Jason

Yup. That's the first thing I noticed about the RL. But I'll take that interior over the M45 any day. Bob Lutz is probably killing himself over the STS interior after seeing what Acura did. I just wish the exterior was a bit more exciting...

EZZ

Another blow to Lexus will be that the M35 will have at least 280 - 300hp. That is right along the lines of a G430 (although torque rating will be lower). I think Lexus will be forced to up the horsepower eventually

TMQ

When I saw the front, Wow! but then the rear, OUCH!!! kind of reminds me of seeing a nicely shaped woman from the back and the awful feeling when catching up to see the ugly face. the new Infiniti M45 taillight really ruined it.

Interior is OK, better than other Nissans. with the power etc., there will be buyers. yeah it's good to have competition.

I wish the new RL's front made a stronger statement.

vwong

You mean driver seat? Anyway, I sat in a G35, and it has the same seat controls on the side of the driver seat. It could be just me, but I felt that the seat was very uncomfortable. Probably because they have to build some kind of housing for the controls, therefore, there is little to no cushion near that area. My wife felt the same about the seat. Don't know if it would be the same in this M45.

Anyway, it looks pretty good. The tail is a little strange, but I don't know, it might grow on me later.

jlukja

Yes, I meant the passenger side of the drivers seat. My bad.

titan

Yep. That M35 will be a major blow to the whole segment. I'm sure they'll leave the hp at 280hp, which will make it class leading. I guess they'll put that version in the G35 for it's mid-life freshing... because as of now it's no longer class leading (TL's 270 hp, thought the G has more torque), and the Maxiama has 270hp, so the G sedan should have the same as in the coupe. If I'm not mistaken, isn't Lexus coming out with a reworked V8 of atleast 4.5 Ltr and 300 hp plus real soon? That'll be good.

biker

I guess the seat controls in the seat will become an Infiniti "quirk".

Ever since it came out in the 7 series, it seems like all makers of I drive type of a set up (where most of the controls for the car are done through menu screens) use a pretty big knob to navigate the menus. In the case of BMW where it's down by the shifter it seems OK if it's big but on the dash like the M45 and RL it seems out of place. I guess it has to be big enough to fit in your hand comfortably and be able to turn it. So would you rather have the I drive button down by the shifter and no cup holders and smaller storage between the seats?

neuronbob

I've liked the Fuga since it was a concept car. It will be interesting to see the competition between this and the (nicely, conservatively styled) new RL.

biker

In terms of sales the M is starting from a very low level (less than 200 sold for March) so even a 100-200 % increase won't be that big of a deal in the big picture. I think once a maker gets over 1000 month in any model (should be doable for the new RL) you can call it significant especially in this category.

We'll have to wait at least a year before any kind of sales trend can be established.

Vans

Got some more pictures here. They show speakers in the seats. It has a new 14 speaker advanced surround audio system with 5.1-channel decoding including two personal speakers mounted in each front seat - pretty impressive. What happened to the new els system that the TL has?

It's so amazing how different the looks of the new M45 are from the new RL. The M is obvisouly going for a more classy/sophitisticated look with some roots from renault, while the new RL is kind of technophile/futuristic look. Both good, just different.

phile

Dayum, speakers in the seats...bling bling (we need smiley for that).

That's a great shot of the interior, rear leg room looks generous and I like the color combo vs. the RL's all black interior. I'm still no fan of the curtain leather on the doors or the placement of the nav screen (the RL has it in the same spot! grrr, they must be sharing makers of the dashboard), but I have to admit, I like it better than the RL's interior.

Vans

Got some more for you guys - Absolutely gorgeous!!











I absolutely love the attention to detail - double stiched leather at the seams, lighted door sills for when you get in. I'm loving it.

Jason

and I've been told I'M on crack!!

Junkster

It might be just me... who knows. But does anyone else see a silouette of a 5 series when you look at this car from various angles (not the new M, the previous gen)?

Edit: Finally realized why I see a beemer in this car... the rear window and the c pillar form that BMW "hoffmeister kink". Plus it has that slight "dog leg" going on in the back like the BMWs.

Junkster, who likes this M45 vary much... now if they get the Q45 right...

