Infiniti: a faint whiff of decay...

[Morris Minor]

I got the G37's oil change & tire rotation done at the local dealer today. Lots of people standing around with nothing to do. The lot crowded with unwanted new cars. Empty offices. Empty customer waiting area.


This was all a bit different from the zoo-like bustle of the Honda dealer a few weeks ago. I would not want an Infiniti dealer franchise.

[giant_mtb]

I think that most luxury brand dealerships are a lot less busy/chaotic than your run of the mill mainstreamers. Whenever I visited the Audi dealership for warranty maintenance on my A4, it was very calm and chill with not that many customers zooing about. I could freely roam about the showroom looking at the R8 or S5 or whatever upper end cars they had on the floor virtually alone.

That isn't to say Infiniti isn't in a state of decline, but, IME, that's how luxury brand places are. Walmart...ridiculous zoo all the time. Target...much calmer and quieter.

[AutobahnSHO]

Plus this week is probably a very low car-selling week? Holidays are over, people heading back to work....

[cawimmer430]

I know that Nissan sales are tanking. Is this also true for Infiniti sales?

[Morris Minor]

My olfactory senses weren't deceiving me. That was indeed the smell of Infiniti dealer putrefaction:
2019 sales down 21%. Look at the December to December comparisons: Q50 down 41%
https://jalopnik.com/yep-infiniti-got-creamed-1840829250

[veeman]

They're already out of Europe.  They'll be out of the US within 5 years I predict.  Maybe 3 years.  Perhaps 2.  Nissan is a mess.  Concentrating on market share (rental fleets, etc) with little profit and killing brand equity. 

[Laconian]

They squandered the lead they took with the Leaf in the EV segment. A real shame. I knew a lot of Leaf early adopters who were all abuzz about how nice their little car was. Too bad the Leaf was an engineering dead end. They could've kept the Leaf fans in the fold by giving them upgrade paths to electric, or at least more efficient, vans and SUVs as their needs and means grew.

[CaminoRacer]

They squandered the lead they took with the Leaf in the EV segment. A real shame. I knew a lot of Leaf early adopters who were all abuzz about how nice their little car was. Too bad the Leaf was an engineering dead end. They could've kept the Leaf fans in the fold by giving them upgrade paths to electric, or at least more efficient, vans and SUVs as their needs and means grew.

And improved the battery cooling & heating capabilities so they don't degrade...

[Xer0]

You guys remember when Infiiniti was 10 years away from world takeover?  How sad it's become.

[Morris Minor]

If you wanted a non-BMW hairy-arsed sedan, the G was the place to go... for years.
Now I'm thinking Genesis G70 (they even called it a "G") but I'm guessing the Model 3 also grabs a chunk of fun seekers who're looking at the segment

[CaminoRacer]

If you wanted a non-BMW hairy-arsed sedan, the G was the place to go... for years.
Now I'm thinking Genesis G70 (they even called it a "G") but I'm guessing the Model 3 also grabs a chunk of fun seekers who're looking at the segment

How's the Genesis chassis dynamics? I know Mr.H's had pretty bad handling/damping or something but I assume they've improved since then. The styling is top-notch.

And I agree that Model 3's have stolen quite a few sales from the established sports-sedan brands.

[Laconian]

Model 3 is a massive performance bargain. You can't come close to those performance numbers without spending double on other cars. C8 is an exception, but you can't haul your family in one.

[Laconian]

You guys remember when Infiiniti was 10 years away from world takeover?  How sad it's become.

I would argue that the Q-naming and introduction of that terrible steer-by-wire in the Q50 were Infiniti's shark-jumping moment.

Who posted that again? JAKE REPP or something?

[Xer0]

I would argue that the Q-naming and introduction of that terrible steer-by-wire in the Q50 were Infiniti's shark-jumping moment.

Who posted that again? JAKE REPP or something?

Q naming took all the wind out of their momentum cause now people had zero association with the product:

"Hey, I want a new G37 please"

"Oh you mean the Q50, check it out!"

"The fuck is a Q50?"

"Its the new G37!"

"Then why not call it the G37?  Bro you make no sense, I'm just gonna buy a 3 series"

And then the product just kinda sucked.

[Morris Minor]

Excerpt from one of the comments on Jalopnik:

"Negative percent changes in sales of the Q50, Q60, Q70, QX30, QX50, QX60, and QX80—coincidentally, also cars I cannot for the life of me accurately bring to mind, no matter how hard I try.

