We often talk about survivors as it relates to exotics and sports cars that are put away for years, parked on the battery tender and forgotten until the day it becomes useful to sell. However, the more exciting survivor (to me, anyway) is the car that most people used up and discarded once the cost to service said vehicle exceeded its realistic value. This second-generation Nissan Maxima is a terrific example of car we rarely see in preserved condition, and the listing for this baby blue sedan ends later today here on eBay.
It’s always curious to me how much emphasis the big 3 were placing on figuring out how to build a car that might tempt European car shoppers into their showrooms while the Japanese just went ahead and did it. The Nissan Maxima, the Honda Accord, and the Mazda 929 were all practically clones of what the Germans were doing: boxy, stately, and loaded with useful equipment, not to mention solid driving dynamics. Meanwhile, we talked recently about the Pontiac 6000 and how it took several years to get to an iteration that might sway a BMW buyer to check out a car like the STE. The Maxima was sitting here in 1985 being everything GM wanted its own cars to be.
Plus, it’s not like the Japanese weren’t acknowledging what the Americans did well. I mean, look at these tufted seats that look like they were swiped from the Chrysler Fifth Avenue assembly line! The seller’s Maxima is in remarkable condition for having over 126,000 miles, which is a solid reminder that your car doesn’t need to have time-warp mileage to be kept in remarkable condition. My other favorite detail about Maximas from this era is the ridiculous stereo setup with its over-the-top standard equalizer and stereo controls.
The second-generation Maxima pivoted to a front-wheel drive platform, which is the one strike against it compared to the initial product offering that offered a 6-cylinder, stick shift, and rear-wheel drive as standard equipment. The car shown here is powered by a respectable 3.0-liter VG30E SOHC V6 producing around 152 b.h.p. and 167 lb-ft of torque. It could reach 60 in under 10 seconds and a manual was still available. The bidding is sitting at just $1,000 and the seller has a very reasonable Buy-It-Now of just $4,950.
These are /were very well built cars. And Jeff hit the nail on the head mentioning the Honda Accord the 929, and of course the Camry. All good cars. This one is in amazingly preserved condition. I remember my Dad having a friend with a ***gasp*** Diesel Maxima. Remember those? It was actually a very good car. This looks like a great buy too. Realistic price.
I remember Nissan diesel ⛽️ in the marine ⚓️ applications Dave.
I think it was the same one used in the Scout as well Stan.
A neighbor had one of these in the same color, only a station wagon instead of the four door sedan. I liked their prior car, an early 80s Buick LeSabre Limited better.
I’ve always been a fan of 70s & 80s Datsuns/Nissans, mostly because my brother had a ’78 280Z 2+2 with a 4-speed and an ’81 280ZX Turbo with an auto and my dad had an ’85 Nissan Kingcab 4×4 Pickup with a 5-speed. Always liked the Maximas as well as the 200SXs. If I wasn’t a half-continent away from this one I’d be a serious buyer. GLWTA!
These were really nice cars. We had an ’88 that we bought used from a Chrysler dealer. It was well-assembled, mostly reliable, and comfortable as well as sporty to drive. We drove it until it had 200k miles and the tin worms had consumed so much of its structure that it was unsafe. Donated it with a rebuilt trans and a perfect motor. The recipient happily drove it for 2 weeks and the timing belt broke. Good-bye engine, hello junkyard.