Maxima - Jalopnik

posts about #maxima more →
Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
Datsun Voice Warning Phonograph Mystery Solved: It Talks!
World's Most Hideous Nissan Maxima Found In Kuwait
PCH, Rear-Drive Japanese Sedan Hoonage Edition: Cressida or Maxima?
2009 Nissan Maxima Pricing Announced
2010 Nissan Maxima Diesel Transmission Rumors Shift, Now Automatic-Only
2009 Nissan Maxima Is Here, F'real This Time With Details
2009 Nissan Maxima Revealed, Still Unofficially
2009 Nissan Maxima, Revealed!
2009 Nissan Maxima, Teased

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

I was drivin' that Model A
04:13 PM

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp

Um, this is incredibly advanced for some of us.

The above pic comes from a '95 Mercedes E320, a car which retailed for $45K-50K back in 1995.

I wish for a hyphenated label! The "alarm activated" light is the right-most item.

I wondered what it was when I bought it in January, 'cause while it looked OEM, the car is 15 years old...so you never know what stupidity is lurking.

Fortunately, it blinks every few seconds when armed, so the first night, I figured it out.

Please note the rocker switch which uses vacuum release to flop the rear headrests to the parcel shelf.

I have to admit, this is an advance over the '89 W126 I had which had -0- indication of an OEM alarm system. Imagine my further embarrassment when I found this out during trying to get it unstuck, moving sand/rock by hand in the Vegas desert landscape. #1980s
Reply

Turboner
12:23 PM

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
"Cruise cont" almost sounds nasty ;) #1980s
Reply

Turboner was starred Turboner was unstarred

If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
For some reason this reminds me of the middle seat belt buckles marked "CENTRE" on a string of Japanese cars my parents owned throughout the '80s and early '90s.

Man, I miss boxy gray dashboards with fake stitching, squared off, airbagless steering wheels and haphazard buttons placed with no consideration of ergonomics. #1980s
Reply

skitter
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
Twenty-three years late
I will suggest Anti-Theft
as a solution. #1980s
Reply

skitter was starred skitter was unstarred

SmaartAasSaabr
11/07/09

@skitter: better yet, a drawing of a lock #1980s
Reply

P161911 probably shoudn't have promoted this comment SmaartAasSaabr was starred SmaartAasSaabr was unstarred

P161911 probably shoudn't have
11/07/09

@SmaartAasSaabr: I was actually thinking that SECU-RITY was much better than some vague and indecipherable symbol. At least the Japanese labeled all their buttons. I've had a couple of BMWs that had buttons that I never did figure out what they did. #1980s
Reply

Ford Tempo Fanatic
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
I love it. Just look at that fake dashboard stitching! The 1980s were truly a great decade for automotive design; inside or out. #1980s
Reply

Ford Tempo Fanatic was starred

haxor911
11/07/09

@Ford Tempo Fanatic: fake stitching! the 80's was great decade for music not automotive design. I guess fake stitching is like todays chrome colored plastic pieces. #1980s
Reply

Ford Tempo Fanatic promoted this comment haxor911 was starred haxor911 was unstarred

Ford Tempo Fanatic
11/07/09

@haxor911: Hey now, I'll take an honest-and-true 80s anything over the fake stuff of today. Technology be damned, the pinnacle of automotive design was the mid-80s. After that, it was all down hill. #1980s
Reply

Ford Tempo Fanatic was starred

Novaload
11/07/09

@Ford Tempo Fanatic: Do you love it enough to look away from a Tempo? Or are you just cheatin'? #1980s
Reply

Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred

Ford Tempo Fanatic
11/07/09

@Novaload: Tempo still reigns supreme, but I can find good in most 1980s cars. Except J-Bodies. #1980s
Reply

Ford Tempo Fanatic was starred

pauljones
11/07/09

@Ford Tempo Fanatic: I respect you, man, but you're an odd duck.

The problem I have with the 80s is that you literally could not tell any car from any manufacturer apart.

Is it a Camry? An Accord? A Maxima? A Celebrity? Seriously. If you were to set all four of the above cars side by side, you would not be able to tell them apart. At all. I've actually seen all four of them at once.

The only good designs to come out of the 80s were the BMWs in general F-bodies, Supra Mk III, Corvette, Mustang, Taurus, Prelude, AE86, 2nd gen 300ZX, and the NSX.

Otherwise, it was all crap.
Reply

Edited by pauljones at 11/07/09 6:29 PM pauljones was starred pauljones was unstarred

skitter
11/07/09

@pauljones: I've actually seen all four of them at once.

