Infiniti Almost Axed By Nissan - What Makes This Time Around Any Different?

I have to agree, Infiniti has always been a discount brand. On the surface everything is shiny, but underneath little technology made it to the consumer.

The once high touted VQ motor only got horsepower gains from increases in displacement and actually decreased in horsepower per liter. The exact opposite of the benchmarks of the industry.

Now hopefully with proper leadership they can start rebuilding. Acura needs to do the same. I think Lexus is making the right moves but will need to start showing some leadership.

That's just plain crazy talk. Nissan hadn't really given Infiniti the proper attention necessary to truly compete with Lexus, Audi, M-B, & BMW. The Infiniti lineup is a clear indication that the brand wants to compete with some, but not all of the available competition on the market today. And it's obvious Nissan-Renault has put little effort into a potentially exciting luxury-sport brand.

I've owned an FX45, and completely enjoyed driving it & the dealer service experience was amazing. But the available vehicle (model) options is kinda flimsy. I was excited about the JX until I learned that it won't have a V8. The QX56 is really nice, but a too large for my preferences - I want power, but not in a huge SUV - that's why the FX was so slick.

What happened to slick concepts from the past 2 years? Infinity needs a beefier coupe, maybe based off the M56. It just seems like Nissan expected to put in minimal resources to get maximum profit....and we all know that biz plan can't work out well.

I didn't expect to see Infiniti or Acura in their current conditions, especially since seeing how the US Big3 got hammered. It looks like a bit of snobbery on their part though - they should have known better. Ghosn maybe isn't the man to lead their success in the US.

Um...this story is over a decade old. Infiniti did have a good start, the first Q really shocked the market as did the LS, but it didnt have the same impact due to a poor advertising campaign and a funky looking grill-less front end. The M30 convertible was rear-wheel drive and could've been a success but didn't have a nice enough interior and was killed after 2 years. The G20 was really an Acura TSX 15 years before (my first car which I loved dearly) but didn't match up to competition (it wasn't a Sentra BTW, it was a Japan/Euro Nissan Primera). The with the J30, the had a controversially styled (see: some like, some don't) rear-drive mid-sized sedan with a great interior for its time.

So what happened? The Q was watered down and replaced by a lower tired JDM Nissan Luxury car with LESS power and a stupid waterfall grill, they replaced the J30 with the I30 which was a front wheel drive Maxima clone and they axed the G20 for 2 years which when re-released in 1999 the market already forgot about it.

Nissan was ready to KILL the brand at that point. Then, Ghosn came to the rescue and the new G35, FX (bold first comer to the market with clones from BMW and Acura coming years later) and Q45 came out. People forget the technology the Q introduced to the mass-market, rear-camera, laser guided cruise control, world's most powerful headlights, etc....the last 10 years they've been on the right track, but they need a halo car and a full size sedan. SUV's have brought the sales numbers back.

Lexus showing some Leadership? You are so funny!!! No one can build anything like a friggin $400k Exotic from conception, to hand selecting it's buyers to, completely selling all limited-run 500 hand built LFA's, and you think they have bad Leadership or dont have good Leadership? Wow! That's just like saying all that just happened on it's own and fell in place and somehow worked itself out in some kind of bizarre way!! No, not a matter of Leadership, but the Giant is just now slowly waking up!!

...Or should I say, waking up to it's true potential.