I picked it because I needed a 4 door sedan (had a newborn at the time) and wanted something a) cheap, b) reasonably fun to drive, c) comfortable, d) roomy, e) safe.
I drive a 2003 Nissan Maxima SE I bought new in April 2003. Nissan had released the 2004 Maxima which was a completely new car so they were heavily discounting the remaining 2003 models they had in stock. I paid $22,900 for my car which was less than an Altima cost at the time but I have the VQ35 engine, HID headlights, better quality interior, power moonroof, power drivers seat, Homelink, power mirrors, power door locks, power windows. Plus I got 1.9% financing for 5 years through Nissan.
It has been a good car and I'm still driving it today with almost 98,000 miles on it. I'm ready for something else but have no plans to replace it anytime soon. I own it free and clear so the lure of a car payment isn't exactly doing much to motivate me to replace it.