mmarshall

As usual, I'm with Mike. First things first. Infiniti needs to get a new luxury flagship to replace the defunct Q45 before they start spending more money on aggressive driving machines. And the M45 Sport is already a pretty impressive luxury/sport sedan as it is, even if it is not a BMW M-class car.

marshmallo

LOL, that's right. I definitely jumped the gun on that one. I guess
this is how Internet rumors get started

Koma

iTrader: (3)

I don't think Infiniti is out of the game. They just need to start selling more than just the G sedan and coupe. The M is scarcely seen on the streets. The Q defunct. The QX is fugly and I don't see many of them either. I do see plenty of FXs.

So basically their main sellers are the G and FX. Whereas other luxury brands I see all sorts of them everywhere. Lexus needs to step up as well, they sell a lot of vehicles but they're lacking in some key markets.

speedflex

Well, in my area I see Ms all over the place. More than the GS as a matter of fact. I really like this forum but the general disrespect for Infiniti (often backed up by unfounded or straight-up inaccurate info regarding the company and its products) gets really old.

What is the hang-up?

Koma

iTrader: (3)

Well I never said I saw a lot of GS either. Well new ones at least. I see 5 series everywhere. I don't know the numbers on these things but I definitely don't see a lot of the M or GS around.

The G is definitely the car that brought back life into Infiniti. There is no denying that. Without the G, Infiniti would be defunct.

Gojirra99

That's true in my area too, we see a lot more E-class & 5-series than the GS & M35/45.

speedflex

That may be so but its doesn't mean that neither the M nor GS are sales disappointments. I believe both cars are fulfilling the their respective company's sales goals.

Really, the disparity is even greater when you compare G and IS sales to the 3-series. My point is that a successful product doesn't mean you have to be the top seller in the segment. You need to get and maintain a share of that segment. Both the M and GS have done that.

But Infiniti out of the game? Buy no means. The IS-F will be a niche car as are the BMW M cars and MB AMG cars. It's just not a critical market. Keep in mind that Lexus only entered the tuner arena only now and has yet to prove itself. We'll have to see how well the F cars do.

This is simply an area that Infiniti has yet to enter, but they most likely can compete there when they do choose to enter it.

plex

iTrader: (11)

Out of the game nah they are just restructuring like others have noted. But then again your screen name is is-fan



On a side note: Why does it seem all 2IS owners bash Infiniti so much, people are always quick to put the brand down and pull magazine numbers in debates

Tekknikal

Hi IS-Fan

Nissan Japan as a company uses Nissan North America and Infiniti as they feel necessary to sell Nissan Japan cars in the US. To Nissan Japan, they don't necessarily view Infiniti as only one way to compete with products, and they've put this in practice.

Nissan Japan's product that will compete with the M3, C63, RS4, IS-F, Corvette, SRT8,etc is the GT-R. The GT-R ,they've decided, will be sold as a Nissan. If you want a Nissan/Japan product (which all Nissans and Infinitis are- even the G/Skyline and M/Fuga) in that segment, that's what you'd need to look at.

It may not have the luxury status that the other brands have from a consumer's standpoint, but that's only a small part of the picture. The primary objective is to make a car for people in order to make money. Believe it or not, that badge may not matter as much as it appears.

There will be those who only want a Lexus badge (for example) and to them not even an Infiniti will work because Infiniti is not Lexus. Nissan can't build a Lexus to try to make money. They can however build a Nissan. A GT-R...which they do very well and have been successful at. So, that's what they did.

If you look at the market as a whole their product in the segment will likely be very competitive- it will probably be the highest performing and most practical, and will probably not be the most expensive. From what we've seen so far, it doesn't look 'cheap' either- with a leather dashboard, Brembo GT brakes, and more features that will not be found among its competitors. You might think it would be difficult to sell a Nissan against a BMW, but Chevy sells several times the number of Vettes vs BMW sells M3s.

So, it's not necessary that Nissan build an Infiniti for the sake of it, to compete in that segment. They already have a solid product.

Regarding Nissan Japan building a higher end luxury coupe though, it will take time. In the higher price segments, the Infiniti brand has the EX launching soon and the FX shortly after that. Then they will need to revamp their cars for their new engines... at which time they may build a car above the M. I would imagine that in their business strategy a high end coupe would come at some point after that since they're still working on their main products.

Infiniti is trying to exit the business of selling rebadged cars, with Nissan's decisions on the GT-R and their strategy for Infiniti, it is unlikely that we will see a G50 in this generation. When you consider the success they've found with the G35 coupe, which will be continued with the G37, I think they're playing their cards well, if only a little too slowly.

LexFather

I find this to be an awful sterotype "all 2IS" owners. The OP of this thread owns a G35.

plex

iTrader: (11)

Ok most then ha ha.......I would have never figured based on the name

OC 335d

Of course, there are many different models of Vettes. A more fair comparison would compare the number of Vettes vs. 3 series. How many Vettes are made/sold? How many M3s are made/sold?

Infiniti isn't out of the game, they were never IN the game.

LetMeShowU

I honestly believe this to be a regional thing. I'm from long island and I can tell you firsthand that I see a lot more Ms on the road than GSs. Both cars stand out to me, so when I see them, I notice. Since I do a ton of driving all over LI and in NYC, if anyone notices the ratios between the two, it's me. Even when I get into New York City, it's about 50/50 between the two. I would really love to see some regional sales figures from both companies to see exactly which models are stronger where. Would make for interesting debate on here for sure


IMO, it's pretty simple. Nissan/Infiniti is the only other Japanese company that has directly competed with Toyota/Lexus currently and in the past. Honda/Acura without a V8 powerplant, will never be considered to be in the same category as Lexus. So, naturally, there is going to be some national rivalry as to which Japanese brand puts out the best products.

speedflex

That's great. I think healthy rivalry is a good thing between car companies as well as fans of those companies. Lexus is clearly the stronger company compared to Infiniti but I'm thrilled that Infiniti is finally coming into its own and giving other companies, especially Lexus, some irritation. It's like the Cards vs. the Cubs (maybe not the best example since in most seasons the Cards crush the Cubs, but the rivalry is wonderful), The Yanks vs. the Red Sox, Ford vs. Chevy, Mercedes vs. BMW.

The stronger of the two in each match-up could go on just fine without their respective opponent but it's so much more fun when they have a nemesis.

When it comes to the Lexus and Infiniti camps I just wish it didn't always seem like you have to dish hate on one to elevate the other. Even a bit of good ol' fashioned trash talk is good, but let's drop the superiority complexes.

Tekknikal

what i was saying applied to the vettes vs the m3. there are different vettes but there are also different m3s.

the vette does not compete with the 328/335... it only competes with the m3. it makes no sense to compare the vette sales with the rest of the 3 series.

infiniti isnt in the game - correct; nissan is- as they have been for some time if only in limited markets.