...is the ugliest luxury vehicle... wait, change that... the ugliest vehicle ever to come out of the land of the rising sun. Infact it's so ugly, I felt compelled to create a thread about it.

I never even knew this car existed until about 5 months ago when I moved to Charlotte. It looks like they were in production from '93-'97 and it wasn't until now that I ever noticed them. I consider myself a car guy. When driving at night I can usually tell what model car is following me just by seeing the headlights in the rearview mirror. But somehow this thing slipped by me undetected for over 10 years. Nobody must own one in the north east, because I surely would have recognized the uglyness and created this topic a decade ago.

Now that I moved south, I see the J30 eveywhere. I recently saw one with a huge vinyl "J30" sticker in the back window. It was a kid driving it, of course. One of those people that thinks they're into cars and puts a huge Mustang sticker in the back window of their V6 Mustang so you know, that they know, they own a Mustang. When infact they get all their knowledge from Super Street and similar magazines.

Hopefully this car was given to him by his parents after they bought a new car. Because I can't image anyone ever doing a car search for an Infintiy J30.

Here's teh sexy...

 

feel free to correct me...but wern't j30's rwd based on the 300zx?

 

Yes, it was RWD. It also had a tiny interior and small trunk which really killed its potential. The fact that its ugly didnt help it much either.

 

I didn't know they were rear wheel drive. It looks like it was based off the mid 90's Altima. They're about the same size and share similar body lines.

 

[QUOTE=Blazin Si]the ugliest vehicle ever to come out of the land of the rising sun.QUOTE]


I think that might be a little extreme. I really dont mind them.

 

It is not that ugly. But at that time, Legend and first gen GS were definitely better.

 

I always liked the dual projector set up in the headlights. The back was kinda ugly i suppose. I'd vote for the subaru baja for one of the ugliest japanese cars (if that counts as a car?)

 

It's based on the 300ZX and it cost almost as much back then as a G35 does today.

 

i liked them. not one of my favorite cars but there were some good color combinations avaliable. very comfortable seats. trunk was a little small

 

Really? I thought they looked great at the time and still do.

Just not the one you posted.

 

I don't think it's ugly. I remember them being marketed in commercials staring Jonathan Pryce. Not the ugliest nor even an ugly car. Being RWD really helps too.

 

RWD means nothing really in a luxury sedan with no sporting intentions. My ex had test driven one of those with me when we were looking for a car for him and he ended up getting a 2002 RL instead. The J30 is just way too ugly and feels floaty on the road. RWD + floaty = scary.

By the way, it's Infiniti. I can't believe nobody corrected you on this yet. Some car enthusiast

 

lol

I walked past one today in the parking lot and took a moment to really get a good look at it. Maybe I was being a little harsh with my coments. That's when it really hit me... it's probably the ugliest car ever!

 

i have the rear end out of one in my 240. $50 dollar lsd FTW. and i think the car was based off of a nissan cefrino instead of a 300zx.

 

Not sure how accurate this is... but from Wikipedia:

 

i never had a problem with the j30's...matter of fact i'm thinking of takin my boy's off his hands. it'll fit the beater bill rather nicely

 

i liked it...

 

They can be picked up for the same price as (in some cases cheaper than) the Primera-based G20, which was downmarket from the J30. That said, I like the J30's styling. Particularly the J30t with the mesh alloys.

The J30s most direct competitor (at the time) was the Mazda Millenia (another upscale sedan with compromised interior space).

That said, I think the Infiniti J30 is better looking than the Infiniti M30 (Infiniti's first coupe).

Besides its controversial styling and lack of any real performance, was the fact that they were pretty terrible on gas.

 

i wouldn't say it's the ugliest, but, the design does remind me of a...

 

J30 >


The first time I saw the Q45, I thought someone put a infiniti badge on a Kia.

 

 

The new Q's are very comfortable but thats about it. Styling takes some time to get used to. Comfortable seats are about they only thing they have on the early 90's Q.

 

....safe to say that the FX, G35 and M have made up for Infiniti's prior shortcomings.

 

the J30 was ok in the early 90s with the DOHC VG engine with 220hp

that was a very powerful engine back then compared with other 3L engines...camry only had 188hp, the more expensive GS300 had 215hp

i never drove the car so i dunno how the car felt, but they discontinued once the I30 came out with a 190hp VQ engine and FWD

but i think it was a very decent car, at least they are in the same class with the Acura Legend

 

I loved the styling of the J30. Very distinctive. I thought the unique rear end was the best part. Didn't like the look of the t models with lip spoilers.

 

Definitely can't agree with it being the ugliest vehicle out there. The styling was definitely different, especially the rear of the car... but for its time, I didn't think it was a terrible car.

My personal nod to ugliest vehicle goes to the Aztek...

 

I hate that damn car with a passion. There was this kid in HS that would drive his Father's to school and thought he was the shit.

 

yea i never liked the car either. it reminded me of the altima too.

 

Example... I don't think this one is THAT ugly...

 

It reminds me of a Japanese Olds Aurora

 

I wouldent go on to say its ugly. I think it was ahead of its time, and I still think its a classy car. You have to remember, most cars from this time period had plain-jane styling.

 

The upside on the J30 is that it can accomodate a VG30DETT swap (read 300ZX Twin Turbo)

LINK

 

god, i fear anything that has any relation to the vg30dett. i had my hand literally stuck in the engine bay of a 91 300zx twin turbo for close to 10 minutes.

 

i didnt think they were too bad- interior is decent for the time as well. Definitely didnt know it was RWD though- always thought it was a reworked altima as well. Do these things have a lot of mod potential?

 

That modded one doesn't look bad. Stock, they sit too high with small ugly wheels. A nice drop with tasteful wheels really changes the appearance. Most cars went through that "rounded" period of the mid 90's, which I still love. The rearend of the J30 and it's headlights and grill just kill it for me.

 

I never thought it looked bad.

 

I actually thought that the J30 was a very attractive car, esp. in that that lovely pearly white color!

Now, it does remind me of a turtle though! But I guess an attractive one... :-)

BTW, doesn't it look like the Altima? I thought that there was a very distinct familial resemblance - after all, the Altima was supposed to be an Infiniti, but it got switched to be a Nissan at the last minute.

 

Where did you pick up that tid bit of misinformation? The USDM version of the Nissan Bluebird (1G Altima) was intended as a replacement for the aging Nissan Stanza.

 

whats the point of 7 projectors.....

 

Because 7>1 and anything that vaguely resembles a Gatling gun is cool.