How can you be sure? #1980s
Reply

skitter was starred skitter was unstarred

pauljones
11/07/09

@skitter: I actually wiped the dust off and saw the badges with my very own eyes. Not the badges couldn't have been swapped with no way of knowing.

The Celebrity was the easiest to identify, however; it was the only that was falling apart at the seems. #1980s
Reply

pauljones was starred pauljones was unstarred

Ford Tempo Fanatic
11/07/09

@pauljones: Camry, Accord, Maxima, Celebrity. Think man. What do all four of those automobiles have in common? They aren't Fords. Really, the only good designs to come out of the 1980s were from the hand of Ford and Chrysler designers. GM the Japanese could suck it with their appliances. That's not to say I wouldn't take a 1980s Maxima over a brand new Maxima, but everything is relevant. But when you're talking 1980s, the cars Ford was churning out were anything but dull.

All Wheel Drive Tempos, SHO Taurus', Mercury's with light up grills, even sportified Escort EXPs. It was all there. The F-Bodies and Corvettes too weren't much in comparison to, say, the SVO Mustang. We're talking about a high output 2.3L with forced induction that could wipe the floor with a V8 equipped Camaro. Everything about 1980s cars, especially from Ford, was innovative. If not the best, but hey, they tried new things. Which is more then can be said for automakers these days. #1980s
Reply

Ford Tempo Fanatic was starred

Novaload
11/07/09

@Ford Tempo Fanatic: Actually I had a 86 Sunbird that was high-end (for what it was) and was really nice, clean and sporty design with really nice trim and wheels and a factory awesome cassette player. If I ever find a picture of it, I'll post it. You wouldn't recognize it as a funky J. But it is the exception. #1980s
Reply

Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred

SmaartAasSaabr
11/07/09

@pauljones: Accords with pop-up headlamps, Celebrities with the concave rear and distinctive taillights, Maximas with the strange lights... they all seemed pretty distinct to me... #1980s
Reply

pauljones promoted this comment SmaartAasSaabr was starred SmaartAasSaabr was unstarred

pauljones
11/07/09

@SmaartAasSaabr:
Reply

pauljones was starred pauljones was unstarred

pauljones
11/07/09

@SmaartAasSaabr: #1980s
Reply

pauljones was starred pauljones was unstarred

pauljones
11/07/09

@SmaartAasSaabr: #1980s
Reply

pauljones was starred pauljones was unstarred

pauljones
11/07/09

@SmaartAasSaabr: #1980s
Reply

pauljones was starred pauljones was unstarred

pauljones
11/07/09

@SmaartAasSaabr: You were saying? #1980s
Reply

pauljones was starred pauljones was unstarred

Ford Tempo Fanatic
11/07/09

@pauljones: Still all far more appealing then a 2009-anything. The Chrysler Sebring looks much more distinct when compared to a modern Nissan Sentra, but really now. Come on. #1980s
Reply

Ford Tempo Fanatic was starred

Murilee Martin
11/07/09

@pauljones: The Fiero was a good design. Badly executed, unfortunately. #1980s
Reply

Murilee Martin was starred Murilee Martin was unstarred

If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face
11/07/09

@pauljones: I've never mistaken any of these cars for each other. But I'm also a huge nerd.

A lot of Japanese cars the overly similar styling in this era. The late-80s Camrys and 626s are a good example. At the same time, GM completely gave up on making any of their cars look the least bit different. It's bad when you can't tell the difference between an Eldorado and a Grand Am. #1980s
Reply

If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face
11/07/09

@Ford Tempo Fanatic: I'd definitely argue that Fords were the best engineered, best styled American cars in the '80s. Unfortunately, they weren't the best built; cars like the Taurus had a lot of substandard parts that just didn't have much durability and they just didn't last. Meanwhile, GM cars of the era were completely lacking in any sort of (good) innovation and generally felt as though not one person, from the very first design sketch until the moment it rolled off the assembly line, gave a rats ass about making a car anyone would want to buy. Yet, so many of those souless GMs absolutely refused to die, in spite of poor engineering, wretched drivetrains and abysmal build quality.

