1SICKLEX

I truly see where you are coming from but IMO the luxury market is becoming saturated at this point. Almost everyone has at least a very solid product. Everyone has stepped it up. People in the luxury car market tend to stick to things they know and not new items. UNLESS that product is cheap enough to entice people to try it. IMO, Infiniti is selling well but only it's cheapest products, the G35s. These people haven't paid 2 years on their car yet to move up to a M35/45. Personally, I think if ANYONE would give it a shot, it is Lexus GS buyers. Infiniti is a reliable brand which is one of the main reasons people buy a Lexus. I do not see too many Lexus buyers jumping ship to a M45 if it costs evenly or more, as Infiniti is not seen by the public as a true luxury car company. Around 40k, people start to think prestige and brand (silly things but tis life).

Now that I think about it, Infiniti dealers will just discount it for us. In Atlanta, Infiniti dealers have their ads like Nissans, Hondas, Toyotas. "299 a month G35", "10k off M45", "399 month FX35". It's pretty embarresing. The ads are taking half a page. In comparison, Lexus, Jaguar, Benz, etc ads are very small. With not many details on price unless it's a special lease deal.

So since Infiniti dealers will make the car cheap, this is gonna be a GREAT buy.

1SICKLEX

http://forums.freshalloy.com/ubbthre...b=5&o=&fpart=1

Man, I am a sensation!!

03TL-S

I guess its all about personal opinion whether to consider infiniti a true luxury brand. People buy Infiniti because it is a luxury brand. I dont see where your getting the impression that the general public does not think infiniti is a true lux company. Infiniti is a lux company just as lexus/acura/mb/bmw/audi are. I know you think lexus is what a true lux brand is, but the majority of the population considers and knows that other brands like infiniti and acura are also lux brands. That is exactly why people buy an acura or an infiniti over a honda or nissan. The same goes with people buying a lexus over a toyota. If you ask random people on the street whether infiniti is a lux brand, they will tell you yes it is. My g35c costed more than 40k and i think the infiniti name carries the price well. And yes, the g35 is infiniti's highest selling car at the moment. We'll just hav e to wait and see how the m45 does and how the q45 does when it is completely redesigned. I just think its dumb when people say that infiniti or acura isn't a true lux brand when in fact it is. Infiniti is bringing more prestige to its name by its reliability, service, and customer satisfaction

Jason

You're proud of that?

1SICKLEX

I think it's totally gay to get that riled up over the internet. Man, I'd hate to see these guys in traffic. "All Fall Down" ring a bell.

Jason

I think you mean "Falling Down". With Michael Douglas, right?

1SICKLEX

Infiniti is definitely on the way up. I did not say they did not make luxury cars. They do. But the general public has yet to catch on. Have you ever asked a non car enthusiest a question about them? Prepare yourself for a blank stare or have a picture with you. And the majority of car buyers don't know jack.
They like:
Names
Looks
Price

Hell, the Camry and Accord are not luxury cars, but their name is so strong, people buy them without question no matter what they look like. The Altima is better looking than both with similar features but still sells 200,000k units shy. It takes time.

03TL-S

I have quite a few friends that know nothing about cars. All they know is that if they hear the names lexus, acura, infiniti, mb, audi, bmw; they immediately know that its a lux car i am talking about. They may not know what it looks like but the name is surely known by many. They know its a brand of expensive cars and they know its no toyota/honda/nissan/ford. You get my drift? As an example, when people ask me what car i have and i just say g35 coupe, some people know what i'm talking about and some don't. When the person doesn't know what i'm talking about, I just say infiniti and they immediately say.."wow..such as expensive car" They don't know which one, but they know the brand name. The various lux names are known by many people. They don't care what car it is, just the fact that its the lux name

1SICKLEX

I can agree with that. I almost bought a G35c in December. I think it's a beautiful car and there has been a lot of advertising for it. I didn't tell anyone about my decision and then decided I really want to wait until the next GS is out (and hell looks like the next IS 6 months afterwards).

When I finally told my family and some friends what I almost did, it thought they would know what car I was talking about. Boy was I wrong, only a couple where like "that new 2-door" everyone else was clueless (it would have confused em more as I would have gotten the NIssan and SKyline badges for it).

THis is a classic example:
http://www.clublexus.com/forums/show...352#post864352

Read looknow12s's post. "What is an RL". He truly has no idea.

U should join Clublexus, u seem to know your shit and don't have your panites in a wad like a few people. We got a couple Lexus/G35c owners there.

03TL-S

i get what your saying, but thats totally understandable for a person not to know what an rl is. If you told the guy it was an acura, then that would probably cause some spark in his mind. Its sorta like...its an acura.. nuff said. If you asked a random person what a gs300 is, they probably wouldn't know either

1SICKLEX

Cool, then we both see where each person is coming from.
Good thing is, new M35/45, RL and GS 300/430 are all awesome cars. It's a matter of preference.

1SICKLEX

Yup. I think that song by "Kanye West" was in the background and I subconciously typed the wrong one.

U got it right. Good movie.

Jason

The more I think about it (and the more wine I drink), the more I think the RL is gonna kick the M35/45's ass. Who the hell is gonna buy a car with an interior and tailights like the Infiniti's? Not the masses. That front end is sweeeet though.

03TL-S

Exactly my point. I'm glad we agree

1SICKLEX

Acura does sell more cars than Infiniti. So they have more of a base to move up to the RL. A lot of Acura people left Acura to other brands since the current RL did nothing for them. Will the new RL bring them back?

