Why Can't Infiniti Ever Seem To Get It Together After ALL The Mistakes They've Made And All The Time To Fix Them?

I remember walking into the first Infiniti dealership in Buffalo back when the Q45 just launched. I was the perfect customer...Angry at the Germans for just coasting along with ZERO motivation to do better and charging ridiculous prices for products that were dinosaurs.

I was ready to make a statement as a buyer against the Germans and throw down for either the new Lexus or Infiniti.

In the end I chose the LS400 and the rest was history.

Why did I chose the Lexus? Got a couple hours?

But in a nutshell the Lexus was just the more refined, more revolutionary product.

And since that first Lexus purchase I continued to follow Infiniti in hopes that they would finally get it right.

But in my opinion and the opinion of some many luxury car buyers they NEVER have.

People have made fun of the Big 3 for being brain dead for a long time and they were, but it seems Infiniti AND Acura are a special kind of stupid.

At least though it seems Acura has a couple SMALL rays of sunshine like the new RDX.

But Infiniti...you would think based on their decisions and the people who held the reins that the saying #WTF was birthed thinking of them.

Honestly, I don't remember a single company with more potential that has just gone through the motions like them.

It makes absolutely NO sense.

Fast forward to 2018.

We get a LOT of people who reach out to us asking us what we think of cars and brands.

It helps us gauge the buzz on brands and models.

And we judge a brand and car model based on would WE ever want one or are enough people jazzed about it.

I can honestly say looking through the thousands of emails I get, there is absolutely ZERO buzz or excitement about the Infiniti brand.

And what the saddest thing about that is so many people including us have always looked at them with great potential. The potential to be the Japanese BMW.

But all we've ever gotten was the most uninspired attempt at that and only getting to watch them fall on their faces time after time after time.

We don't claim to know it all but we sure have a good feel of this business and the trends that occur.

So let's throw it out to our experts tonight and ask WHY can't they EVER get it together and WIN?

What do you see that are the major faults are and if there is even hope for them existing five years from today?

Spies, discuss...

runninglogan1 - 5/31/2018 1:50:13 AM

+1 Boost

The original G35 sedan and coupe were great. I really thought they had turned the corner but then...

dumpsty - 5/31/2018 2:58:27 PM

+1 Boost

nope....when they introduced the M45/M56, FX, G37, Q37 Au Rouge...I thought "wow, they about to crush err'body!" lol...never happened.

even with access to the legendary GT-R powertrain, we've been left severely underwhelmed. the FX/QX70 is just plain old. the bionic cheetah set a future-focused tone about luxury SUV's that could be enjoyed daily. but then...nothing. all the other brands - even Hyundai/Kia - started pumping out swoopy-like exteriors. and then the GLE coupe 4dr/X4/X6/RR Sport/Velar rolled through....and basically left Infiniti in the dust. now we have the Urus.

TheSteve - 5/31/2018 2:44:26 AM

-1 Boost

I get the sense the Infinity are still trying to figure out who they are. Their styling sense seems to be all over the map. And what are they known for? The lap of luxury (nope, that's MB). Reigning in Sport Sedans? (Um... that's BMW). Legendary "quality", as measured by luxurious materials, great fit and finish, and notably low defect numbers and respectably low total cost of ownership? (No, that would be Lexus).

When someone says "Infiniti" to be, I think of those quirkily styled vehicles that are "pretty good." Not very flattering.

As for Acura, I hope they find their way. The "We Are Tech" angle hasn't seemed to pan out, unless you consider the NSX II a success on any level (Yeah, Honda can make it, but sales have always been in the toilet, and it fails as a halo car, so... what?)

snowboard7 - 5/31/2018 6:24:48 AM

+4 Boost

Seriously you cannot spell INFINITI right? Such ignorance.

carsnyc - 5/31/2018 9:45:53 AM

+2 Boost

Come on Steve, cut out the passive-aggressiveness. I know you are more mature than this. You are not only purposely misspelling Infiniti but once again are trying to downplay Lexus, this time by quoting "quality" when you know that is what they are. I also like Audi (have my eyes on the new A7) but give it a break already!

TheSteve - 5/31/2018 11:37:10 AM

0 Boost

I guess you two guys stopped reading at the first typo so you would have something to gripe about. Note my correct spelling of the Infiniti brand name the second time.


