Click the new Maxima for a high-res gallery of 60+ photos

Almost a year ago, Nissan announced that they would introduce their first U.S.-market diesel engines in 2010 in the Nissan Maxima. While we still have a while to wait for the new fifty-state legal diesel V-6 to turn up, the car that will carry it is debuting this week in New York. The 2009 Maxima is the first new production Nissan to carry the design language that debuted on the Nissan Forum concept at the Detroit Auto Show.

The bodywork of the new Maxima has a look that Nissan describes as "liquid motion." The look is livelier than the current model, which has something of a slab sided, sharp edged style. The hood has a wave-like appearance with a trough on either side of the center bulge while the fenders are more prominent than the old car. For its launch this summer the Maxima will be available with Nissan's 3.5L gasoline V-6 paired up with the Xtronic continuously variable transmission driving the front wheels. The new diesel is a 3.0L V-6 being jointly developed by Renault and Nissan that will be fully Tier 2 Bin 5 compliant. After it debuts in the Maxima, it will almost certainly be added to other Nissan models and a higher-performance version will go into Infinitis.


[Source: Nissan]

Click above to view high-res gallery of the 2009 Nissan Maxima

It's embargo-breaking time again. With previews beginning tomorrow for the New York Auto show, the star of the Nissan stand has hit the web already. The all new 2009 Maxima has popped up on Supernissans.net, which published the first half-dozen pics of the Nissan's new "four door sports car." The sedan wears design elements that first appeared on the Nissan Forum concept from the Detroit Show in January, and is slated to be the first home for Nissan's new fifty-state clean diesel in 2010. We'll have more details when Nissan does the official unveiling in New York tomorrow.


[Source: Supernissans.net, World Car Fans, Motor Authority]

Just over a month before we get to see the 2009 Nissan Maxima for real at the New York Auto Show, the first spy shots of the new sedan have popped up on the net. According to a Nissan spokesman we talked to at the Chicago Auto Show, the new Maxima will be returning to a sportier flavor more akin to the "four door sports car" tag-line it used to carry. More importantly, the new top Nissan will also be the first platform for Nissan's first U.S.-market diesel. The 3.0L V-6 being developed by Nissan and French partner Renault will find a home in the Maxima for 2010. It's also being reported that the Altima Maxima will get a hybrid variant although whether that is the Toyota-licensed system currently used in the Maxima or the new in-house Nissan developed system is unclear. Either way the diesel is probably the more interesting choice anyway. Perhaps we'll see a diesel-hybrid? We'll let you know when we get to New York.

[Source: LeftLaneNews]

While some of Nissan's green moves include forays into diesel technology (see these posts on the Titan and the Forum concept), the company is also working on a foolproof way to increase MPGs: reducing weight. According to a story in DowJones, Nissan is working to slash the average weight of its vehicles by 15 percent (compared to 2005 model year numbers) over the next seven years. The cuts will come "by rethinking vehicle design, using light weight materials and encouraging parts suppliers to also pursue the new efficiency targets."

While Autoblog greeted this news with an eye to more "compelling driving dynamics" (something I don't discount), this news is really a win for the auto industry as a whole. Nissan isn't some niche company making 100 cars a year, and if they seriously get into lightweight materials like carbon fiber panels, the cost for those expensive parts should go down for everyone. Now that's exciting.

[Source: Chris Oliver / DowJones via Autoblog]

At the introduction of the Nissan Forum concept, VP of Product Planning Larry Dominique talked about diesels beyond the 3.0L V-6 being developed for the Maxima. If the slow-selling Titan pickup truck survives into the next decade, Nissan wants a diesel engine to put in it. By that time, all of the domestic truck makers will have new clean diesel engines in their light-duty pickup trucks. Even Toyota has a new 4.5L diesel V-8 in foreign market versions of their new Land Cruiser that could be adapted to the Tundra. That leaves Nissan looking for a partner. They had been negotiating with International Truck, who currently supply diesels to Ford for their Super Duty pickups. However, those talks have apparently not panned out. According to Dominique, Nissan is still trying to find the right partner.

[Source: Nissan]

It looks the new 3.0L V-6 clean diesel that Nissan is working up with corporate partner Renault for 2010 will find it's way into a wide variety of vehicles from the company, including the upscale Infiniti brand. Back in mid-August Nissan filed several new trademarks including EX30D, G30D, FX30D, and M30D. These names all fit Infiniti's standard nomenclature with a 3.0L engine and the D designating a diesel. The attractive G30D would be a particularly appealing combination in the mid-sized sport sedan market. Hopefully the diesel V-6 that Honda is developing for vehicles like the Ridgeline and Odyssey will also wind up under the hood of some Acura sedans like the next generation TL. We're looking forward to a comparison test of the TL Type-D, G30D, BMW 330d and hopefully a Cadillac CTS 2.9D around the turn of the decade. Between all these mid-sized diesels and range-extended EVs as well as straight battery electrics, it looks like driving efficiently in the near future won't mean giving up driving enjoyment.

[Source: AutoSpies]