Infiniti Has Shown Some AWESOME Sporty Concepts At Recent Car Shows. WHY Don't They EVER Follow Through And Build Them?

If you were to ask me the two premium brands that perplex me most it would be Acura number one followed by Infiniti.

From the start Infiniti had the more exciting car (Q45) than Lexus (LS400) but the initial ad campaign never let people knew that it was the BMW of the two.

Over the years they've had some hits and misses but what confuses me most is that when they were on a roll about 4 years ago, gaining momentum on BMW (similar to Hyundai has now), that they didn't go into overdrive and finish the job.

And since then they really haven't done ANYTHING exciting.

Yippee, we have a G37 (Their best car by the way) instead of a G35.

Ipl. Just reviewed today on AutoBlog as uneccessary and to keep your money and buy the regular car or a 1M (you know what I would do, you don't even have to ask).

As a side note, doesn't the name Ipl fit a beer better than a car?

So some pretty boring evolutionary stuff if you ask me.

Or Infiniti dealers.

Except in the world of concepts.

When they showed the Essence concept in Geneva a few years ago I was blown away.

At the time I thought it was the best looking concept EVER.

Since then, they have paraded it around but nada. Nothing.

And at this year's Geneva show, the Emerge-E.

Not as nice as the Essence in my opinion, but nice.

What  will come of that?

If previous history tells us anything, nuttin' honey.

Where is the 3-Series beater for $5k less?

Where is a coupe and convertible that is as beautiful as the Essence for the price of a G37?

And how about a 'Gorgeous like Essence' line of SUV's/Crossovers and not these QX's and JX's that look like, dare I say it? Yes. THEY LOOK LIKE ASS!

Although I must say it has not stopped quite a few of my neighbors from buying a QX. Those poor, diluted souls... ;)

C'mon Infiniti!

I like what you stand for and you can do SO MUCH BETTER.

Get some fire, some eye of the tiger.

DO IT! 3-Series BEATER.

Not ALMOST as good, BETTER AND less expensive.

And watch YOUR world change for the better.

What say you Spies?

Am I dead on right?

Or off course are they just fine?

PLAY - 3/16/2012 2:29:39 PM

+5 Boost

Because they would have to pay to develop it, and produce it. They are making business decisions based on whether they believe they can make profit or not. They probably don't follow through because they don't see money.

JustaCar - 3/16/2012 4:34:33 PM

-1 Boost

Because their concepts are too outlandish looking for a production vehicle. They make good show cars but nothing more.

nikejk - 3/16/2012 4:35:41 PM

+3 Boost

Dead on 001. Infiniti is one the only Japanese companies, in my opinion, that can compete with German luxury brands. They have so much potential but don't do anything to show the world they're more than rebadged Nissans.

adidas11 - 3/16/2012 4:37:38 PM

+1 Boost

Not a huge Infiniti fan, but the Essence is still the best looking concept car I've seen. By far.

knowitall1985 - 3/16/2012 5:24:53 PM

+1 Boost

It takes millions to bring a car to market, and if it fails!!! Well it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out a company can't make too many of those mistakes.....

nisslover - 3/16/2012 11:41:03 PM

+3 Boost

Ok, I'm going to try and be as balanced here as I can because I am indeed an Infiniti enthusiast. But as of late Infiniti has been written off by the automotive press and in general car enthusiasts. Same can be said about Nissan. It seems they are the stepchild of the industry. And you guys should know that the ONLY Nissan Infiniti has something in common with is the Z, so that whole "rebadged Nissans" crap needs to die. Besides the JX there is VERY little relation. Even if they did produce something that was actually better than BMW, I don't think most of these mags would give them that title. It will never happen, even as BMWs steering suffers the effects of the switch to electric.

But at the same time there are a lot of things Infiniti could do better. The IPL could have been held off until they had a bit more R&D dollars to make it worth buying. And thats what it comes down to. Infiniti is still a relatively small brand and don't have the funds to go balls to the walls just quite yet. But that "ASS UGLY" JX should help and the QX is continually selling well. You may think its ugly, but it is EXTREMELY luxurious and seems to be appealing to somebody.

And lets just ignore the fact that the G is about to be up for a redesign in about a year and does infact cost less than the 3 and the 3 was JUST updated itself. And lets make a choice, do you want it to be as good as a BMW or cheaper... both cannot exist. If they built a car that was better than the BMW they would have to raise prices, then you would cry that "No one will pay this much for an Infiniti, they're outta there minds."

dlin - 3/17/2012 12:11:43 PM

+2 Boost

Being a G & 3 owner, I cannot totally agree w/ you:

1. When's Z badged as Infiniti? G & M & EX are rebadged Nissan. Or co-badged, if you like. Take a look at http://www.nissan.co.jp/CARLINEUP/.

2. I prefer G's manly, meaty steering than BMW's half-elec/hydraulic feel. Though both are to die in the name of fuel efficiency, thanks to profit for oil company and wall st terrorist.

3. IPL is simply a fail. I don't know who said good to go, but it shows company bureaucracy is hard to fight.

4. Better and cheaper can co-exist, just look at GT-R. It's a matter of how much profit margin you want to charge. What I don't get is why GT-R cannot be transformed to a Panarema fighter if a Lotus Evora can be transformed into this Emerge-E concept. God damn it Nissan?

nisslover - 3/16/2012 11:46:54 PM

+2 Boost

And I agree, some of crispness of the concept cars is lost in the conversion to production. But I think the M37/56S is pretty nice looking and I def see Essence in the car. But it is a bit too soft in Non-Sport trim.

infiniti_G35c - 3/17/2012 6:35:36 PM

+1 Boost

I agree with a lot of what is said above.

Infiniti makes business decisions based on profitability. Infiniti needs to continue building the brand from ground up. The G, EX and FX need a redesign; the M needs a coupe variant.

Not too long ago, people were arguing $60k+ Infiniti's wouldnt sell, but look at M56 and QX56 sales.

For those that say Infiniti's are rebadged Nissans: You are wrong. Nissan sedans are based off fwd platforms. The Infiniti lineup uses rwd platforms. The VQ shows up throughout both brands, but you cannot argue the G37 is just a rebadged Altima, etc., etc...

Infiniti has come a long way but they need to keep their brand up-to-date and modern. Consumers are getting picker and pickier.

dlin - 3/17/2012 9:33:16 PM

+1 Boost

People mean Nissan Japan:http://www.nissan.co.jp/CARLINEUP/

While LEXUS was rebadged Toyota before, it has become independent, like AUDI to VW, even in motherland Japan. Same cannot be said for Nissan or Honda.