wemay
Site Donor 2023
Jalopnik: Dead: Nissan Maxima.
https://jalopnik.com/dead-nissan-maxima-1849371955
https://jalopnik.com/dead-nissan-maxima-1849371955
Dead: Nissan Maxima. -Jalopnik
- Thread starter wemay
- Start date
Oh well. 
Hasn't been a good one for 20 years.
Hasn't been a good one for 20 years.
It should have been dead 15 years ago.
They still make it? All the Nissan sedans look alike these days.
I loved my 2013 SV. Excellent power, comfort for tall people, good economy if you respected throttle. Nobody buys sedans, no surprise it's done.
They still make them? 
Sad to see another old-timer nameplate die. I didn't really like what the Maxima became in 2004, but they were still nice, comfortable, quick cars. Hard to believe it lasted this long with the Altima sliding right up beside it in 2002 with the same power and room. RIP.
Exactly! I'm a car guy and I have to look very hard to tell an Altima from a Maxima. Major fail for Nissan, especially considering the kinds of competitors cars you can get for Maxima money.
The Maxima fell victim to a couple of things. First, as people have pointed out, it was billed as a "four door sports car". Yet the introduction of the CVT and the removal of the manual trans in 2007 were the exact opposite of what people would expect in a "sports car".
Second, the Maxima has been a pretty reliable vehicle throughout its entire run despite coming with the infamous Nissan JATCO CVT, but it wasn't enough to overcome the poor reputation that the rest of the lineup was earning for Nissan. Also, like everyone, Nissan was using some genuinely terrible interior materials in the mid-late 2000's. You were paying a premium price and receiving economy materials. The same problem has plagued Maserati for years, now. Also, no matter how much more reliable the CVT was in the Maxima, it's still not a "sporty" transmission.
Third, the Altima just got bigger and bigger and boxed the Maxima out of any useful space. Over the last 10 or so years, Nissan has tried to reinvent the "sports car" feel for the Maxima, but it did so in the exact worst way for the model. Instead of more powerful engine options, or dropping the CVT for any of the automatic gearboxes from Infiniti or bringing back the manual transmission, they just made aesthetic changes. More slopped rooflines meant less interior space and headroom than before despite being a "full size" sedan. The cabin redesign of 2016 made it feel more like sitting in a cockpit, but at the cost of shoulder space. By now, you're paying for a full-sized sedan that acts like it wants to be a mid-sized one. The Altima feels just as roomy as the Maxima now, but at a significant discount. This is happening for all brands, by the way. Cars are just getting bigger, but there's a point of diminishing returns on sedan size. At some point, you don't look for an even bigger sedan, instead you look at CUV and SUV options.
There are plenty of other smaller reasons too, such as the VQ35 being an absolute bear to work on in a transverse application, but the reality is that Nissan really has just missed the mark for the Maxima for nearly two decades at this point. Even if they had done everything right, the Maxima likely couldn't have overcome the reputation that Nissan had earned with its other offerings, anyways. It's sad to see it go, but at this point, the Maxima is so far gone from what it was meant to be in the early 90's that I won't care if the bring it back as an EV. I kind of hope that they do, honestly.
Edit: Just wanted to include that my 07 has been great. Still pretty roomy, pretty quick, and dead nuts reliable. However, the trunk opening is tiny compared to my 2017 Elantra, despite the Maxima being a "full-size" sedan and my Elantra being a "compact".
Second, the Maxima has been a pretty reliable vehicle throughout its entire run despite coming with the infamous Nissan JATCO CVT, but it wasn't enough to overcome the poor reputation that the rest of the lineup was earning for Nissan. Also, like everyone, Nissan was using some genuinely terrible interior materials in the mid-late 2000's. You were paying a premium price and receiving economy materials. The same problem has plagued Maserati for years, now. Also, no matter how much more reliable the CVT was in the Maxima, it's still not a "sporty" transmission.
