The Nissan Maxima is a full-size car manufactured by Nissan, marketed as the "four-door sports car". The origins of the Maxima began in July 1976 as the Datsun 810, an upscale six-cylinder version of the Bluebird, and was spun into its own line in 1981, having been made continuously since then. The "Maxima" name was applied gradually, beginning in 1981. Most pre-2004 Maximas were built in Oppama, Japan, until the current North American Maximas started being assembled in Smyrna, Tennessee. The "Maxima" has also been applied to Cefiros and Laurels in various markets. The Maxima model line began... with the six-cylinder Nissan Bluebird G6, which was available in the US as the Datsun 810 from February 1977. With a longer nose than the regular Bluebird, to accommodate a longer inline-six engine, it was powered by two versions of the SOHC L-series I6 engine: a 2.0 L displacement for the Japanese market and a 2.4 L unit for the US market. The Bluebird G6 used a carburetor for the base model and fuel injection for the sporty version. The 2.0 L engine was good for 122 PS JIS , while the bigger American engine could reach 125 hp SAE .
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