 i saw the most biutiful car on the road passing (flying)next to me and i told my g/f whoa that car will burn me in a sec lo (2005 maxima), after i got over the fact of having a four banger i purchased a 2005 toyota highlander limited wich i loved and for i while i forgot about the maxima .but then after a year and a half i felt old and at 24 years old i felt like my truck wasn't what i really wanted so on may i walked in the nissan dealership and got the best car i've ever drove in my life ,(2006 nissan maxima se) no wonder there's a forum for such a great car . that said it's great to be here and hopefully i'll get gutsy enough to convert my headlight into hid .... thanx for the great info guys

iwanaMAx

I wanted to look like a baller

SmokinMaxSE

iTrader: (1)

Very simple........... One word........ "MAXIMA" !

Nissan 6

who might that be



Anyway I bought the maximas because I'm polish and its a great all around car for the price.

RHMax

I thought ballers roll in Escalades on 26's! Learn something new everyday.

4MySwee

iTrader: (2)

Some in 4th gens on 22's

BrainDfect

when i got to the lot, my baby was just sitting there, looking at me. i had a quick look under the hood and of the interior, but when i turned her on and took her out for a test drive, i was SOLD!!!

RHMax

Now you're just being facetious.

MaxFan

I was driving a brand new Montero Sport when it hit the market in '97. A few weeks later the SES came up. Nine dealer visits and 7 months later, it was still there. They gave me back a check (-$400) and refused to sell me another Mitsu. Holding the check and no car, I got to have a car that day. There was troubled Nissan with huge rebates. That was the 1st time I got to know Nissan and the Maxima. $8000-off any cars in stock, who can refuse ? Two years later, I'm in the market for a car for my wife (1999). Nissan was at the bottom at the time. There was $8500 off any Pathfinder in the lot. I bought one then came back with a few friends. My buddy got a '99Max SE Special Edition and a Pathfinder. Another friend got a Pathfinder. My sister got a Max GXE. Rolled back to today, all of them have moved back to Honda. Mostly due to the SES lights which I told them to throw in a bottle of fuel injector cleaner, but they all throw their money to the dealers. My Pathfinder just needs one of those bottles every couple of years, to clear the SES light. Rock solid (can't say the same thing about my '04Max with all the stupid issue).
It wasn't Carlos who saved Nissan, I did !!!

tubells

Datsun Maxima???? I have seen Datsuns and Sunnys (sentra's granddad - non-US) but a "Datsun Maxima" ....never....was the "maxima" name there in pre-nissan days? ..

did a quick check on the web and there was a "datsun maxima" .... but i did not live in North america then and never saw these...
where i grew up ... only skylines and gt's and offcourse the old datsun pickups etc....

RHMax

Does Datsun Bluebird ring a bell? That was the first US Maxima.

lightonthehill

Looks like this may have been a territorial thing (by country, or section of country?) I never saw the 'Bluebird' or 'Sunni' or 'Skyline' names down here where I live.

At various times, and in various forms, I saw Datsun 'GT', '2000', '200SX', '240SX', '240Z', '260Z, '300Z, '300ZX', '210', '310', '510', '610' and '810'. Down here, the 810 was replaced by the Maxima in '81 (although the local Datsun dealer referred to it as the '810 Maxima'), and the name 'Nissan' did not begin appearing on the back of Datsuns until '83. The changeover to Nissan was complete with the '84 models.

My hair still had a little brown in it at that time . . . and I will readily admit I have forgotten much of what transpired way back then. When one gets my age and tries to think back, it is easy to confuse the 'Pierce Arrow' and 'Terra Plane' of the 1930s, or the 'Tucker, 'Kaiser and 'Henry J' of the 1940s, or even the 'Hudson' and the 'DeSota' of the 1950s.

Time marches on, and I seem to have trouble keeping stride.

4MySwee

iTrader: (2)

Come now Light, the sheer fact you know what those cars are, intriques me! I won't call you out on the carpet and quiz you on the difference between the Pierce vs Terra!

Again, I always enjoy reading your posts, today was no exception!

Machinist

Well at 63 I believe I may be younger than you so my memory might be better than yours, Kaiser produced cars into the 50's, DeSotO went into the 60's,
Ahhhh The Hudsons of the 50's styling way ahead of the times, and "Twin H power" straight 6 w/2 carbs great car

mixshows

ure 63 and thats ur max in the pic? rock on man, never too old to have style

kinda reminds me of one of my bosses, 54 years old, mercedez benz S55 AMG with black 19" lowenhearts lookin gorgeous, hes thinkin about puttin tvs in it but his fam made him change his mind lol!

