Actually, hands free/bluetooth is safer than talking to a passenger because when you have a passenger sometimes you tend to look over at them especially when you're talking to them.

 

You're kidding right?

Just because I'm not a big cell phone talker that I should drop to a lower model, not get the XM, the Nav, music box, etc, etc, that comes with the SV and Sport and Tech packages???

I've just been to way too many accidents as a volunteer where cellphones have been directly a contributing factor.

They can make the cars smarter and safer, they just can't make the people driving them any smarter...

 

its been discussed before but thats the only way i'll go back to a fwd. love the looks of it though.

 

No, I wasn't kidding!! I'm not trying to tell you what to do.

To me it makes no sense to pay thousands of $$$ extra for features that you don't use and though I agree with about CELLPHONES I wholeheartedly disagree with the Hands-free Bluetooth usage as a cellphone in our cars.

The difference in cellphones and bluetooth hands-free is clear, ppl who are holding a phone are clearly distracted as they are either dialing numbers, texting or trying to ensure a comfortable position to hold their phone to their ear while driving, we don't have that problem therefore our concentration is kept on the road.

I know that there's no way to seperate that hands-free feature from the package but to me there's just no sense in having it if you're not going to use it that often, it's a kind of waste of money (your own nevertheless) but hey, to each his own.

 

I MUST disagree here. There are DOZENS of WONDERFUL features in my Premium plus Tech that are not on the 'S', and that I ABSOLUTELY would never have bought this (or any other) car without. But Bluetooth? Totally insignificant to me. That is just something used by those folks who still have never read those studies that show clearly there is no statistical difference in accident rates for drivers using handheld as compared with handsfree cell phones. These studies have always shown that it is not the action of holding the phone that distracts drivers, but the fact they are thinking about the conversation they are having instead of the dangers all around them.

Those who say talking on a cell is no more distracting than talking to a passenger are not correct. There are two fallacies with that. First, studies have shown that being too engrossed in conversation with a passenger is actually a cause of accidents. The woman driving a Suburban who crashed the red light at GA 92 and GA 85 back in January of 1999 and turned the truck I was driving upside down said she was busy talking with her passenger. Second, when talking to a passenger, most drivers tend to pause the conversation with the passenger any time the driving situation requires full attention, and the passenger actually gives two more eyes to help alert the driver to any situation requiring action. The other party in the cell conversation can't do that.

I have NEVER ONCE made a cell phone call while the car I am driving was moving, and hope I never have to. I am very aware that ANY attention I give to anything but my driving is attention NOT being given where it should be. The roads are filled with inattentive and discourteous drivers, and I can never assume any driver will do as he should. It is up to me to be aware of everything (including every driver) around me, and try to anticipate any danger before it happens. That cannot be done at one's highest level when carrying on a converstation on a cell phone, no matter where ones hands may be.

Many here will obviously disagree with me. I will try to send flowers to their services after they are proven wrong.

 

Light, I think you are on the short side of this argument. The bluetooth capability on the Max is, IMHO, one of the best feature. You can drive reasonably safe with hands free bluetooth. Not so with a hand device.

You may say that cellphones should not be used in the car at all. But this is America in 2009. It's all about doing more in the limited hours of the day.

 

DVD Playback is not a big deal for me as I can't picture myself watching a movie on a 7" screen when I have a 50" plasma and a HD projector at home with a 110" screen. Also, for those that must have this option, why not just buy a portable DVD player with AV outputs so that you can connect it to your AV inputs next to the IPOD connection (in the Premium package)?

The only thing I wish Nissan would offer is LCD's in the headrests so that my kids can have some entertainment (and get along) on long road trips. I'd like to put some 7" Alpine LCD's in the headrests but will have to wait until I can find some factory matching leather (premium caffe leather) so that I can make new wider headrests. My though is to simply get a PS3 for the trunk of the car so that the kids can watch movies (DVD or Blue Rays) or play games. BTW, yes, I did find the Myron and Davis replacement headrest LCD monitors for our 09's but their prices are way too high. I can get the Alpine set up and a PS3 for under a grand.

 

CT Maxima - You are correct that I am on the VERY short side of this argument. I have been aware of that for well over a decade. But every comprehensive study to date says I am on the RIGHT side. Hand-held and hands-free are EQUALLY dangerous.

Folks these days think they are bulletproof. They ignore studies whose outcome contradicts their habits. This is not limited to DWOC (Driving While On Cellphone) offenders; we see the same behavior in smoking, even though we know it is killing us and harming our loved ones.

Authorities now have the means to determine if drivers causing accidents were on their cell at the time of the accident, and far too many have been proven to be chatting away when THEY caused the accident by THEIR inattention to driving.

