The much awaited first production model from Nissan, the all-new 2009 Nissan Maxima, has rolled off the assembly line at Nissan North America's Smyrna, Tennessee manufacturing plant yesterday. The production underscores the indication of the return of Nissan's flagship to its origin as a superior 4-door sport car. The "Job 1" 2009 Maxima was brought down to the assembly line during a noontime festivity attended by several Nissan employees and executives. The car showcases a sporting bold new looks, with a revitalized and powerful V6 under the hood.

"The Maxima is an important car for Smyrna and for Nissan," said Greg Daniels, senior vice president, U.S. Manufacturing, Nissan North America. "It's our responsibility to build a high quality vehicle each and every time. Our customers deserve it and expect no less."

There were several alterations applied in the seventh generation Maxima. The exterior showcases a more insistent facade that conveys a tough, first-class charisma. A "super" cockpit experience was matched generating an interior that merges a driver point of reference with elevated quality, spaciousness and accessible technology. A one-of-its’-kind performance component was added to the Maxima, some customers and owners called it as "Maxima-ness” because of its superior and convenient road performance.

"We set out to create one of the best performing front engines, front-wheel drive sedans in the world. The Maxima delivers on all levels offering the value, quality, and exhilarating performance consumers have come to expect from Nissan," says Al Castignetti, vice president and general manager, Nissan division, Nissan North America.


The next generation Maxima is fabricated based on the company’s latest D platform that offers alert handling and nearly get rid of the torque steer linked with loaded horsepower front wheel drive cars. It features an innovative Xtronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) with manual mode as well. It is altered particularly for net generation’s sporty driving nature. A brand new "Ds mode" (drive sport) has been added to the CVT for 2009 intended for drivers desiring for the extreme in vehicle control. "Ds mode" is an electronic control logic that improves sport driving through amplified speed up feel with superior engine revolutions, maintaining engine speed during cornering and automatic engine braking.

The new generation Maxima is outfitted with a 3.5 liter DOHC 24-valve VQ series V6 engine which is presently rated at 290 horsepower and 261 lb-ft of torque, increases of 35 horsepower and 9 lb-ft of torque over the 2008 Maxima.

“Green” tax breaks were introduced in Thailand last year. This is an effort of the nation as the world’s largest manufacturer of light pickups to tuck the title in the years to come. Annually, Thailand churns out 900,000 one-tonne trucks. The figure is three-fourths of global output.

The government is threatened by escalating oil prices and global warming concerns that could result in truck sales doldrums. This scenario could put a dent to Thai economy because shoppers are expected to shift to fuel-efficient compact cars. These reasons prompted the Thai government to offer incentives for the manufacturer of “eco-cars” that meet European emission standards.

"First-time car owners, and especially motorcyclists who want to become car owners, are cost-conscious consumers," said Surapong Paisitpatnapong, spokesman for the Federation of Thai Industries' automotive club. "Investments in eco-car production will help grow this new segment of the country's domestic auto market while increasing exports.”

By far, seven automakers have proposed eco-car projects to Thailand's Board of Investment. The automakers include Toyota Motor Corp., Volkswagen AG, and Tata Motors Surapong said four proposals have already been approved.

Also, Honda Motor Co. intends to invest $214 million to assemble eco-cars while manufacturing engines and parts in Thailand. Suzuki Motors, meanwhile, will invest $303.658 million to build a new factory in central Thailand. Approximately 80 percent of cars produces will be for export. Nissan Motors Co. also will invest $177 million to build 120,000 units annually. The output is also mainly allotted for export.

"Eco-cars are going to be hot in Thailand's auto market. The lower prices for these minicars, along with high oil prices, will drive up the demand," said Nongnapat Wilepana, a Nissan dealer in Bangkok.

AFP reported that under the scheme, the companies will not have to pay corporate income taxes on their investments for eight years, and duties on imported machinery will be waived.

“Thailand's main worry is that its auto industry depends entirely on foreign companies, since the kingdom has no national automaker,” Surapong noted. “That means the country will have to keep wooing automakers with attractive offers in the future to deter them from looking for better deals for their factories in other countries.”

Car designing may be compared with just about any form of art. For Shiro Nakamura, designing cars is like making music.

Nakamura’s work at Nissan, which manufactures premium cars under the Infiniti brand, involves a range of music. Each segment is treated as a different repertoire. It requires different rhythm, different lyrics.
"Luxury cars are like classical music: you have to respect certain rules - otherwise they will not be accepted," he noted, motioning to the models showcased at the Geneva Motor Show’s Infiniti stand. "The Nissan brand is more like jazz, pop or rock: you can ignore the rules."
The greatest challenge facing auto designers is to come up with a unique and captivating car that captures the soft spot of the masses. "Nissan draws hints from contemporary Japan – things like animation, and 'manga' (comics)," Nakamura told Reuters.

