DEAD: Infiniti Q50

[Madman]

Infiniti, the brand still searching for an identity after more than three decades, is euthanising it's final sedan.  Did you even know they were still making these?  Me neither!

Bid a final farewell to the Infiniti Q50, the Official Car of "I wanted a BMW but my credit score said No."

Want to know what your kid's weed dealer will be driving a dozen years from now?  Here it is! 


https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/cars/news-blog/infiniti-drops-final-sedan-in-lineup-44508859

[Raza]

In a dozen years, if we still have black market weed dealers, something has gone horribly wrong.

[veeman]

EVs are a better driving experience than luxury automatic transmission ICE cars and most of the people who own these expensive ICE cars probably live in their own houses with covered garages where you can easily install an EV charger. Not everyone but most.

ICE luxury SUVs are usually better for long distance family travel where range and charging becomes a big issue so they still sell well. Don't see that changing anytime soon. 

So you have a dwindling U.S. population that still wants these sporty luxury automatic transmission ICE sedans and I never found the Infiniti sedans to be significantly cheaper, have a longer warranty, or any other feature that would make them more desirable than a BMW, Audi, or Genesis.

Genesis has taken the place of the Infiniti of yesteryear being cheaper than the German luxury cars with a better warranty and beautifully designed. 

[SJ_GTI]

Did you even know they were still making these?  Me neither!

 

[r0tor]

EVs are a better driving experience than luxury automatic transmission ICE cars and most of the people who own these expensive ICE cars probably live in their own houses with covered garages where you can easily install an EV charger. Not everyone but most.

I don't really agree.  If it wasn't for info on the dash of our Jeep, it's pretty hard to tell the difference between ICE/EV/combined propulsion and you would be hard pressed to guess

[veeman]

I don't really agree.  If it wasn't for info on the dash of our Jeep, it's pretty hard to tell the difference between ICE/EV/combined propulsion and you would be hard pressed to guess

I don't have any experience with PHEVs.

For pure EV lack of NVH, seemingly instant speed without any drama, never stopping for gas, little maintenance, and able to "idle" without spewing fossil fuel farts at the site of idling make it no comparison.

I was a skeptic until owning a Kia EV6.  Can never go back to an automatic ICE as a daily driver.  Manual transmission or classic car, yes.  But sporty luxury sedan; no way. This is assuming I have an ICE SUV for long distance travel.

When the Tesla Model 3 came to market it quickly overtook BMW 3 series as the best selling entry level luxury car. 

In the U.S. I don't think EV over ICE saves you any significant money though.       

[GoCougs]

The G35 changed the game but akin to the NSX, LS400, GT-R, 350Z, etc., the Japanese just couldn't sustain (the follow-on G37 was just as good, but it remained unchanged for literally 10 years). The Q50 was a flop - the 2+2 Q50 coupe was the best looking on the market at any cost but same power train as the G37, lousy AT and mediocre interior killed it. The Q50 Red Sport 400 had major potential but same lousy AT and no limited slip killed it as well (plus it sounded terrible).

[Laconian]

I thought it was the steer-by-wire system which weirded everybody out of the Q50? I had a Q50 as a service loaner and it was a strange experience to drive. Nasty.

[MrH]

They're just lulling us into a false sense of dread while they ramp up plans for THE WORLD TAKEOVER

[veeman]

They're just lulling us into a false sense of dread while they ramp up plans for THE WORLD TAKEOVER

 

[Morris Minor]

I don't have any experience with PHEVs.

For pure EV lack of NVH, seemingly instant speed without any drama, never stopping for gas, little maintenance, and able to "idle" without spewing fossil fuel farts at the site of idling make it no comparison.

I was a skeptic until owning a Kia EV6.  Can never go back to an automatic ICE as a daily driver.  Manual transmission or classic car, yes.  But sporty luxury sedan; no way. This is assuming I have an ICE SUV for long distance travel.

When the Tesla Model 3 came to market it quickly overtook BMW 3 series as the best selling entry level luxury car. 

In the U.S. I don't think EV over ICE saves you any significant money though.     

Pootling along in urban traffic, waiting at stop lights & maneuvering around parking lots in near silence is a major attribute of automotive luxury. You maximize this in a decent pure BEV, and get it to a lesser extent in (P)HEVs.

[veeman]

Pootling along in urban traffic, waiting at stop lights & maneuvering around parking lots in near silence is a major attribute of automotive luxury. You maximize this in a decent pure BEV, and get it to a lesser extent in (P)HEVs.

For sure. Every Saturday I take my son to his band practice which is half hour by hilly backroads the majority of the way. Lots of stop signs and a few traffic lights. Speed limits are generally 25 to 35 mph. I love taking our EV. Nearly silent, near instant speed without any engine drama, ... serene. At these slow speeds I can see enjoying it equally or more in a manual transmission sporty car or a classic car. But I don't see many people wanting an ICE luxury automatic transmission sporty car over an EV for this; once they've experienced a well sorted EV for a bit.   