Of course this should be very obvious to us all. For well over a decade, I have observed folks on cell phones do absolutely horrendous things while driving when their mind is on their phone conversation, not their driving. I have ridden with my dear brother-in-law while he is on his hands-free phone, and, although normally a careful driver, he scares me to death while on the phone.

I love cell phones, and would never be without mine. But if I am driving, I do the safe thing and find a place to pull over before turning my attention to a phone call. I OWE this courtesy to other drivers on the road. Feeling badly after one has caused an accident that wipes out a family because of having diverted ones thoughts to a phone conversation while driving doesn't get it with me. I am strongly in favor of having automatic manslaughter charges filed against any driver who causes a fatal accident while on a cell phone.

There is a reason more and more states are making it illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving. These new laws are not just some goodie two-shoes meddling with individual rights; these laws are being passed because studies are showing people driving while on cell phones are far more likely to cause accidents through inattention than folks who delay phone calls until their car is stopped.

But I only have to go stand by the roadway and watch passing cars to know I am in a VERY tiny minority, and that scientific studies carry no weight with the 'it's all about me' crowd we have on the roadways these days.

 

I agree with Light on this one. Studies do show that hands-free is no safer than holding a phone to your head. Having said that, I do answer my phone with bluetooth if someone calls while I'm driving but I get them off as soon as possible.

It is ridiculous to think that because someone doesn't use one feature of their SV they should have gotten a strippermobile.

 

I agree with the orphan feature point. I absolutely love the dual moonroof in my Max. I never use the rear audio control and only rarely use the rear sunshade. Am I being gypped? Did I overpay for features that sit unused for years? Nah, let me tell you about my double moonroof.

It seems that indeed there are studies have shown that hands free driving is no safer than phone-to-ear driving. The studies conflict with my experience. I think the difference is that the Max's bluetooth system has audible dialing. Dialing a handset, or texting with a handset is extremely distracting and is unsafe. Lucky for me, my voice works with the Max voice command system and it has greatly diminished the risk of using the cell phone in the car.

Does voice commands totally mitigate the risk if cell phone usage? No. Some of my attention is diverted to the phone conversation. But while on the phone, I drive like I'm in a Buick. No so when I'm not using the phone.

 

Considering I didn't have the option to just remove the bluetooth and get all the other features, then your argument is invalidated.

I don't drive 135Mph, so the 290hp engine is a waste? I don't use the Ipod interface, but couldn't get them to "remove" that either. But all the other features I wanted were provided via the various packages that were included. Oh, I'm in Florida, I surely don't use the heated seats either. I didn't pay extra for the "rocking seats" either.

Guess I should have gotten a stripped Yugo? LOL

Just because I don't use a particular feature, I should choose a different stripped model that doesn't have the features I want????

Your car have Nav? Do you pay for the XM Radio? Do you pay for the XM traffic?

 

I wish they made the 19" wheels an option on the Premium, just got mine last week, not digging the design of the 18s.

 

It does have DVD playback in the 09' I went to my dealer with the Jack and he hooked it up and showed me. It is also in the manual the car has to be in park position of course. He told me that there were four colors coming out next year and that he did not hear about a change in the iPod jack.

 

yea thats why i hadda get the sport package, dont like the 18s too much

 

[quote=Compusmurf;7122126]Guess I should have gotten a stripped Yugo? LOL quote]

hahahahaha

 

It's in the 09' check the manual and talk to the dealer. I just bought an 09 and I can see videos on my nav with a hookup to the three plugs. The 2010 doesn't have much extra except for four new colors and haven't heard much about a different hookup for ipod. The 09's with paddle shifters have DS as far as I can see.

 

I think the difference is that with the '10, an external player is not needed. The player in the dash is now a combo CD/DVD player, where the '09 is only a CD player.

 

Believe me, I do understand that you just can't pick and choose/pull apart the packages to get only what you/we want out of them. My argument isn't about all the other features but rather one of the best features (Hands-free).

To me that is an I can't live without option in our cars, especially since the laws of most (if not all) States are headed that direction anyway.

But hey, good luck with your car but trade up for a Yugo because if you get a flat in a Yugo then You Go under the hood where the engine is to remove the spare from on top of the engine (what the hell) LOL!!

 

Overall I'm just happy to have a 09 Maxima!

 

As am I. But I have encountered an unexpected problem. I can't stop smiling while driving this '09 beauty, and I am beginning to get deep 'smile lines' on my face. Those just do not fit with my normally very dour demeanor. These 'smile lines' are a problem when I am trying to look very serious, and result in my face sending a mixed message. Folks have glared at me at both the funerals I recently attended.

