Ever since the all-new Altima was introduced, how many of you even remember that the Maxima was on Nissan’s lineup? Yeah, I forgot too. So it comes to great surprised that Nissan is actually bothering to introduce the 2009 Maxima. Lets examine this from a “market” standpoint. Where exactly does the Maxima fall under? The former Camry/Accord competitor has stepped aside to let the Altima take on the top family sedans from Japan. So who exactly is Nissan targeting with this sedan exactly? Definitely not the older generation that tend to flock to the Toyota Avalon. Honda doesn’t even have anything beyond the Accord in terms of sedans. If anything, the Maxima seems to be wasted effort considering the Infiniti G-series are far superior, exciting and happen to fall just a few thousands north of the Maxima (nothing good haggling skills can’t fix). If this isn’t cannibalism, I don’t know what is.

2009 Maxima Pictures (courtesy of Autoblog.com)

Can we say EWW? Doesn’t look any better than the old one if you ask me. It’s got an upgraded feel, a wanna-be GTR grill and the interior seems to have higher-quality materials. But whats the deal with the head lights? Tail-lights remind of me a Civic Coupe. I’m sure you know how to spell D-I-S-A-P-P-O-I-N-T-M-E-N-T.