The Four Door Sports Car
It is 9 p.m. on a Wednesday night as I write this auto review. The weather has been stormy in Dallas since early last evening. The rain gauge says a little over 10 inches has fallen. The leak over the kitchen window has stopped as the storm moved north into Oklahoma. Buckets and a mop leaning up against the wall bear testimony to the storm’s once presence.
The city and nearby suburbs saw several tornadoes touch down, causing some damages to several commercial buildings as well as homes east of the city. Scores of high-water rescues have been made in the northern part of the Metroplex.
Staying home just made me nervous, as I reflected on the television reports and saw pictures of the tornadoes. I just needed to get away to think about what had happened and appreciate how lucky my family was in avoiding these terrible consequences.
They had delivered the Nissan Maxima the day before and I had yet to drive it, so I just started out to see if I could calm down some. I didn’t pay much attention to the car at first. I was too busy enjoying the quietness of the ride and listening to the music. But as the minutes turned into an hour I began to access the car more astutely.
It handled well as I darted around broken tree limbs that were scattered along some roadways. It clung to the road even though some standing water had been observed, causing me to slow down. I didn’t use much of the 290 hp that I read about later. Everything was “power”-oriented, frankly too many items to mention here. I continued to listen to local weather reports advising about roads still underwater and locations of downed power lines.
Rather than focusing on the calamity throughout the city, I just lived for the moment, enjoying the ride in a fine luxury sports car that seemed more than happy to chariot me around, making me feel safe and assured that a quality automobile enveloped me.
My mood had completely changed by the time I arrived back home. I was feeling so much better that I felt a little ashamed for feeling so good when so many of my city neighbors were struggling to understand the horrors that had befallen them.
As my mood began to shift back toward the dismal state, I began to read about all the accouterments the Maxima Sports Car had. Electronic brake force distribution, 4-wheel anti-lock braking system, traction control system, and vehicle dynamics control were all systems that would make any driver’s journey safer and incident free.
Inside the new 2010 Nissan Maxima (Courtesy of Nissan Newsroom) The 3.5-liter DOHC 24-valve engine would help to make the 19 city mpg and 26 highway mpg more validated, while the 8-way power driver’s seat and 4-way front passenger seat made the pilot and the copilot comfortable and even more secure than ever with the driver’s seat power lumbar support and seat manual thigh-support extension.
The government safety ratings gave Maxima five stars in frontal crash for driver and passenger, a five-star side crash rating for front and rear seat, and even a five-star rating for rollover, which is higher than most vehicles in this class.
The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $33,180. Additional add-ons such as the Complete Sports Package of items like paddles shifts, premium leather-appointed seats, and other extras could add an additional $5,000.
I just hope I can enjoy the car for a few more days, and storm clouds can stay out of my way. Wow! Was that thunder that I just heard?
Durhl Caussey writes a car column read around the world.
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