Doug's thoughts on Infiniti

"KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time" (kngt)
04/17/2020 at 14:21 • Filed to: Doug Demuro, Doug, Infiniti, Nissan

DISCUSSION (32)

For Sweden > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 14:20

The greatest crossover event of all time

fintail > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 14:25

If it wasn’t for their CUV minivans they’d have been gone a few years ago.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 14:31

The sad part of this story is that the cars really never had that high a quality level. Lexus did, but Infiniti never “felt” that good...

lone_liberal > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 14:38

Maybe, just maybe, if they had updated more than the names of the cars since 2012 they would be doing better.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > lone_liberal
04/17/2020 at 14:40

Wait, actual quantifiable improvement over marketing fluff!?

Blaspemy! That is not the Johan way.

Tripper > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
04/17/2020 at 14:40

Agree. Infiniti defines the phrase “good on paper”

412GTI > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 14:41

Yep. My local Infiniti dealer consolidated from two showrooms to one, with the one switching over the a Hyundai store. Sad to see after how cool the 1st & 2nd generation G was, but man like Doug said their current lineup is terrible.

Ssfancyfresh > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 14:43

10 years ago , I got a rental car upgrade from a Kia Rondo to an Infiniti G37. It was glorious. I had never driven a car so powerful and sophisticated .

My in-laws bought the modern equivalent (Q50?) a few years ago and it was a disappointment. Not because that car was worse than the G37. Everything else in that class had just gotten that much better.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > 412GTI
04/17/2020 at 14:43

It’s like they made the excellent G35/G37 and then said “That’s a wrap folks, we’re done here” and left it at that for 15 years

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Tripper
04/17/2020 at 14:46

It is weird... I bought a Q45 to strip the driveline (340HP V8) out for another project... and had never spent any time in one.

Geez-Us. Other than some soft leather seats EVERY surface you touch is either cheap-shit plastic or switchgear from an Altima. How are they supposed to compete, plausibly, with Audi and Mercedes with this krap? And, this isn’t a “G” (cut-rate) near-luxury car... this is a Q45 “top of the line”.

I have no idea what they were thinking.

interstate366, now In The Industry > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 14:50

I don’t often agree with Doug, but I think he’s right here. Even Acura, which a few years ago was itself a laughingstock, is getting it together again. If I remember correctly, Lexus’ worst selling sedan, the GS, which is absolutely ancient, s old a mere 3000 in 2019 but still outsold 2-3 Infiniti models.

Ash78, voting early and often > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 15:36

I’ll defend them...a little.

They’re decent in part because Nissan is sucking. It’s all relative. Even the past few years’ models have had questionable interior materials, and the ongoing use of the VQ engine in so many luxury vehicles made them a little rough around the edges (personally, I’ll take a droning V6 over the clattery I4 turbos in so many cars today, so it’s a wash). Materials and quietness to me are two of the few areas that define luxury today.

The name change was — and still is — a disaster to me. Just communicating things to people about what models to look at, you have to pull out the Infiniti dictionary, 2000 - 2020, for translations.

“Excuse me sir, how you say G35 but newer and also it’s a crossover?”

“Ahh, you’re looking for the QX50, or maybe the QX30, but that’s really a hatchback, but we also have the QX70, which is just like the old G35 except that it’s front wheel drive and based on a Pathfinder that isn’t really a Pathfinder but just kept the name.”

“OK, it’s a luxury minivan.”

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 16:32

that take isn’t even slightly warm

RacinBob > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 16:42

Well said. The bottom line is that in the luxury segment, people buy cars because they excite them and because they make the driver feel good. Example - A R olex watch. Infinity lost that pretige and excitement. As somebody else commented, selling warmed over 10 year old technology as a premium product looks good on paper but fails in translation.

That is unless you want to use it as an Executive Upgrade on Emerald Aisle. I wonder how many Infinities went up in flames in Ft Meyers....

Kinja'd!!!

RacinBob > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 16:46

PS - Don’t forget this cat. True, he saved Nissan but he also rode it all the way down......

Kinja'd!!!

ranwhenparked > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
04/17/2020 at 16:58

The J30 had pretty solid build quality, the interior materials just weren’t great. But, they were assembled well.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > ranwhenparked
04/17/2020 at 17:23

And, I think the power plants have been good. We’ve had a couple of VQ engines over the years and they’ve been workhorses, work horses swathed in cheap plastic interiors...

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 17:53

Car company run by failing car company is failing.

News at 11.

Nauraushaun > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 18:33

Infiniti has already pulled from Australia, after struggling from the start and selling just 3987 cars TOTAL since mid 2012.

They also sold about 500 cars here between 1992 and 1993.

Abysmal.

I think there’s a greater theme here about how cars are becoming appliances, and ultimately the market is shrinking and we’re seeing brands die. Not just Infiniti, but Mitsubishi which was once so strong, Nissan, Pontiac and friends, etc.

interstate366, now In The Industry > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
04/17/2020 at 19:48

The VQ is a great engine as long as you’re deaf.

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 19:51

Fields closed up the Infiniti business, bought Knauz MINI and moved them into the Infiniti building.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > interstate366, now In The Industry
04/17/2020 at 20:17

Yeah, it’s weird. Even the HV GM 3.6 sounds good, the Busso V6 sounds great... and yet the VQ sounds like a Home Depot hardware jumble in a coffee can.

pip bip - choose Corrour > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 20:49

considering Infiniti is on the way out here, he’s a bit too late with video.

interstate366, now In The Industry > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish
04/17/2020 at 21:56

I think my J-series sounds great, but with only one cam on each cylinder bank it can’t quite keep up with the VQ.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/17/2020 at 23:32

I am amazed that he went through all of those reasons, and didn’t even name the core issue.

