Did Nissan/Infiniti ape a Mazda design?

"WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe" (wesbarton89)
11/05/2014 at 20:20 • Filed to: None

Ok, I'm looking at a 2000 I30 to buy, and the looks are pretty dang similar to my old '98 Mazda Millenia, in most profiles. Some differences for sure, but overall, pretty much the same. Pics for oppoinion.

Mazda:

Infiniti:

Maybe it's just me, but I see a lot of similarities, especially in the grille shape and taillamp shape.

DISCUSSION (15)

notacarguy > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/05/2014 at 20:23

they all looks like cars to me

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > notacarguy
11/05/2014 at 20:23

You are admittedly not a car guy, so that makes sense.

notacarguy > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/05/2014 at 20:24

you got me

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/05/2014 at 20:25

They're strikingly similar. The Mazda looks better built in photos, IMO.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy
11/05/2014 at 20:28

The Mazda is very well built. Definitely a solid car. Once I get an up close look at the I30 I'm looking to buy, I can get a better overall idea of how well it's built. From what I understand though, it does have good build quality, but I will be the final judge for myself.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/05/2014 at 20:35

Its a late-90s Japanese sedan... They all looked like 4th gen Nissan Maximas with different headlights and taillights (though that is, understandably, especially true for the Infiniti).

fhrblig > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/05/2014 at 20:36

I don't really see it, myself. The I30 was restyled just a bit from the donor car, the Maxima. The greenhouse of the Millenia is slimmer, that keeps it from looking too similar.

The Maxima/I30 do look a lot like this generation of Chevy Malibu though.

Kinja'd!!!

Not in the grille, obviously, but from the side.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O)
11/05/2014 at 20:40

The Maxima and I30 were both revised for 2000, with the fifth-gen Maxima. The I30 actually deviates a little bit more in that gen, which I like. But yes, they do all have a relatively similar look, I have noticed that. I guess it was just the look that everybody liked at the time.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > fhrblig
11/05/2014 at 20:41

I had a Cutlass of that same design. Never noticed that similarity. Huh. And, IMHO, the 2000 I30 looks way better than that same-gen Maxima. Yes, they're ultimately very similar, but the I30 at least got its own identity, rather than just a swapped grille. They even lengthened the car, which did wonders for it. I always thought the gen-5 Maximas were a little short and stubby looking.

fhrblig > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/05/2014 at 20:46

Speaking of rebadging/platform whoring... I had an Oldsmobile Alero, which seems to have most of the interior from the Cutlass, as the Cutlass did not have exactly the same dash as the Malibu. The Cutlass interior is like a weird mash-up of the Malibu and the Alero interiors.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > fhrblig
11/05/2014 at 20:48

Yep, and the Alero was a slightly modified Grand Am body. I had an Intrigue as well, which was a modded Grand Prix/Lumina/Monte Carlo. Oldsmobile did a lot of that. But, they built some pretty decent cars. I always had a bit of lust for a first-gen Olds Aurora, they're just really classy looking, and kind of futuristic in a way that only the 90s could do.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/05/2014 at 20:49

Yeah, we briefly had a 4th gen Maxima before I got my xTerra in 2001. It was a great car, and it looked decent enough. I do really like the headlights on the I30. They're vaguely reminiscent of a sedan version of the Nissan S15 headlights.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O)
11/05/2014 at 20:52

Yeah, I can kinda see it. A little more restrained, but still somewhat evocative. The S15 is a sharp looking car too.

fhrblig > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
11/05/2014 at 21:18

I actually had wanted an Intrigue, but it proved to be a couple grand out of my price range. The Alero was a good car though. Very reliable, and I sold it to my sister with 92k and she put another 100k plus on it. She now has a Pontiac G6 convertible.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > fhrblig
11/05/2014 at 21:21

The Intrigues were good. My mom bought a '99 in early 2005 for $3700. She drove it for years, then gave it to me. I promptly totaled it a month later. :(