When I saw the new $579 lease/4 grand down ad last night, I knew that THEY KNEW they had to resort to those shenanigans again to sell this vehicle.

Here are sales thus far

March-1,440
April-1,212
May-1,065.

I don't care what anyone says, they completely have dropped the ball with the release of the M37/56. Considering fanboi hype and the specs I think many of us were expecting this vehicle to make some serious ground in this class. Well thus far this car has the buzz of of a new Eddie Murphy Movie and sales have been pretty dismal for an all new model.

Here is a good example of how NOT to launch your "flagship" vehicle.

1. Release some pictures at Pebble Beach, not the actual vehicle.
2. Have the Nissan Fuga debut in the flesh BEFORE the Infiniti badged vehicle.
3. Skip major auto shows and smaller auto shows. Show car at a hotel if possible.
4. Raise your MSRP substantially

And the worst mistake

5. Go back to damn near retro "Rock and tree" advertising.

Advertising is HORRIBLE for this vehicle, just HORRIBLE. Has anyone seen commercials on TV or in print? They are terrible. Not ONE AD mentions the class leading 330 and 420hp! Not one!! The TV ads are seemingly two spots. At least they had the brains to show it with the 20s, the only way the car looks good.

1. Ad explains the dumbass Forest Breeze feature. WHO CARES!
2. Ad explains some damn gypsie pixie silver dust in ONE wood choice. WHO CARES!

Then they end it with "Inspired Performance". Huh? So a nice A/C system and some leprechaun dust in the wood is "Inspired Performance"??

The other ad if I remember shows the vehicle driving and they explain it has more power but consumes less fuel. Thats great, HOW MUCH YOU MORONS? Then they show the optional lane departure system which is really for drunks. Then again ended with "Inspired Performance"

The ads in print are no better. They are HORRIBLE
1. Show small pic of vehicle
2. Have a 10 paragraph explanation of non interesting things like Forest Breeze A/C etc
3. Show pic of Engineer for some odd reason
4. Add the usual Infiniti squiggly lines from a drunk artist

New vehicle with sales going DOWN and inventory is PLENTIFUL. As Charles Barkley would say "Turrible, just Turrible". May was an AWFUL month for this brand new vehicle. Only up 65% from last year. Last year was the worst Auto Year in recent memory AND the last year of that old car. Sales should be up 200%, not 65%. It only sold 300+ more units than the 5 year old GS/A6. Sigh.....So here come the lease deals....

FYI, the new 5 series begins being sold THIS MONTH, so the drop in sales cannot be attributed to that car at all. I've driven the M56 and its a very solid entry in this field again and its a shame Infiniti is its own biggest enemy here.

 

The Infiniti M is a complete and utter fail. It is supposed to be their flagship, yet they made it look almost indistinguishable from the lowly G. Look at the MB E class - it looks upscale, look at the new 5 - it looks indistinguishable from the new 7, except for the rear end.

Why would you make your supposed flagship look like your cheapest model, and then set a laughably high MSRP?

 

What do you mean "who cares"? It is the ONLY car that has pixie dust. Doesn't that alone make you WANT ONE NOW???

 

Like you said Mike, Infiniti's advertising is simply awful. Lexus' advertising is usually high tech and gives you something to think about, Audi is in-your-face, Mercedes makes you feel like you're buying into something special, but Infiniti is just....a car.

The M has a beautiful interior and class leading horsepower, yet they are advertising silver dust and the "breeze" A/C? It's just so far off base that I can't see how it was ever even approved in the first place. Not only are the commercials generic and boring for a luxury car but they couldn't be any less consistent with Infiniti's performance image.

The music is bland, the imagery is overdone, the language is uninspiring...it's just a mess. Sad too, because I really like the car.

 

I personally don't really care about advertising. Thats not the problem here at all, the problem is that the car simply looks cheap. Even the outgoing model, while didn't age very well, did have decent road presence. This new one could be mistaken for a Hyundai.

 

I love your posts 1SICKLEX. Always right on

 

dashocker, please exit this thread. Your obvious personal commentary / baiting post has been removed.

 

isnt the FX infiniti's flagship?

 

I have seen the silver-dust-on-wood commercial.

That commercial had nothing to show off what the car provides in terms of value, performance, class, function, size, nor prowess (the car didn't move in the commercial).

Yes, the artsy-fartsy marketing of Infiniti doesn't do the car justice.





I hope Lexus doesn't mess up with the 4GS...

 

It's actually the QX56.




Yup, that's it...

 

1SICK, you are right on the money and infiniti is way off of it. Every since I can remember, infiniti has done a poor job of marketing their vehicles. The only difference is that their cars were pure stand outs and catored to a different audience. Now that they want volume, they will not achieve it with the same old wave of the hand thinking.

The new M is a nice car (I would not buy one, but would love to take it for a spin) but people would if it meant more than having magical pixy dust sprinkled on your wood! Someone in their marketing is also sprinkled with dust.

 

Can't sell a POS no matter how good the marketing... remember "Ishtar"????

 

Agree with most of this post... and this coming from an Infiniti fan. They really don't get it. Over the years, Infiniti has been all over the map as far as brand building. It's like a painter who starts a painting, quits halfway through to white-out everything he's done only to start over... and over... and over, each time wiping the canvas clean. In other words, he doesn't really know what to say.

Infiniti's problem is really not about product. They have some of the best out there. Their issue from day one has been establishing the BRAND. They still haven't claimed their own ground. BMW, MB, and Lexus don't really have to focus on features, and value (though they sometimes do) because all they really need to do is sell the brand. If your brand is strong enough people will buy almost anything you produce (see Apple) because they believe in, admire, or aspire to your brand.

If Infiniti had a strongly entrenched brand image then all they would really have to do is show us the car, tell us that it's an Infiniti and make sure the car lives up to the brand's promise. They don't have that and they should after 20 years. Hyundai has developed into a brand that resonates. Why not Infiniti? A) They haven't figured out who they are, B) They don't know how to communicate who they are or, C) they've been hiring all the wrong agencies.

 

Even as a huge fan of Nissan and Infiniti I have to admit they are doing really lame adds for the car. The try to make them look artful with the black painted brush stroke etc, but they insist on trying to sell the car by mentioning the silver dust in the wood and the AC system that produces breezes like a forest. Thats cool but imho its not going to get me to want the car. They could mention the monster V8 and the still pretty robust 330 hp v6 they dropped into the M37. I have to agree with Mike on this . They are their own worst enemy when it comes to this cars advertising

 

Now that you ask that is a good question. FX50, M56 and QX56 all have similar MSRPs.

Its a shame b/c it really is a very good vehicle. I know dealers have to be pissed. This isn't a bad product needing better advertising. This is a great product that needs at least AVERAGE advertising!

The QX56 print ads have started as well and it is more of the same. The one I read was a long small font 10 page paragraph talking about why they don't need sway bars or something. No pictures of the interior, talk of the 400hp, nothing of true relevance.