So in short, Ford built great cars that were hampered by quality that was decidedly not job 1, while GMs run bad longer than most cars run at all. And, Chrysler? Well, Chrysler was and still is pretty much on the same 5 year "A few exciting products followed by complete garbage and near backruptcy" business plan it's been using since 1955. #1980s
Reply

pauljones
11/07/09

@Murilee Martin: I concede the point. In retrospect, there are a few other good ones I missed as well, including the Fiero and the Miata. #1980s
Reply

pauljones was starred pauljones was unstarred

P161911 probably shoudn't have
11/07/09

@pauljones: Are you saying the 2000s are better? Sure there are a few distinctive designs, but I can't tell a Kia from a Honda from a Nissan from a Toyota, especially when it comes to mini-vans. Certain models are better than others, but since the mid-80s pretty much all vehicles in the appliance class have had a similar generic look that has changed somewhat with the times.. I would argue that overall for about the last 15 years we have had one of the greatest periods of automotive design stagnation. Most designs from the mid-90s until now look about the same. There are a few standouts like the current retro-muscle car craze, but I challenge you to find any other time that most 15 year old cars don't look dated. I drive a 14 year old car and most people think it is new. Think of how different any 1935 model looked from a 1950 and how different that 1950 looked from a 1965 model, how different a 1965 model looked from a 1980 model, big difference again in 1995. You could bring out half the designs from 1995 and call them 2010 models and you would be hard pressed to see any substantial differences from most of the other 2010s. I'll admit that there are a few exceptions to this but it is true for the vast majority of cars. #1980s
Reply

Ford Tempo Fanatic
02:56 PM

@If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face: I'm not going to argue that Ford build quality in the 1980s wasn't that great.. But I will argue that GM wasn't much better. Or equal. Actually, I think they were worse built. Especially towards the close of the decade and on into the early 1990s. I speak based on personal experience alone, so I shouldn't be too sure. Maybe the three I've had encounters with were just lemons? Either way, I've owned a 1994 Chevrolet K2500. Cheyenne trim, with no options whatsoever. 350/5spd with heat and a two speaker AM radio. Somehow, that truck has managed to break down more then both my 1990 F-150 and 1989 Tempo combined.

I didn't even know it was possible for manual, crank 'em windows to break until I owned that Chevy. #1980s
Reply

Ford Tempo Fanatic was starred

SmaartAasSaabr
04:49 PM

@P161911 probably shoudn't have: To make a '95 look like a 2010 you would need to make the headlights bigger, tailights bigger and the badge on the grille and trunk magnified by 20x. #1980s
Reply

P161911 probably shoudn't have promoted this comment SmaartAasSaabr was starred SmaartAasSaabr was unstarred

tonyola
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
I liked these boxy Maximas - particularly the '87 and '88 models with the raked-back nose. Had I been able to afford a Maxima in the day, I would have happily bought one to supplement my CRX. Notice the dash - a full complement of six needle gauges. Somehow, Maximas became less special and appealing after 1994 - seems that the sportiness was being slowly bled away. #1980s
Reply

tonyola was starred tonyola was unstarred

theeastbaykid
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
That's not an '87 Maxima dash--that's the startup screen for Windows 7! #1980s
Reply

theeastbaykid was starred theeastbaykid was unstarred

Novaload
11/07/09

@theeastbaykid: Bill Gates tracks everything on the internet for negative references to his products. You better set your Secu-Rity system on "High" for the next few days. #1980s
Reply

Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred

bzr
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp

And they had the good sense to set the typeface in Eurostile, I believe. Many Japanese companies love that font; Honda is obsessed with it. Take a look at the Engine Start button on the S2k, for example.

Yeah, I'm a font nerd. #1980s
Reply

bzr was starred bzr was unstarred

A strolling player
11/07/09

@bzr: Kindred spirits, we are. Did you ever notice that the gauges on the '92-'96 Camry use the same typeface as the displays in the later original-crew Star Trek movies?

...Yeah. #nerdalert
Reply

Edited by A strolling player at 11/07/09 1:49 PM A strolling player was starred

Maxichamp
11/07/09

In reply to Back When Automotive Interior Designers Weren't So Slick: SECU- RITY Indicator Lamp
I would like to see a collection of weird and hard-to-interpret dash buttons and pictograms please. #1980s
Reply

Maxichamp was starred Maxichamp was unstarred

skitter
11/07/09

@Maxichamp: My employer wants to go to text free industrial warning labels. They think a picture of bleeding fingers is just as effective as "Caution: Spinning Blades Below." Never mind the guy going "F*** me, those spin? Good thing you told me." #1980s
Reply

skitter was starred skitter was unstarred

blueplate
11/07/09

@skitter: The DTTS (driveshaft-through-the-Skull) is a very effective pictograph, and Jalopnik approved, too. #1980s
Reply

Murilee Martin promoted this comment blueplate was starred blueplate was unstarred

Murilee Martin
11/07/09

@blueplate: I actually commissioned that symbol to use in the transit-bus shop manuals I was writing at the time, but my boss took one look and said "hell no!" #1980s
Reply

