The Nissan Maxima was a compact car and now a full-size car manufactured by Nissan and sold primarily in North America, the Middle East, and China. Although it made its sales debut for the 1982 model year as the Datsun Maxima, the name "Maxima" was used in 1981 for the highest trim Datsun 810, which was sold as the "810 Maxima" in North America. For the 1985 model year, the Datsun brand was phased out in favor of Nissan, thus becoming the Nissan Maxima. The Maxima has been built in 8 generations, and remains in production.