The Nissan Cefiros have had a good
reputation all over the world as good, solid, reliable and
dependable transport. A damn good package, but always with a
tendency to be a little bland. All that has changed, says our
Down-Under correspondent, John Weinthal. It now has genuine
style and character, says John.
Here
are the Words from Weinthal:
“Nissan dealers and enthusiasts alike
should be delighted with the appearance of the latest luxury
Maxima sedan. My doctor would be too, if only he knew as much
about cars as he does - thankfully - about homo sapiens.
We’ll get back to the good doctor later. (That’s not me!
Dr. Iain.)
“Maxima was always a fine sedan but now
it has the two vital elements missing from the start - style
and a genuine identity. No Maxima has been less than good,
they have always more than matched class norms for comfort,
performance, equipment levels and build quality. But nobody
ever bought one to impress onlookers. Their styling, until
now, was always from the white goods school: effective,
efficient but unexciting and uninspired.
“New
Maxima changes all that. It has real class in its external
lines, particularly side-on and three-quarter rear. The
interior is both original and inspired - it epitomizes
quality, class and elegance. That it is also extremely
functional and user-friendly is a nice plus - but the sort of
thing one expects from Nissan.
“Beneath the bonnet lies a 170kW 3.5litre
V6. This is shared with the 350Z sports models although their
power output is upped to 206kW. The lower power is not missed
as such and no doubt contributes to the Maxima’s laudable
fuel consumption and greater refinement. An excellent four
speed auto complements the engine perfectly for seamless,
near-silent progress around town or cruising the highways and
byways.
“Safety
is big with the Maxima Sti model setting the pace with four
airbags, anti-lock brakes with electronic brake force
distribution, brake assist, electronic skid control and
three-point seatbelts for all five seats. This luxury sedan
also boasts dual zone climate control air-conditioning,
eight-way adjustable power driver’s seat, cruise control,
17" alloy wheels and all the usual electrics.
“Maximas start at AUD 39,990 for the Sti.
Another AUD 6000 buys Ti badging, full leather interior trim,
power sunroof, side curtain airbags, power operation for the
front passenger’s seat and a six-stacker CD with six
speakers. Topping the Maxima range at AUD 49,000 gets you
umpire’s privileges as you determine whether your kids use
the CD, video, DVD or MP3 elements of Nissan’s comprehensive
rear seat entertainment centre. Thankfully there’s a ton of
rear head, leg and shoulder room so even lanky teens will be
comfortable while they exercise these toys.
“This is one of the most hushed cars
around - we are talking near-Lexus hush - and that is key to
what this car is all about: comfortable, distress-free
unintimidating progress. With 170kW up front Maxima can be
rapid - it CAN be hustled. But that is not its prime purpose.
“This brings us back to Dr D. This really
is the car for him. It has the right size and classy looks -
especially the interior - for his personal needs and
professional status (not that he personally would rate that
element highly). It can more than lug his golf bags as well as
the usual medico stuff, plus the family baggage for times at
their Gold Coast retreat.
“His current car is a Ford Fairmont,
which he likes. His wife has a Subaru WRX, which he
misunderstands as defiantly as she does his Fairmont. There is
never an argument over who drives what - both detest the
other’s car. Now, were they to switch to Nissan, he would
have a Maxima Ti and be as happy as they come. His wife would
delight in a 350Z - coupe or convertible, she would not really
care - and raise even more eyebrows as she swept into the
drama teacher’s parking space at one of Brisbane’s more
exclusive colleges.
“Maxima is as Maxima always was, but now it comes with
genuine style and character.” (Thank you John, and I look
forward to your comments on the Bangkok Motor Show, on this
month from March 26 to April 4.)
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Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I asked which race driver used to
bring along a recording of his country’s national anthem,
just in case the race organizers didn’t have one to play
after he won the race? It was Nuvolari, who would bring the
Italian national anthem, as played so often these days, every
time a Ferrari wins. Which is often.
