Nevermind its corporate headquarters location -- Nissan is as American a car company as any other. The Maxima is a prime example of that; originally, the Datsun 180 used a tiny four-cylinder engine, but in 1980 Nissan stretched its nose and dropped in a straight-six engine. This American-market car became the Datsun 810 Maxima -- the very first car to fly a tiny "Nissan" badge.
The 2000 model year was the very first for the fifth-generation Maxima, a sporty little beast with a VQ-series V-6 engine capable of pushing it to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds. This generation of Maxima used MacPherson strut suspension front and rear. The shock absorbers were integrated into the strut bodies, with the primary difference between the front and rear struts being the mount on the bottom. The rear struts also used smaller diameter springs than the front, which had to bear the brunt of the car's weight and performance duties. The 2000 and 2001 models used the same strut assemblies front and rear; as of 2014, you can pick up a set of four strut assembly replacements for about $500 online.
