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Even with the tough car market this year, Nissan North America says it expects to increase sales of its flagship Maxima sedan, whose newest generation began production last week at the company’s Smyrna, Tenn., assembly plant.

“I’m very glad to have this car,” Nissan Division Vice President and General Manager Al Castignetti said after a banner was cut and the first of the 2009 Maximas were driven off the assembly line to the cheers of dozens of assembled workers.

It’s the first complete redesign of the Maxima since 2004, and in this newest generation, Nissan says it is returning to its roots as a “four-door sports car.” The Maxima was first offered in 1982 in the U.S. market.

The 2009 model is built on the same basic architecture as Nissan’s popular Altima midsize sedan, which was completely redesigned for 2007.

“Even though it’s a down market, our sales goals [for the Maxima] are higher than last year’s,” Castignetti said. “This is going to be the best flagship in our history.”

The car comes only with a V-6 gasoline engine, and no four-cylinder engine is planned, he said, in keeping with the Maxima’s status as an aspirational vehicle positioned above the Altima.

“But I wouldn’t rule out anything,” he added. With gasoline prices hovering near $4 a gallon, consumers increasingly are abandoning V-8 and V-6 engines in favor of more-fuel-efficient four-cylinders, industry sales reports show.

The Maxima’s V-6 generates 290 horsepower, up 35 from the 2008 model. But fuel economy is slightly better than that of the ’08 model. EPA estimates for the new model are 19 miles per gallon city/26 highway.

Nissan plans to offer a diesel engine in the Maxima beginning in model year 2010. Diesels generally offer significantly better fuel economy than comparably sized gasoline engines, although in the United States, diesel fuel costs about 20 percent more than regular gasoline.

The Maxima is important to Nissan because it showcases the automaker’s best efforts in styling, performance and technology, the company said.

It’s also one of the Nissan brands with the most-loyal customers, Castignetti said, noting that of the Maximas sold since the car’s introduction in the United States, four of five are still on the road.

Nissan sold more than 60,000 of the Maxima last year, but an increase in volume is possible in the current market because consumers are turning more to cars as gasoline prices spike. Sales of trucks and SUVs have plummeted across the board.

The company’s Tennessee plant is heavily involved in sedan production, even though the midsize Pathfinder and compact Xterra SUVs and the Frontier compact pickup also are built there.

Besides the Maxima, the plant builds Altima sedans and coupes. It’s the only plant building the Altima coupe, while the Canton, Miss., plant also assembles the Altima sedan.

Workers in Smyrna began building Maximas in 2003, and more than 384,000 have been produced there since then, said Greg Daniels, Nissan’s senior vice president for U.S. manufacturing.

The Maxima is in the same class of vehicles as the Toyota Avalon and higher-end models of the Honda Accord, but it’s designed to reach a younger audience, thanks to its sporty performance and styling, Nissan said.

It’s more closely related to uplevel sedans such as the Acura TL, Lexus ES 350 and Infiniti G35, all of which come with similar 3.5-liter V-6 engines and luxury amenities.

The 2009 Maxima, which goes on sale June 26, will be offered in two versions, the base 3.5 S model and the uplevel 3.5 SV.

During a media ride-and-drive event earlier this week, I tested the new Maxima on a variety of roads ranging from interstate highways to twisty country lanes.

The power is awesome, and there is virtually no sign of torque steer, the tendency of a front-drive car to steer itself in the direction of the wheel that is getting the power.

I was a bit disappointed with the continuously variable automatic transmission, however. If this car is ever going to be taken seriously as a sports sedan, let alone a “four-door sports car,” it’s going to have to have at least a conventional five- or six-speed automatic, if not an optional manual gearbox (complete with clutch). No manual is offered, at least for now.

While Nissan officials said at the media event that the Maxima is not designed to appeal to consumers who would be looking seriously at the Avalon, the fact is that the Maxima is more luxury than sport when it comes to styling and performance.

In that vein, I would compare it to the Avalon, of course, but also to some more-expensive premium sedans, such as the Lexus ES 350 and Acura TL, both of which also are front-drive cars with lots of power and curb appeal.

Nissan Product Planner Mark Perry said the Maxima is designed to appeal to those who want a car of the same caliber as the ES 350 and TL, but “don’t want to pay the extra $4,000” to get the luxury nameplate on their car.

But in performance, the car’s design target was the much more-expensive BMW 5-series, he said.

The target customer for the Maxima, Perry said, is a married man age 45-50, college educated, with a median household income of $110,000.

“If they’re shopping the Avalon, they’re going to hate our car,” he said. Toyota aimed the Avalon at the near-60 age group.

To get the full 290 horsepower from the new Maxima, premium fuel is required. But Perry said it won’t hurt the engine to run regular gasoline; the only trade-off is a drop of 15 percent to 20 percent in horsepower.

This engine, with premium fuel, can propel the Maxima from zero to 60 mph in just under 6 seconds.

Eighteen-inch alloy wheels are standard, but 19-inch are optional.

Some of the unique exterior design features are the wraparound L-shaped headlights, wide grille, catamaran-style hood, and 12-LED taillights.

One cool option is a huge, dual-panel moon roof. A single-panel moon roof is standard.

No prices have been announced yet, but the 2008 Maxima ranges from $28,270-$30,540 plus freight and options.

The automotive columns of G. Chambers Williams III have appeared regularly in the Star-Telegram since 1995. Contact him at chambers@star-telegram.com.