Third, the Altima just got bigger and bigger and boxed the Maxima out of any useful space. Over the last 10 or so years, Nissan has tried to reinvent the "sports car" feel for the Maxima, but it did so in the exact worst way for the model. Instead of more powerful engine options, or dropping the CVT for any of the automatic gearboxes from Infiniti or bringing back the manual transmission, they just made aesthetic changes. More slopped rooflines meant less interior space and headroom than before despite being a "full size" sedan. The cabin redesign of 2016 made it feel more like sitting in a cockpit, but at the cost of shoulder space. By now, you're paying for a full-sized sedan that acts like it wants to be a mid-sized one. The Altima feels just as roomy as the Maxima now, but at a significant discount. This is happening for all brands, by the way. Cars are just getting bigger, but there's a point of diminishing returns on sedan size. At some point, you don't look for an even bigger sedan, instead you look at CUV and SUV options.
There are plenty of other smaller reasons too, such as the VQ35 being an absolute bear to work on in a transverse application, but the reality is that Nissan really has just missed the mark for the Maxima for nearly two decades at this point. Even if they had done everything right, the Maxima likely couldn't have overcome the reputation that Nissan had earned with its other offerings, anyways. It's sad to see it go, but at this point, the Maxima is so far gone from what it was meant to be in the early 90's that I won't care if the bring it back as an EV. I kind of hope that they do, honestly.
Edit: Just wanted to include that my 07 has been great. Still pretty roomy, pretty quick, and dead nuts reliable. However, the trunk opening is tiny compared to my 2017 Elantra, despite the Maxima being a "full-size" sedan and my Elantra being a "compact".
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Maybe I can pick up a loaded one with low miles cheap. I like em. They go pretty good when you step on them.
the non-premium executive sedan is dead and has been dying for a long time. entry level midsize sedans are the almost same size and can be optioned out.
people want to step up to a better nameplate than what those vehicles had to offer, that’s just a fact. the lexus ES still moves 45k units a year for the small amount of people who can’t sacrifice size for prestige.
azera dead
avalon dead
maxima dead
taurus dead
lacrosse dead
300 dead
people want to step up to a better nameplate than what those vehicles had to offer, that’s just a fact. the lexus ES still moves 45k units a year for the small amount of people who can’t sacrifice size for prestige.
azera dead
avalon dead
maxima dead
taurus dead
lacrosse dead
300 dead
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Excellent analysis. Why would anyone buy what is a purported to be a sports sedan when it has a CVT transmission?
Oh well.
Hasn't been a good one for 20 years.
Agreed, model year 2003 was the last great year for the Maxima. Ever since then it has been a car that I want to like but just can't. Additional comments in another recent Nissan thread:
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/nissan-profitable-again.354951/post-6120576
Same with my 07, which I sold last year. I remember packing that trunk full, for a trip to SoFLo for new year's 2020, and that thing was a beast going up and down the steep gradients (NY to FLA route) with the CVT was a dream, it never missed a beat and with the most comfortable seats too.
Because a vehicle with paddle shifters and manual shift mode can be fun. Especially for people who don't read they (CVTs) are all evil on a certain auto forum.
I had a Subaru Legacy -the paddle shifters were the only redeeming quality the car had.
I viewed the Maxima as competition to BMW sedans.... but Nissan screwed it up! Easily stolen HID headlamps, and what others had said.
The only two vehicles I like from Nissan is the "Versa Note" no longer sold in N.A.(prob to push sales to the kick, or whatever) and the last gen Frontier, a design that was around when George B. Jr. was President.(solid reliable platform, pro4x package was great, compared to a "new" Ford Ranger.)
The only two vehicles I like from Nissan is the "Versa Note" no longer sold in N.A.(prob to push sales to the kick, or whatever) and the last gen Frontier, a design that was around when George B. Jr. was President.(solid reliable platform, pro4x package was great, compared to a "new" Ford Ranger.)
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