SilverMax_04

You are correct on the Hudsons being way ahead of their time. Before the "step-down" Hudson design, all cars were built sitting on top of a frame. Hudson put the car down inside of the frame -- all cars are now made like the Hudsons of the late 40s to early 50s -- but it took the industry a number of years to figure out that the Hudson way was better than the old way.

I'm older than you, but younger than light. I don't remember any new DeSoto's after the late 50s or so. For those who did not live back then, DeSoto was the car that sponsored "You Bet Your Life" with Groucho Marx. They were the Chrysler car brand that was fancier than a Dodge, but not as fancy as the Chrysler.

I suspect you are also right about Kaiser building cars into the 50s, but most of them were made before about 1952 or so. They just faded away (like General McArthur).

Machinist

SilverMax 04 [Say the secret word and win $50]
'53 Kaiser many safety features no other cars had at that time
http://images.ask.com/fr?q=1953+Kais...age%253D1&qt=0
1) Pop out windshield
2) Padded dash
3) Safety recessed steering wheel
[Forced the other auto makers to follow]

Only 3034 '61 DeSoto's were built, those were the last DeSotos produced http://www.talkaboutautos.com/group/...ges/99906.html

SilverMax_04

Groucho would say: "Say the secret word and the duck (or the bird) will come down and pay you $50" (which was like $250 today).

I'm only going from memory -- not as good as quoting an expert.

Another way to look at this time -- the 1960s did not really start until the Beatles hit it big here -- before the Beatles, it was still 1950 style Rock and Roll, even though the dates were 1961 or so.

Machinist

Yes it was a duck [eyebrows up & down afew times] & I think the duck had the $50 dollar bill in his bill
I was going from memory also, because i knew a close friend had a '60 Desoto, only went to the web to confirm the exact year, & to back up my statement
More 50's auto triva... one the most beautiful cars of the 50's .. '53 Studebaker 2door coupe http://www.thetechzone.com/photo/com....php?photo=658

SilverMax_04

I had an uncle who owned a 53 Studebaker -- it was certainly a fine car for its time. With styling ahead of its time. After looking at the picture on your thread, I believe that his was a 50 or 51 coupe.

His coupe had storage bins under the arm rests on either side of the back seat.

lightonthehill

Wow! A '53 Studie! Double wow!

My first car was a '49 Studebaker. It was a shiny black (most cars up until around 1950 were black) four door sedan with lots of chrome.

The '53 pictured reminds me of my '49. The '49 had that same 'low-slung' look, and had that same roof line that sank from the 'A' pillar to the rear window. The major difference was the front doors on the 4 door were not as wide so as to leave room for the rear doors.

I can remember loading up my teen-age friends in the Studie and heading off on the Blue Ridge Parkway on Sunday afternoons. Driving was quite different back then. The car was three speed manual, and there was no such thing as power steering or power brakes or air conditioning. Tires were tubed, and were tall and narrow (84 profile comes to mind), so didos or extreme maneuvers were risky.

But the car set us free! We would go to an overlook with a beautiful view and sit on a rock wall and chat for hours. Oh, the memories . . .

hrlm4life

The car looks good, rides good and if you take care of it, it lasts.. Need I say more.

mixshows

im all for the nostalgia, but
thanks for killin the thread.

silver slug

when i was little i always liked maximas but didn't really think anything of them when i became of age. skip ahead 3-4 years to 1998 and my friend pulls up to my job (chuck e cheese, don't be jealous) with a jet black 95 maxima with 17" koenigs (back when 17s were still kind of a big deal) that were black with the red edges (faux lip). The car was as low as b@lls, had the carbon fiber dash kit, had HKS exhaust, and of course a stillen intake, blue headlights, and red corner bulbs, and the orange indicators had been blacked out with black nylon stockings. I didn't even know what kind of car it was when he pulled up, when i told me it was a maxima i almost **** my pants. ever since then i've been alternating between maximas and volvos.

oh yeah, and he had the white gauges, which i thought was the coolest thing ever at the time.

xoomer.com

iTrader: (19)

Options, Price, and Size/Style. Did I mention Price?

ColombianMax

iTrader: (7)

The exact story applies to me even the same age lol...except even though I was in a 3rd gen first when I worked in a custom shop (sound, alarms, tints..ect) a very nice fully loaded one came in but I still wanted a 95+.

The funny thing is my girl and I used to point and say nice car also and still do it for almost every maxima out there..it is pretty goofy but hey why not