03TL-S

its rumored that the 2005 G sedan's horsepower will be bumped up to 280hp and the G35 coupe to 300hp. Gosh man..its like a big horsepower race And to top that off, the G's interior is gonna be redesigned

1SICKLEX

I'll have to see both in person. To both are good to me but not GREAT. If Infiniti really wants to stand out, they should make the M35/45 with a manual. Otherwise, I don't see myself (nor many people) paying 50k for any Infiniti. Just look at Q45/FX 45 sales.

For 50k, people demand a certain prestige level. Infiniti still does not convey this. Hopefully the new M45 will change things some. We'll see I guess.

With cars like the E500/545, GS 430, M45, as stated, they don't sell many of them. But the HALO the V-8 brings to the car's less powerful brother and the HALO it brings to a car's Brand can be very strong.

Going further, say a M5. Yeah you can get a 525 but the HALO of the M5 makes people feel the 525 is a distant brother and worth the money.

Looking at G35 sales, yeah it's a strong seller for INFINITI but not the best seller in it's segment. Infiniti has sold so badly for so long, they are happy with ANY sales. This is a more expensive car and sales will be even less. Not to mention the higher the price, the pickier buyers get. I think it will sell well but not this huge splash Nissan die-hards are thinking.

Unless the car is like 5k less than the competition with the same features. Then, it will sell like hotcakes. Considering the car is a 350Z stretched (platform), this may be a possibility.

I think this car is pretty damn sweet and I can't wait to give it a test drive.

Vans

They probably won't screw up the new Q, btw, it doesn't come out until like late 06 or early 07, they have yet to really screw up any new car they have put out in the past 3 to 4 years. Some would argue about the new QX that just came out and I would somewhat agree. But any car they have designed and built in the last 3 years has been cherry. No reason to think the next one won't.

dom

That black stichting looks sweet.

03TL-S

i was under the impression that lexus doesn't offer any manual cars except for the IS300. If the M45 is powerful enough, then a manual transmission shouldnt matter much.

03TL-S

Out of curiosity, what kind of lexus do you drive 1sicklex?

cusdaddy

340hp seems pretty powerful to me. Should have plenty of balls

heyitsme

1SICKLEX

That interior and that light leather look great. I am feeling that.

fahoumh

that IS very nice

but what's with those square-shaped plastic dealies on the either sides of the headrests?

1SICKLEX

Some think they are speakers. I think it maybe for head airbags.

Crazy Bimmer

well ill be damned.... a Infiniti interior that i actually like!

nice!

phile

I thought it'd be interesting to see the Fuga once again, to see what Nissan changed. IMO, I liked the Fuga better.



Notice the position of the clock.


The tallights didn't use to look so bad, don't know why they felt they had to fill in that little area to make the taillights so large.

tuan209

im really liking the the m45. maybe i can trade up when im outta school......3 years to go!!!!!

1SICKLEX

This car is hot inside and out. I wish they would offer a manual with the V-8 to give BMW some real competition. Otherwise, I still would probably go with the 6- speed auto GS vs the 5 speed auto M45. This car is great though.

Vans

I agree - the fuga did look better and yes, that clear light above the red on the back of the car is what makes the rear lights look ENORMOUS. The concept was also a little more edgier which I really liked.

akpsi

nice!

cusdaddy

They are speakers.. Here is a quote from the M45 press release:

"Surround audio system with 14 speakers, 5.1-channel decoding with two personal speakers mounted in each front seat"

fahoumh

well, I guess that answers my question :o

1SICKLEX

Shit, u got me there dude. Good ass idea. Say GOODBYE to anyone complaining about windnoise. Great idea actually.

Jason

The more I see the M45 the less I like it. That interior is garbage compared to the RL.

1SICKLEX

The RL interior looks identical to the TL. Just with real wood. The M45 is different very classy. Almost a toss up to me.

Dan Martin

What like this:

charliemike

Pricing for the 2004 M45, including 4.5L V8, with additional standard equipment, has an MSRP of $43,250

Considering $43,250 gets you a loaded 330i or A4 3.0Q, both of which are V6s, I think this is a steal. Even the 530i starts at $44k and doesn't come with the standard features the M45 does.

titan

Those are speakers? Man, that's the kind of innovation I like. I've luvin' the price. This car is a steal.

1SICKLEX

43 fucking k? Hot damn that is tight!