Nissan just picked up a few points in our book for reversing the trend and announcing that the 2010 Nissan Maxima Diesel will be offered only with a manual cog-swapper, just in time for the oil-fueled American Civil War of 2009. Why Nissan's avoiding the large, slow-footed market after the jump.
Because the new M9R diesel engine features a turbocharger and engineers are worried that drivers will be disappointed by the lag, Nissan's decided to only offer the new oil-burning Maxima with a manual transmission. Makes sense to us — anything to return the 'merican market to its driving-for-fun past.
Although we generally like the relatively less awkward-looking 2009 Nissan Maxima, and some claim it marks a return to the Maxima's 4DSC roots, it still looks a bit heavy to us, but the combination of a torquey diesel engine and a stick is intriguing. [Automotive News via eGMCarTech]