There's the final concert for success. But Maxima was too far into its design cycle for the healing hands of the freshly empowered Hirshberg to become really inventive. He did supervise the concept. The front isn't as busy as that of the current model, and such simplicity may well have been learned from Mercedes-Benz, where the elementary still suggests dignity. We want other drivers to know that they've just been passed by a sedan with confidence and character.
Prices are down by several hundred dollars across the range.
Gone are the cheap plastics on the GXE, its matronly fabrics and seats that supported as well as a deadbeat dad. The car is quieter but still has a distance to go before matching the interior silence of Acura and Lexus. Blame that on the tautness of the chassis and suspension, because you can't get top-notch handling without reducing the luxury ride and increasing road and tire rumbles. It will take more than one good car to right Nissan's past, whatever the wrongs might have been. Some say the company was design-timid.