Murilee Martin was starred Murilee Martin was unstarred

Novaload
11/07/09

@Maxichamp: Well, for that you just need to go find some very, very old Ballentine Pale India Ale--back in the day they had this almost impossible to decipher pictograms in very tiny images under the bottle cap. I probably still have some, 20 years later. They made no sense at all -- at least not in the US -- but it made for an interesting and hilarious drinking game as people sounded them out. #1980s
Reply

Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred

blueplate
11/07/09

@Murilee Martin: Looks good on t-shirts though. #1980s
Reply

blueplate was starred blueplate was unstarred

philibuster
09/30/09

In reply to 2009 Nissan Maxima, Revealed!
It looks like someone sat on the 1/4 scale clay model.
Reply

philibuster was starred philibuster was unstarred

Rust-MyEnemy
06/14/09

In reply to Datsun Voice Warning Phonograph Mystery Solved: It Talks!
I rarely come on here these days, but Murilee and the outrageous world of anachronistic futurism a`la obsolescent 80's machinery keep me coming back at weekend.

Shine on, Phil, you Crazy Diamond.
Reply

Rust-MyEnemy was starred Rust-MyEnemy was unstarred

MushyHeirloom
06/14/09

@Rust-MyEnemy: HOT PISS! Rusty's back!
Reply

MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred

Rust-MyEnemy
06/15/09

@Ambiguously Fuzzy Plushroom: And not just my Back! Whassup, bitches?!
Reply

Rust-MyEnemy was starred Rust-MyEnemy was unstarred

☠Grяrяrяrяrя, portrait of a chickenwolfmoosepig.
06/14/09

In reply to Datsun Voice Warning Phonograph Mystery Solved: It Talks!
There's a LeMons punishment in there somewhere, I know it!
Reply

Murilee Martin
06/14/09

@☠Grяrяrяrяrя sings the doom song now!: I'm not wasting that cool device on a LeMons punishment. I've got some cheapo solid-state noisemakers that are way more unpleasant.
Reply

Murilee Martin was starred Murilee Martin was unstarred

MrEvil
06/13/09

In reply to Datsun Voice Warning Phonograph Mystery Solved: It Talks!
Man if only newer cars had one of these voice modules, but you could change the message. I'd put in Eddie Murphy's talking cars bit.

"Say man, I think someone just stole your battery. I say we go get the motherfucker!"
Reply

MrEvil was starred MrEvil was unstarred

ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNO-TOAD
06/13/09

@MrEvil:

Dials read out of gas.

me: *not noticing*

car: "Shrek, I'm a donkey!"

passenger: *leaves car*
Reply

MushyHeirloom
06/14/09

@darkstar: I shouldn't be laughing this hard...
Reply

MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred

B1663R
06/13/09

In reply to Datsun Voice Warning Phonograph Mystery Solved: It Talks!

Reply

B1663R was starred B1663R was unstarred

MushyHeirloom
06/13/09

@B1663R: "Spell 'caravan.'"

"Your engine is overheating. Prompt service is required."

I almost fell out of my chair.
Reply

MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred

Charles_Barrett - Now with Variable-Valve Timing
06/14/09

@B1663R:

Again, tearful laughing. It's like entering a debate with Professor Hawking...
Reply

Novaload
06/13/09

In reply to Datsun Voice Warning Phonograph Mystery Solved: It Talks!
We had one of the first crappy talking cameras. It was from Japan and they didn't even try to get a fluent woman; we'd hear things like "Too dock! Use frash!"

Twas more amusing than helpful.
Reply

Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred

MrEvil
06/13/09

@Novaload Misses Murilee: That just made me LOL. I award you an Internet Novaload.
Reply

MrEvil was starred MrEvil was unstarred

YouCreepyOldFart
06/14/09

@Novaload Misses Murilee: Like this one:
Reply

YouCreepyOldFart was starred YouCreepyOldFart was unstarred

YouCreepyOldFart
06/14/09

@YouCreepyOldFart:
Reply

YouCreepyOldFart was starred YouCreepyOldFart was unstarred

Novaload
06/14/09

@YouCreepyOldFart: Yeah, our camera was some cheap-o offbrand first year import POS.

If only it had spoken so clearly! We had lots of very blurry pictures due to the photographer of the moment still laughing from the camera's inscrutable alarms and warnings.
Reply

Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred

Novaload
06/14/09

@MrEvil: Thanks. I award you a heartclicky in case you're also named after the notorious MoPar Mr.Evil.
Reply

Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred

Charles_Barrett - Now with Variable-Valve Timing
06/14/09

@Novaload Misses Murilee:

Oh my God! I haven't stopped laughing/tearing up since I read it. ..!
Reply

Earlier threads | All threads | Show hidden threads | Show featured threads only | Start a new discussion

SUBSCRIBE TO Jalopnik

Login

Reset Password

Register

Submit Your Comment