Once upon a time, labeling anything other than a two-door, two-seater a "sports car" would have been anathema to enthusiasts. And calling a mid-size sedan by the same name would have been utterly absurd. But when Nissan originally slapped the 4DSC ("four-door sports car") label on the Maxima 20 years ago, the automotive landscape was a very different place. Today, the sports sedan has been embraced by the masses, and with a series of "four-door coupes" hitting the market, consumers looking for an entertaining ride with seating for four have a host of options to choose from.

So when Nissan trotted out the all-new 2009 Maxima in New York last year and revived the 4DSC label, the automaker's past successes weighed heavily on the redesigned sedan. Would it still deliver the power and handling of its predecessors or would it be just another poseur in a see of wannabe sports sedans? More to the point: is this really a sports car? Let's find out.



Photos Copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 Nissan Maxima.

You can now walk down to your local Nissan retailer and plop your backside in the 2009 Maxima that breathes new life into the old Four Door Sports Car legend of the second-generation Maxima. Like the revised Murano, the tweaked Maxima offers more than just new lights. Standard equipment is up, as is horsepower. A standard Maxima 3.5S offers more goodies for $29,290; an '08 equipped the same way would cost nearly $30,000, while the most important metric is the 290 horsepower the fabulous VQ V6 now thumps out. Stepping up a trim level to the 3.5 SV will have you shelling out $31,990, and you can doll it up with sportier suspension tune with 19" rims, super-comfy premium seats, a big 'ol two panel moonroof, and a back up monitor, just to name a few goodies.
A new interior design improves upon what the '08 carried, which wasn't bad to begin with, unlike some previous Nissans. If any vehicle can live up to the 4DSC stickers, it's the latest iteration of the Maxima, the car that originated the phrase; to properly carry the moniker, it must. You can view the full press release after the jump and check out our First Drive of the 2009 Nissan Maxima before making the trek to the dealer.

Gallery: 2009 Nissan Maxima - up close

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[Source: Nissan]

Click above to view high-res gallery of the 2009 Nissan Maxima

The latest Nissan out of the gate - the sixth model to wear the "Maxima" designation - gets a significant redesign for 2009. Launched in 1985, the first Maxima was a praised departure from its predecessor, the rear-wheel-drive Datsun 810. Reconfigured as front-wheel-drive, the newly-named sedan foreshadowed the arrival of Nissan's "4-Door Sports Car" or "4DSC", a name aptly-coined for the 1989 model. While each subsequent generation seemed to soften (much to the lament of enthusiasts), the automaker claims this ground-up remake once-again earns the 4DSC moniker. Follow the jump to see if Nissan succeeded.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Michael Harley / Weblogs, Inc.

Along with the 2009 Nissan Maxima's new styling comes new trim level designations. Apparently Nissan's classical conventions have been muddled over the years, so buyers get confused about what the GLE or SL stuck onto the trunklid means. Does it have a CVT? Leather? At least the V6 is easily discerned by the 3.5 badging. The new flavor of alphabet soup goes like this: Base is S, fitted with common options will be the SV, luxury is SL, and people who like to drive will want to keep an eye out for the SR combo; we wonder if the R will be red.

[Source: Inside Line]

When Nissan chose to begin development on the next Maxima, it originally set out to go the safe route of catering towards mass appeal, an effective plan frequently proven successful by Toyota. However, when Nissan brought on former R34 Skyline GT-R product planner, Hiroshi Tamura, to the Maxima team, he gave the company an ultimatum. He believed the company should set the Maxima apart from others in its class by offering an affordable sports sedan with unique styling. The idea meant stepping out of a comfort zone, aiming for core customers left out by other manufacturers' sedans and attempting to create a design that would stand out in a crowd. The final result was unveiled at the 2008 New York Auto Show. Tamura's influence can be seen in the wide fender flares, steering wheel paddle shifters and front grill. As Autoblog comments also suggested, its design evoked great debate on aesthetic acceptance.

The crowd reaction was all fine and dandy with Hiroshi Tamura. His pride and joy, the R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R, was not a visual pleasure for everyone when it was released. It garnered many a harsh criticism, but that did not hold back its popularity. After all, Tamura is an automotive enthusiast through and through. He holds function over fashion. As a product planner he has strived to put a piece of that passion into all of his projects. While the 2009 Nissan Maxima might not win a beauty contest, it was never meant to – it was meant to perform. Check out the gallery below to see Hiroshi Tamura give us an introduction to Nissan's new sedan. Also take a peak at previous Maxima galleries after the jump.