There's the problem, right there. This is why Lincoln is moving away from the stupid 3-letter/alpha-numeric labels for cars. What is a Q50? Is it like the G55? Oh wait, it's the new name for the old G37 second gen? Oh wait, no, that became the Q60. The M45 became the Q70, but not before becoming the M37/M55 first. And the old Q45 did not in fact become their Q50, but actually became the Q70.

EX/FX? It's all QX now, baby!

How sad that a luxury company thought to name all their products like lumber. Q means car, QX means crossover, the bigger the number the more car you get. You want just 12 feet of car? Q50. Oh, you want more like 15 or 16 feet of car? Q70. You want 15 feet of car, but also some more height? QX60.

Congrats infiniti. You tried to copy Audi and BMW and Mercedes but forgot the number one rule - The reason why people know what a 3-series is, or what an S-class is, is because they didn't get thick after a generation or two and suddenly decide that their entire naming system needs to get thrown away."

[Submariner]

I would argue that the Q-naming and introduction of that terrible steer-by-wire in the Q50 were Infiniti's shark-jumping moment.

Who posted that again? JAKE REPP or something?

Ha!  I remember that.  I don't think that's the name, but I remember being in (high school?  middle school?) reading that in the lobby and getting into flame wars with him over the absurdity of the statement.

[GoCougs]

Infiniti is so sad, but the Japanese in general are the absolute worst at product management outside the Camry and Accord (where coincidentally are historically among the best managed marques in the industry). Lexus and Acura are absolutely awful too, though not quite so bad.

[Morris Minor]

Owning my G will soon like owning an Oldsmobile or a Pontiac: "Oh yeah, Infinitis, I just about remember them"
Tossed onto the scrapheap of defunct car marques.

https://youtu.be/XJs1W-qvyyk

[MX793]

Infiniti World Takeover - the dream is dead.

It was like they took the lead in the race and then decided they didn't need to continue developing newer and better cars or change to adapt to consumer wants or demands.  And the changes they did make, to the brand more than the vehicles, felt like the brain farts of marketing school dropouts (the horrendous Q naming scheme).

[Soup DeVille]

Owning my G will soon like owning an Oldsmobile or a Pontiac: "Oh yeah, Infinitis, I just about remember them"
Tossed onto the scrapheap of defunct car marques.

https://youtu.be/XJs1W-qvyyk

That video makes me want to make a Doug Demuro jumping jack puppet- you know, the kind on a stick that flaps its arms when you pull a string?

[Morris Minor]

It makes me want to get to get an M340i even more - but that's some serious wedge - spousal acceptance may be an issue. Especially since she wants to get a bathroom remodeled.

[Raza]

Infiniti has felt like it's been stagnating since they decided to change every model's name to Q something. They lost a lot of brand equity in the G, which was a legitimate 3 series contender and a great value for the first couple of generations. But now, the Q something is something something something. I don't even know. I don't even see commercials for Infiniti anymore.

[Payman]

That video makes me want to make a Doug Demuro jumping jack puppet- you know, the kind on a stick that flaps its arms when you pull a string?

I can't stand him anymore. Shame because he reviews some pretty cool cars.

[CALL_911]

It makes me want to get to get an M340i even more - but that's some serious wedge - spousal acceptance may be an issue. Especially since she wants to get a bathroom remodeled.

Do it

[afty]

As a longtime Nissan fan, it makes me sad to see where both Nissan and Infiniti are today. Just bland, uninspiring cars. Not even cars I would pick at a rental counter.

[Laconian]

I wonder what the inside scoop is at Nissan. Why are they bungling so badly? They're obviously struggling.

[MX793]

I wonder what the inside scoop is at Nissan. Why are they bungling so badly? They're obviously struggling.

I blame Renault.

[Laconian]

I blame Renault.

Anything in particular?

The DCX merger, in particular, made for all kinds of interesting stories of culture clashes.

[afty]

https://www.autoblog.com/2020/06/15/infiniti-nissan-plus-strategy-explained/ 

[MX793]

Anything in particular?

The DCX merger, in particular, made for all kinds of interesting stories of culture clashes.

What benefit did Nissan get from the merger?  They moved their small cars to Renault platforms and they were even more mediocre than the older Nissan designs.  Meanwhile, their larger platforms languished and rotted on the vine.  This includes their powerplants for larger models.  French carmaker don't do larger engines, and that mentality clearly got thrust on Nissan.