The 1986 Nissan Maxima Was a High-Tech 1980s Sport Sedan
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1. 152hp. Different intake and exhaust than 300Z.
2. Power steering sucked from design, I recall this was due to rack issues from shoehorning the V6 in that small engine bay. A 300Z from 85-86 had superb steering.
3. Size. Japanese cars were under heavy tariff in US based on dimensions. You couldn't get larger in a popular Japanese car in the 80s because of this.
4. I've never seen one without the moonroof, the moonroof was standard equipment at least in '85-86- this example stumps me.
5. Slow? That car had hustle. With a 5-speed (SE) you were at 0-60 in mid 8s. Even with slushbox, low 9s, and passing power was always great (even by todays standards.
6. LOUD has been covered here, should have focused on the AVC (ambient volume control) which was an actual rare feature and adjusted radio volume to ambient cabin noise.
Finally, the SE's had a world first driver-switch-adjustable shock damping system in '85.
Date: 2021-07-23
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Comments and reviews: 9
John
I had a '93 Maxima and it had the keypad too. It's the feature I miss the most from the car. I used to play beach volleyball after work on a regular basis and I loved being able to throw my keys in the trunk so I wouldn't lose them in the sand. The best part was punching in your code and hitting the button that opened ALL of the windows AND the sunroof while you were outside the vehicle. It cooled everything off before you got in to drive.
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I had a '93 Maxima and it had the keypad too. It's the feature I miss the most from the car. I used to play beach volleyball after work on a regular basis and I loved being able to throw my keys in the trunk so I wouldn't lose them in the sand. The best part was punching in your code and hitting the button that opened ALL of the windows AND the sunroof while you were outside the vehicle. It cooled everything off before you got in to drive.
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Cars,
Now THIS! Is the car I feel in love with while in high school. The first cat I ever saw with a manufacturer equalizer for the stereo. Doug was absolutely correct when he said we didn t really want BMWs or Mercedes because they seemed way out of our reach at the time. We wanted the coolest car around and in the late 80s early 90s it was definitely the Nissan MAXIMA
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Now THIS! Is the car I feel in love with while in high school. The first cat I ever saw with a manufacturer equalizer for the stereo. Doug was absolutely correct when he said we didn t really want BMWs or Mercedes because they seemed way out of our reach at the time. We wanted the coolest car around and in the late 80s early 90s it was definitely the Nissan MAXIMA
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Trevor
Even my 11 year old tells me Dad, the 80s were the best. Everything was better then that it is today. I think Stranger Things has something to do with that but still, when I was in high school in 1988 I didn't think 1958 was cool; I thought cars back then sucked. I liked cars of the 80s and I still do. History will show the United States peaked around 1989.
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Even my 11 year old tells me Dad, the 80s were the best. Everything was better then that it is today. I think Stranger Things has something to do with that but still, when I was in high school in 1988 I didn't think 1958 was cool; I thought cars back then sucked. I liked cars of the 80s and I still do. History will show the United States peaked around 1989.
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baylinkdashyt
3 suggestions for the C&B ads from a TV guy:
1) Turn the page when you say This, so you aren't describing a car we aren't looking at
2) Announce the cars in ascending order of price and/or coolness
3) Please stop standing behind a car you don't mention at all; that's really super-duper annoying.
Thank you for coming to my TEDtv talk.
reply
3 suggestions for the C&B ads from a TV guy:
1) Turn the page when you say This, so you aren't describing a car we aren't looking at
2) Announce the cars in ascending order of price and/or coolness
3) Please stop standing behind a car you don't mention at all; that's really super-duper annoying.
Thank you for coming to my TEDtv talk.
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Kip
My first real car was a 1987 Maxima SE. My best friend owned an '86 SE with a manual and the adjustable suspension. These were definitely aspirational as I thought I had officially arrived.
This is from a the spelt missed generation of Nissans that were innovative, interesting, and reliable as all get-out. The company needs to find its way back.
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My first real car was a 1987 Maxima SE. My best friend owned an '86 SE with a manual and the adjustable suspension. These were definitely aspirational as I thought I had officially arrived.
This is from a the spelt missed generation of Nissans that were innovative, interesting, and reliable as all get-out. The company needs to find its way back.
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Sedan57Chevy
Ford had introduced their keypad entry system for the 1980 model year in select models (Lincoln's, Thunderbird, Mercury Cougar. This preceded Nissan by a few years.
Cars from this era were incredibly well thought out and executed, and good examples are still perfectly adequate and even fun transportation decades later.
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Ford had introduced their keypad entry system for the 1980 model year in select models (Lincoln's, Thunderbird, Mercury Cougar. This preceded Nissan by a few years.
Cars from this era were incredibly well thought out and executed, and good examples are still perfectly adequate and even fun transportation decades later.
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kevin9c1
The Maxima is really worth talking about when you get to the 3rd and 4th gen. There was a brief surge with the 5th gen but that was pretty much it. CVT and sharing a platform with the Altima didn't do the later models any favors. But you could write pages about the 3rd and 4th gen. Pretty legendary cars.
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The Maxima is really worth talking about when you get to the 3rd and 4th gen. There was a brief surge with the 5th gen but that was pretty much it. CVT and sharing a platform with the Altima didn't do the later models any favors. But you could write pages about the 3rd and 4th gen. Pretty legendary cars.
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David
I'm a bit surprised that Doug, with all of his knowledge on cars and their history didn't mention that the Maxima was originally a Datsun 810. Maxima was the top of the line version of the 810 when that name was first used. The old Datsun 810 model was the rough equivalent of the Toyota Cressida.
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I'm a bit surprised that Doug, with all of his knowledge on cars and their history didn't mention that the Maxima was originally a Datsun 810. Maxima was the top of the line version of the 810 when that name was first used. The old Datsun 810 model was the rough equivalent of the Toyota Cressida.
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EMET
My friend Jeff drove this exact car spec in 1986 Senior year in High School, at the time it was fast, sleek, and very cool to be seen in Great Memories
PS - the LOUD button increased BASS and TREBLE levels at LOW VOLUME to make it sound fuller (LOUD) at LOW volume
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My friend Jeff drove this exact car spec in 1986 Senior year in High School, at the time it was fast, sleek, and very cool to be seen in Great Memories
PS - the LOUD button increased BASS and TREBLE levels at LOW VOLUME to make it sound fuller (LOUD) at LOW volume
reply
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