In All but the Name, a New Nissan Maxima The Nissan Sport Sedan Concept Fabrizio Costantini for The New York Times Introduced on Monday: Nissan Sport Sedan Concept A sneak peek at a coming replacement for the Nissan Maxima, although Nissan isn't ready to make that official. Some of the concept's filigree will surely be pared before this sedan reaches showrooms, perhaps including the trompe l'oiel taillamps and huge cheese-grater wheels. Yet the overall silhouette and many of the brawny styling cues will survive the cut. What they said: Andy Palmer, Nissan executive vice president, said the automaker had topped one million sales in America for two years running and won't be deterred from its ambitious electrification plans. "We will not relinquish our lead in electric vehicles," Mr. Palmer said. Despite naysayers, this is the era of electrification and electronics. What they didn't say: If Nissan has been building a thick playbook of new and exciting design ideas, why were none of them applied to an excruciating dullard like the Sentra? When the Maxima replacement goes on sale, expect conventional front-wheel-drive powertrains, most likely a V6 with better than 300 horsepower and perhaps a turbocharged 4-cylinder model, with a plug-in hybrid further down the road. A production Maxima based on this concept is set to arrive in 2015 as a 2016 model, probably starting around $32,000. That showroom version may pop up at the New York Auto Show in April 2015. Miles better than the current, boaty-looking Maxima. The boomerang headlamps, chiseled front end, "floating" roof and swooping, plunging character lines portend an intriguing addition to the big-sedan class.