 So
to this week. Again in an effort to thwart to web-crawlers,
take a look at this photo. What is the make of this car, and
what movie is this still from?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be
the first correct answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
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A leg-over for 15 days
Does a ‘secret biker’ live inside all
of us? For many it does. Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda and the
film Easy Rider has a lot to answer for. However, there is one
tour company that understands. It is Special Journey - a tour
company with a difference. They specialize in 15 day tours to
scenic spots in Thailand on motorcycles. The motorcycles which
are supplied are 200 cc Honda Phantoms and the bikes are fully
insured. The tour includes all the accommodation and many
other items. As far as I can see, the destinations include
many out of the way places, to allow the riders to experience
a little of the ‘unspoiled’ Thailand, as opposed to the
‘tourist’ Thailand. If you have always hankered for the
“Born to Ride” feeling, then contact Special Journey
Company, telephone 02 917 1300, fax 02 917 0904, or email sjj@
specialjourney.com
Thanks to Rene Pisters, GM at the Thai Garden Resort for
bringing this item to my attention.
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Malaysian Grand Prix this
weekend!
After the Ferrari rout two weeks ago, there
will have been more than a few F1 designers that had sleepless
nights last week. Despite the pundits still claiming that
Michelin are the quickest tyres, and citing this as the reason
that BAR are so high up the grid, they are ignoring the fact
that Bridgestone won the world championship last year and
Bridgestone came 1-2 in Australia at the first round this
year.
 The
team with the most problems seems to be McLaren. Raikkonen
popped an engine in Australia in a big way, with both back
wheels locked up. Raikkonen looked less than impressed as he
walked away from it. The Ronster would also have been less
than pleased, and Mercedes’ Norbert Haug would have been
having the odd Germanic threat to the engine division, having
taken over the running of the Ilmor organization, who design
and build the power plants. The rumour mill also has Ron
Dennis retiring at the end of the year, and I am sure Ron does
not want to slink off like a defeated dog.
The new crop of drivers did not really have
much of a chance to show what they are capable of, with
mechanical catastrophe being the order of the day in
Melbourne. Young Austrian Christian Klien did keep his nose in
the same condition and finished the race in his Jaguar, but
was never seen in the telecast.
Another team that did not cover itself in
glory was that of Toyota. I was pleased to see that after the
race, they did not try to conceal the problem, admitting that
their cars were lacking in grip, both aerodynamic and
mechanical. Toyota’s Mike Gascoyne said, “Let me take this
opportunity to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with
our engine. Luca Marmorini (technical director engine) and his
team have done a tremendous job and have produced what I
consider to be a World Championship-winning engine. Our main
problems are with the chassis and, in particular its
aerodynamics, but we already have programmes in place to
rectify the situation and everyone is working flat-out to get
us where we should be, which is at the front of the grid.”
Now there’s an honest man!
While mentioning performances, the telecast
itself deserves a mention, just in its awfulness! Unless a
driver was actually in the leading bunch, he was never seen.
Even when there was some dicing, such as Montoya and Trulli,
they cut to a pit stop! I find it difficult at times not to
throw things at the screen. The inane commentaries are bad
enough, and with buy-drive F1 dropout Alex Yoong as their
authoritative talking head, need I say more?
As usual I will be watching at Shenanigans, in front of the
big screen. I think coverage will start around 1 p.m. (with
the race at around 2 p.m.), but please check with Shenanigans
or UBC. I would hate you to miss the start! Join me for lunch.
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World going Mini?
We have just had the Geneva Motor Show (and
are about to have the Bangkok International Motor Show next
week) and the trend appearing at the shows is for more small
cars to be shown as concepts. Thoughts of oil shortages always
bring on a rash of tiddlers.
 Castagana
Mini Wagon
The retro Fiat Treppiuno definitely brings
back memories of the Bambino, while the Castagana Mini Wagon
evokes thoughts of that dreadful Mini variant, called the
Traveller, complete with the wood bits glued on the side.
These always rotted and fell off, but in the Castagana it’s
probably faux wood anyway! The Opel looks very interesting,
and there are rumours that this may make it into production.
With the future overcrowding of the world’s highways, and
the questionable dependence on fossil fuels, small, fuel
efficient, space efficient vehicles make more sense than
anything else.
Fiat
Treppiuno
Opel
Trixx
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