One of the most unique vehicles showcased by the Japanese automaker is the egg-shaped Pivo2 electric car concept. "With concept cars, we pull out all the stops - it's very cute and Japanese. You won't see anyone else doing something like this," he said. "But with mass-production cars, you want to tone it down without losing the essence, so they can be accepted by consumers.”

Nissan cars also hint extreme Japanese pop culture. Take the remodeled GT-R sports car. The iconic car is inspired by robot cult-comics like Gundam. "The GT-R is a total muscle car. It's completely unusual in Europe, very manga-like and mechanical, like Gundam," Nakamura said. "It's not traditional in any sense -- not elegant or aerodynamic. And that's okay, because this isn't a volume seller, and shouldn't be."

Infiniti, meanwhile, must have the elegance and universal characteristics that appeal to luxury goods consumers worldwide, Nakamura noted. "Infiniti's design, unlike Nissan's, is global and more inspired by nature," he added. "The reason is simple: customers seeking luxury have a common eye all over the world. It's the same with fashion."

Asked which is more challenging – the structure of classical music or the freedom of the jazz, Nakamura has this to say: "It's a different type of difficulty. In either case, it's a competition."

Any form of art is a form of power. Nissan’s styling epitomizes captivating music – that’s why it is powerful. And behind the power that it creates is a man named Shiro Nakamura.

At a press conference of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) held at the Toronto Congress Center at the country’s capital, twelve vehicles from twelve “Car of the Year” categories were awarded as “Best New” for 2008.


Giving recognition to the vehicles is the AJAC’s means of giving Canadians honest comparative information about new vehicles debuting in the country’s auto market. To stand for this cause, the organization made the information about each vehicle that made it on the list in their website ready for consumer access. To come up with the vehicle’s data, AJAC conducted a series of evaluation for the 177 new vehicles which initially made it as entries. The four day vehicle tests were held last October 29-November 2, 2007 at the Niagara-on-the-lake in Ontario. This yearly vehicle assessment had been famed in the global auto industry as the “TestFest”.

For the data to be reliable reflecting real life consumer driving experiences, the TestFest’s evaluation program includes the typical driving at public roads. At the site, 70 Journalists get to pick their bet by means of driving the cars back to back themselves on the same roads, day and under the same weather conditions to avoid bias. Seventeen evaluation parameters are used that basically include driver position and ergonomics, engine smoothness, steering, handling, visibility and styling both in the exterior and interior of the vehicle. With these filtering program, winning vehicles are really the best in their kind.

2008 CCOTY Co-chairman Paul Williams commented, "In my opinion, the AJAC Canadian Car of the Year awards are founded on the most objective, informed and thorough evaluation process you'll find. The evaluations are based on back-to-back testing in real-world situations. They're a uniquely Canadian resource for people looking to buy a new vehicle".

The 2008 category winners are:

BEST NEW SMALL CAR: Saturn Astra
BEST NEW FAMILY CAR: Honda Accord EX Sedan
BEST NEW LUXURY CAR: Mercedes-Benz C Class
BEST NEW PRESTIGE CAR (over $75,000): Audi R8
BEST NEW SPORTS/PERFORMANCE CAR under $50,000: MINI Cooper S
BEST NEW SPORTS/PERFORMANCE CAR over $50,000: Audi S5
BEST NEW CONVERTIBLE: BMW 335i Cabriolet
BEST NEW MINIVAN: Hyundai Entourage
BEST NEW PICKUP TRUCK: Chevrolet Silverado
BEST NEW SUV/CUV under $35,000: Nissan Rogue
BEST NEW SUV/CUV $35,000 - $60,000: Saturn Vue
BEST NEW SUV/CUV over $60,000: Buick Enclave

Aside from the twelve “Best New” awards, AJAC also awarded the Audi R8 as the “Most Coveted Vehicle”. The AJAC started recognizing vehicles as the “Most Coveted Vehicle” in 2005 giving honor to a dream car. The vehicle, to be a winner must gain the interests of car enthusiasts enough for them to say that it’s the vehicle they would buy in case they win in a lottery.

Nissan has recently announced the details and the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of the 2008 Nissan Sentra and Sentra SE-R compact sedan models.

Below are the complete manufacturer's suggested retail price list of 2008 Nissan Sentra:

2008 Nissan Sentra 2.0 with Xtronic CVT(TM) - $15,750
2008 Nissan Sentra 2.0 S with 6-speed MT- $15,980
2008 Nissan Sentra 2.0 S Xtronic CVT(TM) - $16,780
2008 Nissan Sentra 2.0 SL with Xtronic CVT(TM) - $18,680

All 2008 Nissan Sentra models are equipped with a 2.0-liter DOHC inline 4-cylinder engine pumping out 140. Meanwhile, the 2008 Nissan Sentra SE-R and Sentra SE-R Spec V models feature Nissan's sporty characteristics and powerful performance.

MSRP for the 2008 Nissan Sentra SE-R is at $19,680, while the 2008 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V will roll out in dealerships carrying a base price of $20,180.