Mistaken identity? The 2009 Nissan Maxima

A famous Fortune magazine cover from 1983 shows a birds-eye view of a Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick parked side by side. With identical hoods, trunks, and greenhouses, the all-but-indistinguishable sedans make a mockery of Alfred P. Sloan’s famous brand ladder, in which customers would start with a Chevy and work their way through the GM lineup to a Cadillac. Many people use that cover, which was reprinted in Automotive News as recently as last week, to date the beginning of the downfall for GM’s autonomous divisions. Why do you need four separate brands if they are attached to what is, essentially, the same car?

I had the same thought when I compared the specifications of the 2009 Nissan Maxima (pictured above) I drove recently against the 2009 Nissan Altima. Nissan freely admits the two cars are built off the same platform, but I was unprepared for the degree of similarity between them:

– Length: At 190.6 inches, the Maxima is just .8 longer than the Altima.

–Height: The Altima is .1 inch  taller than the Maxima.

–Wheelbase: Both are exactly 109.3 inches between the axles.

– Powertrain: Both are powered by a 3.5 liter, six-cylinder engine with a CVT transmission.

–Horsepower: The Maxima is rated at 290 hp; the Altima at 270 hp. Fuel economy is nevertheless identical for both cars: 19 city; 26 highway.

–Price: An Altima 3.5 SL, the top-of-the-line, starts at $29,380. The range-topping Maxima 3.5 SV goes for $2,610 more.

To be sure, Nissan positions these two cars completely differently. The Altima is sold as a family vehicle, competing head-to-head with the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.  For the Maxima, Nissan has revived its “four-door sports car” label. It considers the Maxima to be the flagship of its fleet, and points to its superior performance, upgraded brakes and wheels, and the availability of options like a rearview camera and climate-controlled seats.

I certainly had no complaints about my Maxima SV,  equipped with the sports package that stickered at $37,380. Except for the rear spoiler and the banana-sized paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel, it exemplified up-to-the minute design without being trendy. In particular, the instrument controls are a model of utility and style. On the road, the Maxima felt peppy and responsive, though it seemed a bit burdened in steering and handling by its front-wheel-drive architecture.

That might have been avoided – along with the Altima overlap – had Nissan chosen to base the Maxima on another one of its platforms. That’s the rear-drive setup it uses for the appealing Infiniti G35 sedan. Why Nissan decided not to go with that platform probably has to do with economy, timing, and dilution of the Infiniti brand. Although Toyota year after year puts some lipstick on a Camry and calls it a Lexus ES 350, Infiniti apparently feels that it can’t afford the same legerdemain with its nameplates.

Still, with  Altima outselling the Maxima five to one these days, Nissan may need to find some way to more sharply define its personality before it disappears just the way Oldsmobile did.