[SJ_GTI]

I guess the Infiniti world takeover truly is over.

Infiniti World Takeover Has Ended

[MrH]

That's just what they want you to think!

It's like an animal playing dead before they strike!

[GoCougs]

TBF, the plan is to roll Infiniti and Nissan dealerships into one (meaning, Infiniti is staying in the USA).

A shame. The G35 really started something, and the G37 continued it nicely (and the best car I've owned), but then as is the rule for Japanese automakers after a hit (LS400, NSX, GTR, etc.), fell wayyyy flat with the Q50 (the coupe was a real looker though).

[Madman]

I guess the Infiniti world takeover truly is over.

Infiniti World Takeover Has Ended

197 dealers averaging 24 cars per month?  WTF?  That's bad!

In August 1991, when Peugeot announced they were pulling out of the US, they had 151 dealers, although most of those were attached to other European franchises.  Bizarrely, there were also quite a few Chevrolet dealers selling (or rather, trying to sell) a few Peugeots on the side.

I wonder how Infiniti's customers (the few they have left) will like sharing a service lane and a waiting room with Versa and Sentra owners?

[Laconian]

Wow, I forgot how to count that low. 24 cars/dealer? Lawlll.

[r0tor]

197 dealers averaging 24 cars per month?  WTF?  That's bad!

In August 1991, when Peugeot announced they were pulling out of the US, they had 151 dealers, although most of those were attached to other European franchises.  Bizarrely, there were also quite a few Chevrolet dealers selling (or rather, trying to sell) a few Peugeots on the side.

I wonder how Infiniti's customers (the few they have left) will like sharing a service lane and a waiting room with Versa and Sentra owners?

I would love to share a service lane for my Alfa with a Wrangler as then it would bean I once again have a dealer less than an hour away ...

[Submariner2]

TBF, the plan is to roll Infiniti and Nissan dealerships into one (meaning, Infiniti is staying in the USA).

A shame. The G35 really started something, and the G37 continued it nicely (and the best car I've owned), but then as is the rule for Japanese automakers after a hit (LS400, NSX, GTR, etc.), fell wayyyy flat with the Q50 (the coupe was a real looker though).

Nissan/Infiniti was turning out some genuinely great products from the mid 90's all the way up to the end of the 1st gen M35 (not the short lived one in the 90's).  Really sad to see what they've become - the official chariot of low-IQ, high impulsivity sociopaths...or at least those who prefer not to drive a RAM truck.

[GoCougs]

Nissan/Infiniti was turning out some genuinely great products from the mid 90's all the way up to the end of the 1st gen M35 (not the short lived one in the 90's).  Really sad to see what they've become - the official chariot of low-IQ, high impulsivity sociopaths...or at least those who prefer not to drive a RAM truck.

Hmmm. G37 hegemony must be an East coast thing. I don't really ever see that here. The psychos here are indeed mostly in full size pickup trucks - at least 10x more than any other bad driver demo (ricers, tweaker shit boxes, Chargers/Challengers, 4Runners/Tacomas/FJs).

[Laconian]

They were pretty popular in the mid aughts, I'd say.

[Submariner2]

Hmmm. G37 hegemony must be an East coast thing. I don't really ever see that here. The psychos here are indeed mostly in full size pickup trucks - at least 10x more than any other bad driver demo (ricers, tweaker shit boxes, Chargers/Challengers, 4Runners/Tacomas/FJs).

It honestly seems to be a race/ethnicity thing.  Low IQ, antisocial whites seem to like RAM.  Low IQ, antisocial Hispanics/blacks seem to like Infiniti/Nissan. 

[Laconian]

Use the correct Cougs term, LSE.

Where I live the really psycho "swimmers" are in Model 3s. Used M3s are the best cheap speed now.

[CALL_911]

Hmmm. G37 hegemony must be an East coast thing. I don't really ever see that here. The psychos here are indeed mostly in full size pickup trucks - at least 10x more than any other bad driver demo (ricers, tweaker shit boxes, Chargers/Challengers, 4Runners/Tacomas/FJs).

G37/Nissans being driven by inbred mouth breathers was huge in NY and is huge in Texas

[Morris Minor]

It should be noted that I drive a 2010 G37. I've had it for 12 years and really like it.

But it is fraying around the edges and has developed a distinct old car smell inside. So this will be the year that it goes elsewhere: first to the second-tier used car dealer network, and then on to become part of the nation's sociopath fleet.

[Laconian]

Use the correct Cougs term, LSE.

Where I live the really psycho "swimmers" are in Model 3s. Used M3s are the best cheap speed now.

Oh, I forgot: WRXes. Subaru vape bros with lewd hentai stickers all over their nasty, blatty WRXes.

[veeman]

I rarely see Infiniti G line cars.  I think it's a road salt thing. Places where they salt the roads in the winter usually have newer model cars on the roads because the older cars are rusted out.

Driving in the night and if I see someone or more than one car going 100 mph + whiz past me, weaving thru traffic on the highway, it's often a Dodge Charger or BMW sedan.