first I've been lurking here for awhile because I was in the middle of purchasing a 2k2max,but I was considering the cl-s. A buddy of mine owns the cl-s and had the transmission problem you all are speaking of. His car was in the shop for 37 days before it got repaired. He was a very big fan of the acura until this problem and the car is very sweet. however, he will never buy another honda product again because of the tranny issue.
My maxima is a 2k2 SE I love it. I came from a very wimpy 99 passat(easy to tweek). My belief right now is to stay with nissan products and maybe buy my wife a SE-R when she is out of her lease.
My opinion go with the max save yourself two grand and the headaches even when loaded up with the nav system over the CL-S.