The parent company, Nissan.

It would be hard for Infiniti to survive if Nissan itself is existentially troubled.

Ks2019 > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/18/2020 at 00:07

I drive a 2005 G35x and it is still a phenomenal car

GoodIdeaAtTheTime > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/18/2020 at 08:26

I still work for Infiniti. The writing is om the wall. I will be surprised if it is still around in 5 years. Astonished if it makes it 10. They really need to pull something off to make them marketable/desireable.

The G35/G37 was the swan song. The Q50 3.7 is ok, but it is plagued by a shitty infotainment system . The 3.0 engines are, eh, at best. The Red Sport, while quick, is actually not very good to drive. The electric power steering kills any fun to be had. The newer Q50/Q60 are incredibly numb to drive. You are just an input, instead of a driver. Honestly, f or the price I would get a Corvette. The QX50, ok, I kind of like it. Th e VC engine is, goodish, and works well with the cvt. Will have to see long term on its reliability. The QX60 has its shit together and the cvt issues are mostly worked out, mostly. We sell the most of those and the QX80. The QX80 is an expensive Armada. I like to looks of the Armada better. Good thing the QX30 is dead. Iy never sold well and is plagued with problems unique to German cars. I have never replaced so many harnesses before. I had a GLA250 it was ba sed on. I turned the lease in early and lost money. Still think it was the right descision. Infiniti dropped the 2.0 Merc based engine as well. Mostly reliable, it was just so underpowered in the cars. The M/ Q70 is dead, it was always a class follower, though if you can find a decent M56S for a good price, get it. The are a riot.

I really miss the QX70 / FX series. A unique sport SUV, emphasis on sport. If you can find a FX50S, I recommend it. It is proba bly the fastest Infiniti. It handles well for its size, reliable, and not plagued by the herpes dash of the earlier ones.

The infotaiment systems are horrendous. If you take care of them they are reliable long term. They are a niche market that no kne knows how to market. Either prices need to come down and market them to a younger (older) crowd like scion did. Or get their shit together, upmarket them and compete with BMW, Audi, Merc etc. I could see a little tuning, push 500-600 hp out of the Red Sport, ditch the current infotainment, upscale thr interiors, a bit of a face lift and compete with AMG, M series, and RS Audi’s.

The ideas I could pump into the brand. I should have been a CEO :)

jimz > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/18/2020 at 10:23

Infiniti was “cool” at first when their lineup was based on JDM Nissans which never were sold here before. Nobody had ever seen a Nissan President, Leopard, or Primera on these shores until the Q45, M30, and G20 arrived. Plus they were riding Lexus’s coattails significantly.

They got really hurt by the end of the “bubble era” in Japan, and once they became their own thing with Infiniti exclusive models they kind of lost any purpose.

hike > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/18/2020 at 13:47

The demise of Infiniti is pretty disappointing to me. My first car I had for a while was an 06 G35 sedan. The final year of the first gen. It was the perfect car for me. Plenty of power, a lot of tech for the time (standard key- less entry and b luetooth, in 2006!), I loved the styling (not aggressive like every new car today), and incredibly reliable. I also found it very easy to work on when I had to. I only ever needed to change the brakes, battery, belt, and fluids in 120k miles.

Unfortunately, I feel it’s been all downhill since then. Styling has gotten more bland, the cars have lost their sporting focus, and they have really no advantage in any category over rivals. I hope they can figure it out, but I don’t have any faith in Nissan.

Steve in Manhattan > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/19/2020 at 02:58

I am old enough to remember when Lexus and Infiniti came out (after Acura, another crack at a luxury brand). Lexus was more sensible, Infiniti was a bit more experimental, and I thought Lexus would do well (drove an LS400 demonstrator early on). Acura should have done better, but it is what it is ... Infiniti never quite knew what it was, so they might be going away.

Maxima Speed > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
04/19/2020 at 09:58

I actually drafted an article once (months ago) about Infiniti and what I would do but it got kinj a’d and I lost it all. I just found my notes for it yesterday. Here they are:

How to save Infiniti

Naming convention gets thrown out.

New slogans “Aspiring Spirit”

Infiniti Spyrité: Renault Megane RS remanufactured for US market.

Infiniti Inspyre: “Renault Zoe built for U.S. market.

Infiniti Essense: “Fun” Nissan Leaf Based EV

Infiniti Allure: Hybrid Luxury Sedan with turbo charged engine and Hybrid electric motors for low end grunt, in town cruising and turbo lag smoothing.

Infiniti Espresse: Renault CMF-B Segment crossover based on the Juke Nismo and the E-Tech Clio. Essentially Infiniti take on a hybrid Juke Nismo.

Maj.Duty > GoodIdeaAtTheTime
04/19/2020 at 14:44

I own a Q60 Red Sport and while bad for Infiniti, one of the things I like about it the most is there are practically no others on the road. I have all the badging removed and at least weekly I get people asking me what kind of car it is. I like that originality. It’s a beautiful car. I don’t care about the imfotanement system. I didn't get the electronic steering. Don't people know you don't have to purchase that? I had been driving a truck for 20 years so to me it was a massive upgrade. It is tuned and producing 430 wheel horsepower. It spanks most stock cars in the road. I love it. I agree they are probably done. All the better to owning a unique car