 

lol.....this car puts a smile on my face everyday as well, must be a maxima owners thing

 

I was talking to a sales rep at the dealership yesterday and he said that the 2010's would be here November/December. Could this be right?

 

Either you talked to a very uninformed sales rep, OR he didn't want you going back home to await the 2010s, OR there has been a major problem in Smyrna (not likely; we would have heard something).

Except for the release of a new generation Maxima, which can range anywhere from March to September, Nissan makes the changeover to the next model year Maxima in July, and the new model year begins arriving at dealers in August. It is up to each dealer as to when he 'unpacks' (removes shipping protection and preps the car for display) the new models and moves them from his back storage lot to his front display lot.

There may be some very-low volume dealers who may not order any 2010 Maximas until they have cleared the 2009s, but the 2010s will be arriving at most Nissan dealers in less than a month. Nissan tries to build up a good supply before releasing them to dealers, so the release can be nationwide. I would bet the 2010s are already being built and stored in one of those huge lots behind the plant in Smyrna.

The only external way to differentiate an '09 from a '10 will be the wheels and the window sticker.

 

I put a dvd in the cd player(the one that came with the car) and it played on the nav. When I took it to the dealer he went in to the options on the nav and did something all I know is it plays when the car is in park. The plug in from my itouch works on the nav too with the 3 jacks so I can see videos.

 

Same here. I love it!!!!!!

 

Do you think all of them can play D.V.D but there is just a setting they need to change for the '09?

 

is yours the 2009 or 2010?

 

Hopefully, I can get a good look at the 2010s on Thursday when I take a tour of the plant in Smyrna.

 

His will be an '09. The '10s won't be available until probably mid-to-late August. Nissan likes to build up a good supply on the back lot at Smyrna before releasing the new year's model to the dealers, so all dealers can get the new model as soon as they are available, should they chose to do so.

 

Very exciting! Wish I could be there with you. Unless you can get close enough to read the window sticker, the only way you can tell the new '10 form our '09 is by the wheels. Look for wheels you haven't seen before. Of course any Maxima you see coming off the asembly line at this point will be a '10.

I toured the Smyrna factory in late March of 2008, just a week after the March 19th car show introduction of the '09 Maxima, and it was very exciting to see the shiny new '09s at the end of the assembly line. It would be three months after that before the first ones went on sale at dealers June 26, 2008.

You won't be allowed to take your camera or phone or any sort of technological item on the tour with you, so commit the look of the new wheels (both Sport and non-Sport versions) to memory, so you can describe them to us.

Bon voyage!

 

Thanks for the info...The sales rep had been there for a while and it is a pretty big dealership. I thought the new 2010's would be here before the end of August, however, after speaking with him I was not sure. I am curious to see the new wheels...I really like the 2009 19's.

 

but how was his maxima able to play dvd in the navi?

 

Yeah really. Guess I need to check this out car after work today.

 

Yea i guess i'll have to do the same because if we have dvd playback then my smile will even get bigger on a daily basis. Cant wait till i start my project hacking into the navi and dvd playback while car in motion. Plus also planning on hooking up my mac mini into the max CARPUTER. The modz are endless

 

cause i remeber i tried putting the disk to see if it will play and i was getting a disk error, but im gonna check this out today as well

 

I just got through with the tour of the Nissan plant. First and foremost, that place is HUGE. It was only running at about half of its capacity and it showed. The main things they were building were Altimas and Frontiers. For every five Altimas I saw coming down the line, there were two Maximas. Now, on to the good stuff.

The design of the Maxima's wheels has not changed at all. Of course, there are differences in color. The bottom line is that Nissan is trying to make them shinier without doing chrome. The 18" wheels are now more silver with a satin type finish. The 19" wheels look almost like they were painted with some Duplicolor chrome paint. I tried to pick out a 2010 Maxima on the back lot to photograph from outside the plant but there were none near the fence line.

I also got a look at the new color Crimson Black. It is not a bad looking color at all. In fact I am strongly considering going with it. If I am not mistaken, Crimson Black is very similar to one of the colors that used to be offered on the Z. The best way I can describe it is a very dark brownish color with a red tinge. The florescent lights in the plant did not make gauging the color easy but this is the best description I can offer.

 

Awesome man! Thanks for the update

 

I wonder if it will be the same paint code as shown in this link:

http://www.nissanusa.com/microsite/z...n#/features/0/

My dealer told me he thought it might be called Black Cherry on the Roadster. It will also be interesting to see what interior colors they offer with it as well.

The color looks fascinating to me as well.

 

I cannot say with 100% certainty due to the lack of lighting in some of the factory areas where I did see the color on a Maxima but it does look about right.

 

Any body know about the DVD playback thing in the 2009 model yet?