The first gen maximas came with the L24e engine for gasoline and the L28d for diesel. Find out what configuration those engines had and you have your answer. Or you can take my word for it that they are inline 6's. Not until the second gen did they go to the v-6. I believe the second gen has the VE and the 3rd gen (the one home boy looked at) came with the VG. Starting in 95 Nissan took the first step foward to producing the worlds best six cylinder with the introduction of the VQ series which is still in use today. It has ranked as the number one six every year its been produced, and is in the all time top 10 best engines ever produced for quite a few years according to Wards Automotive.