Nissan Maxima

The Nissan Maxima is a car manufactured by Nissan that is in a line of upper midsize executive and sports sedans. The Maxima debuted in 1976 as an upscale version of the Bluebird and was spun into its own line in 1980, having been made continuously since then. Most pre-2004 Maximas were built in Oppama, Japan, until the current North American Maximas started being assembled in Smyrna, Tennesee.

1976–1980

The Maxima model line began with the Nissan Bluebird Maxima, which was available in the US as Datsun 810 from February 1977. It was powered by two versions of the SOHC L-series I6 engine, a 2.0L displacement for the Japanese market and a 2.4L (as found in the Datsun 240Z) for the US market. The Bluebird Maxima used a carburetor for the base model and fuel injection for the sporty version. The 2.0L engine was good for 122PS JIS (90kW), while the bigger American engine could reach 125hp SAE (93kW). These cars were rear wheel drive and had had a semi-trailing arm rear suspension. The station wagon variant had the rear live axle for load carrying reasons.

The 2-door coupe version was introduced in 1979 along with an exterior refresh, and was available in the Maxima lineup in the Datsun 810 only. Datsun's new 280ZX shared the 810's chassis, though the 810 did not get that car's larger 2.8L engine.

In the film 1980 film Gloria, an 810 was seen as a getaway vehicle after Gena Rowlands murders four hitmen.

1981–1983

The first car to wear the Maxima name was introduced in 1981. It was essentially a Japanese-market Bluebird 910 with a 3.9in longer nose. The car was offered as the 810 Deluxe or 810 Maxima that first year, and all 810s became Maximas for 1982. That was also the year that American Datsuns began carrying the "Nissan" badge as well. An episode of the MTV show Pimp My Ride featured a Maxima station wagon that Xzibit (the show's host and rapper) referred to as the "identity crisis" since the vehicle sported both Datsun and Nissan badges.