Click above for more high-res pics of the 2009 Nissan Maxima

Ever since Nissan took the Altima upmarket in both size and prize, the Maxima has suffered from an identity crisis. In the Nissan/Infiniti lineup, this premium front-wheel-drive sports sedan suffered a middle-child syndrome while slotted between the less-expensive yet still capable Altima and the more aspirational rear-wheel-drive Infiniti G35 sports sedan. Nissan hopes to give the Maxima a new voice in its crowded lineup of large sedans with the new 2009 model that comes in your choice of a 3.5 S or 3.5 SV trim. Clearly, it packs a visual punch.

The new design is something Nissan calls "Liquid Motion". It's dynamic, for sure, with peaks and valleys among flowing lines and sharp creases that combine to form a muscular shape. See a little of the last-gen Nissan Skyline GT-R in that grille? We do, and that's not a bad thing, though the new wraparound L-shaped headlamps may not go over well with everyone. Despite the large front and rear overhangs, Nissan actually shrunk the Maxima's length and wheelbase while widening its track. Call the design what you want, but it's not derivative and the expressive flanks make it truly look like a four-door sports car.

Click above to view high-res gallery of the 2009 Nissan Maxima

Forums are fast becoming the bane of automakers that've spent a lot of time, energy and money coordinating a new car's debut. Nissan was hoping to debut the all-new 2009 Maxima tomorrow during the New York Auto Show, but forum Supernissans.net has burst this carmaker's bubble a bit early. Six pics of the new 2009 Nissan Maxima were posted on this forum, which we've included in the gallery below, and more have begun showing up on other sites around the web. We'll have details on the car, as well as more live shots and high-res official photos, tomorrow morning when the new Maxima rolls out on stage in the Big Apple. Until then, we're sure you're eager to check out the pics and discuss this polarizing design in the comments.


[Source: Supernissans.net, World Car Fans, Motor Authority]

Nissan will unveil the completely redesigned 2009 Maxima next week at the 2008 New York Auto Show, but wants to whet our appetites with some teaser shots before the big reveal. Unlike most teaser shots, we can actually glean a few details from these. The shot of the headlight, for instance, shows a new shape for the Maxima's "eyes". It appears the sheetmetal from the fender overlaps the headlights in a way that has part of the turn signal jutting out on its own. It kind of looks like the 370Z rendering that appeared in a Japanese mag we showed you a few days ago. Also note the "4DSC" sticker on the rear passenger window, which harkens back to the day when Nissan referred to the Maxima as a "4-Door Sports Car". From what little the teasers tell us, history may repeat itself next week.


[Source: Nissan]

The official unveiling of the 2009 Nissan Maxima will occur at next month's New York Auto Show. Despite Nissan's efforts to hide the car away until then, it just couldn't keep its new 4-Door out of sight. If you hadn't guessed already, a thoroughly covered Maxima was recently caught by spy photographers while out for a romp in the snow. The recent spell of frigid weather has created the perfect conditions for automakers to break out their test mules to collect more cold weather exposure data. Through the snowflakes and camouflage the new Maxima's details are rather difficult to discern. However, with what little there is to observe it appears that the rear end will be less bulbous than its predecessor. The rear fenders also flare out a bit, which makes for a sportier looking stance than the flat lines of the current model. We're told that the new 2009 Nissan Maxima will go a long way in restoring this car's identity, which has been muddled for years in between the hot-selling Altima and decidedly more sporty Infiniti G35 sedan. We'll let you know what we find in New York next month.

[Source: TheCarConnection]

We've been wondering where Nissan was going to fit in on the docket of next week's Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS), but InsideLine confirmed our suspicions – they won't be having a press conference at all. Instead, the Forum concept will be set on stage and Nissan will turn its attention to the New York Auto Show in March. There, Nissan plans to take the wraps of the redesigned Maxima that's destined to go on sale later this year.

Darryl Harrison, Nissan's North American spokesperson, told InsideLine that the Maxima will be "all new" but he didn't go into details about what changes would be made. He also said that a "couple of other things" would be on display in the Big Apple and that Nissan's presence at the Chicago Auto Show would be minimal.

[Source: Inside Line]