@carsnyc re "...trying to downplay Lexus...": That was not my intention. I put "quality" in quotations because individuals have different understandings about what "quality" means to them. In Lexus's case it means (a quote from my post) "...luxurious materials, great fit and finish, and notably low defect numbers and respectably low total cost of ownership..." Those are flattering (and noteworthy) qualities, if you ask me!

Meanwhile, someone who is crazy about MB AMG or BMW might say "quality" includes sharp handling and a sporting feel. So is a Rolls-Royce a "quality" car, or is a Ferrari? Which has higher "quality"? Feel free to argue :-/

wilfred - 5/31/2018 7:24:52 AM

+2 Boost

Extremely bad advertising (in the beginning) to no advertising (now). What do expect?

Product wise, they had a lot of good ones or at least interesting ones. The j30 was one of my favorite and so was the fx35, but both had it’s faults and weren’t what the general consumer wanted. Nevertheless the brand should be doing much better if it didn’t change all the models alphabet and I lost track of what’s what...

qwertyfla1 - 5/31/2018 7:38:08 AM

+1 Boost

I loved the original Q45 with its quirky non-grill front end. My buddy had one and it was a blast to drive and be a passenger in one. Infinity like Acura started brilliantly but were soon swirling the toilet bowl with inferior, dated product lines while Lexus evolved and reaped the market share left by the lackadaisical efforts of Infiniti and Acura .

CANADIANCOMMENTS - 5/31/2018 8:28:26 AM

+2 Boost

@QEW You are correct. From the start, Acura and Infiniti were miles ahead of Lexus with their boxy LS400 and squared off Camry clone. They did not look like a front-runner. But as we saw, this was a case of staying the course and rising up from behind for the win.

MDarringer - 5/31/2018 8:32:21 AM

-5 Boost

Infiniti has NEVER had a compelling market image and their marketing has been nonexistent. Follow that with also-ran designs, Japanese Mercurys, and models that got long in tooth.

They need gorgeous styling that commands attention and they need names.

Infiniti Skyline is an obvious name for a car.

Lovesponge76 - 5/31/2018 9:52:12 AM

+2 Boost

Infiniti is a revolving door of executives. I've owned 2 G35s and a G37. Not going back until they have a "real performance" sedan with appeal. Adding to 400HP to a sedan doesn't make it performance, it's a half-hearted attempt.

280SE - 5/31/2018 10:16:29 AM

+1 Boost

The hurtling pile of space junk that is the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi conglomerate likely doesn't have the resources (time, personnel, money) to give Infiniti the attention it deserves and needs. It is rare when a brand's first models (in this case Q45, J30, M30) are its very best models. But that is the case with Infiniti. It was downhill essentially from the start. So many years of under-investment in the brand are difficult to reverse quickly and they are about to be out-done by Genesis in the sedan department and Lincoln/Acura/Volvo in SUVs (on top of all the other already-successful brands out there that already are beating them). The mediocre reviews of the new QX50 are further evidence of just how long it would take to right the ship if Nissan were 100% focused on doing so, which it is not.

PUGPROUD - 6/1/2018 9:18:04 AM

+1 Boost

Great enduring companies benefit from an early singular driving passion of a person that defines its reason for being that future generations can grasp and perpetuate. Ferrari, Porsche, Honda, Jobs, etc. Infiniti is a contrived, convoluted, compilation of converging compromises developed in a conference room to address competitive forces. What could go wrong? No one involved and no one in the market knows what an Infiniti is or is supposed to be and so it stumbles along ever trying to define itself.

Truthy - 6/1/2018 10:46:37 AM

+2 Boost

You all have great comments and that is part of the problem with Infiniti. I think Canadieancomments hit the mark. Lexus stayed the course and stayed true to their identity and value proposition. Sure, they are moving to a somewhat sportier position, but not abandoning what has made them successful.
Acura went from sporty, sort of an Asian Audi, but then tacked soft and is now tacking back with some success.
Infiniti has been all over the map. And while I am not against alpha-numeric naming schemes, pick one and stick with it. MDarringer is right to call out their marketing. it has not helped understand what an Infiniti is or why should I chose one. They have a commercial now about their new crossover with the "first ever variable compression engine" without explaining why this is an advantage.
I want Cadillac to succeed, however they are also changing direction every four years.