The M35/45 has no base, the G35 just came out and people have not finished paying for them yet. I see more Lexus buyers possibly jumping ship if the car is priced cheaper than the GS, since Infiniti has very strong reliablity and that is one of Lexus main selling points.

It is gonna be fun to watch.

CLovis

awwwww lets get a group hug

gavriil

Simple thought:

So now that Infiniti fixed their interiors (assuming the G will get a new interior representative of the M's) and fixed the exterior styling of the M (and I am sure of the Q next), what else remains for them to be number 1?

They got competitive pricing, great technology, most powerul engines. What else is there to fix?

1SICKLEX

Maybe Spell the name right? Infinity. I dunno Gav, maybe they just don't have the mojo. Maybe the market is just oversaturated at this point. I dunno.

heyitsme

Looks and price sell before name, because like 03tl-s said, the names are already established. Lexus didn't make itself by undercutting Acura prices, they did it by undercutting the German car prices. So why should Infiniti do it by trying to undercut Lexus prices. They are definately undercutting BMW by a large margin, you can get a base 280hp m45 for close to the same price as a 184hp 525 with leather, if thats not passing the savings to the consumer I don't know what is. Same could be said for the current GS300 < M45.

Think for Infiniti to be solid, the g35 and fx need a refresh and the q45 needs its new model. Then fill in the line with a luxury pathfinder based suv in the 45k range and a smaller 35k suv.

goldmemberer

Something will go wrong. Something aaaaaaaaaaaalways goes wrong.

-flashback to 2000-

"OMG CL Type S... faster engine than the M3 (then, the M3 had a 240 hp I-6)... SuperCoolNavigationalGPSGyroSystem!™ ... ROCK SOLID HONDA RELIABILITY!"

Nobody saw that coming, now did they?

Or the M3 engines blowing up all over the place?

Yeaaaaaaaah.

03TL-S

LOL sick...it is spelled Infiniti

Mokos23

i like it, however could this be this be the successor to the I35 meaning, the I35 and last gen maxima were cousins, now, i think the new M45/35 could be the cousin of the current maxima?

if there will be an AWD M35, i will probably sell my TSX in for this then.

titan

Amen to that. ... my thoughts exactly.

biker

Goto the Infiniti web site and you can "Build your M" including AWD. There'll be quite a step up in price from the TSX to the M.

The I35 and Maxima were brothers not cousins. The M35 is a very distant relative. The only thing common is the engine. Like BMW and MB, Infiniti wants its line up to be luxury RWD and not include any US market FWD tarted up econoboxes. The M35 is not a replacement for the I35 and I doubt too many folks going into an Infiniti dealership will say, "Hey you don't have the I35 anymore I'll take the M35 instead". Infiniti simply discontinued the I35 and it happens that the M model comes with the same engine the I35 had. Price, shape, layout are all different between the two.

Vans

There is absolutely 0 similarities between the two, besides the vq. They will not be cross shopped and the I will be gone before the M even arrives. People keep on confusing the two - they have nothing to do with eachother.

titan

They fixed it... they went back to the original prices you posted.

blk_coupe

cool, now i'm ready to test drive all 3 cars. I really need a sedan.

bullseye007

Csnt understand why Infiniti does these price tricks. They did the same with the QX. Based on what they did with the QX, I fully expect final M prices to drop between 2-3k across the range by the time they announce official prices.

titan

That's interesting... I didn't know they also did that witht the QX. If they wound up dropping prices another 2-3k by the time it comes to the dealership that'll be great.

titan

They should have a manual as an option, as found on the G35.

DarkSithCL

iTrader: (1)

I like last years m better than the q. the q just never had any presence on the road...shame

titan

I like this M 10x better, but I'll agree with you on the Q. I luv that car, but it just doesn't have that presence you mentioned. I hope the next one does.

heyitsme

Motortrend
From Here to Infiniti

Nissan's luxury division is developing a coupe and convertible off the upcoming 2005 M45 sedan. The new M45 is based on the Nissan Fuga concept unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show last fall. The Fuga is, in turrn based on the Nissan FM (G35) architecture, but it's longer and bigger than the Skyline (G35). Indications are that the Infiniti flagship coupe and convertible both will be four-seat cars and won't be ready before the 2006 model year.


Not actual cars

ItalianStallion

a clk competitor? not a bad move. i like the idea.

1SICKLEX

Great idea!! I think the market wants a nice 40-60k coupe. Basis for the next GT-R maybe?

Crazy Bimmer

Well ill be damned, i think this would be the only japanese coupe i would rock.

Zapata

i'm sure it'll be cool but perhaps it's the color

Minch00

Just as I was thinking. Had they released those photoshops in a bright sporting color, like red or blue, they may be more appealing. However, based on information alone, I personally can't wait for this car to be released. The coupe would be worth saving up for, the convertible I could pass on.

I see this car as a CLK/645Ci competition.

Six Shifter

However, if Infiniti bothers to check out the landscape, they'd realize that right now there are no/NO competitors to the BMW 3 (soon to be 4) series coupes save the G35c. I'd like to see Infiniti not go against a $70K car and create something to fill the void that has recently been vacated by the CL-S. Pricing it in the high 30's - low 40's is a niche that is being overlooked by every manufacturer, and there is definitely a market for a quality coupe in this price range. Just please don't make it look like a 2 door Maxima - especially the current fugly ones!

chef chris

WOW. Great idea.