I dusted these pictures of an M30 Convertible off after I read William’s draft of his Infiniti piece that ran earlier this morning and figured this would be as good a time as any to share them. This is one of the earliest cars I shot towards the beginning of this year and as such the pictures seem to suffer from the same Colonel Sanders syndrome that affected some of JPC’s recent posts using older shots, however I prefer to view the car as just having an ethereal glow emanating from it due to some higher power.
You’ll be forgiven for not immediately recognizing this car, as we all know, Infiniti did itself no favors by not actually showing any of their cars in their introductory advertising campaign in favor of trees, rocks and other scenes of nature. Although the flagship Q45 is now well-known to most of us if never universally desired, the wall-flower M30 never really stood a chance after that initial miscue.
A neighbor of mine in the late 90’s had one, a Coupe in that dark red that many seemed to be. I went for several rides in it and I have to say it wasn’t particularly memorable in any way. A Q45 however would have been much more interesting, and looking at the other end of the market, my own G20 that I owned soon thereafter fast became one of my favorite cars. Then again, I wasn’t really into just loafing around in those days, I might find one of these quite interesting nowadays.
The M30 coupe only lasted three years (1990-1992) and sold about 17,000 copies (according to one source, although others claim 11,000 and 12,000, so it’s perfectly understandable if some of you have never seen one. The convertible accounted for about 2,500 (agreed in all places) of that total and was only offered for 1991 and 1992. While the M30 is very much based on the Japanese market Nissan Leopard, the Leopard was never offered as a convertible. Nissan shipped M30 Coupes to American Sunroof Company in California and they performed the necessary surgery for exclusive sale here.
Under the hood is a 3.0l SOHC V6 (as in the Maxima and 300ZX) producing 162hp and 180lb-ft of torque, in all cases mated to a JATCO 4-speed automatic unit. Coupled with the Coupe’s 3300lb weight it was generally considered heavy and underpowered, the convertible’s additional 275lbs didn’t help that whatsoever. So let’s just call it a RWD boulevard cruiser (instead of the drifter or carver du jour), which really is what it was meant to be…power isn’t everything, although the Leopard was certainly available with the DOHC version of this engine which would have helped that criticism tremedously.
The intake plenum has the Infiniti logo on it which is what defines this as a 1992 model, prior years still carried the Nissan name on there which seems like another somewhat shocking oversight. I find the logo itself to be one of the more attractive and evocative automotive logos devised and one that still looks modern and appropriate today.
The interior, however, while certainly sumptuous to some degree (mainly the seats), was definitely at odds with the Q45 and its organic shapes inside and out on the other side of the showroom. The rectilinear forms in here, while absolutely a carryover from the older Leopard donor, just didn’t do itself any favors. It’s not poor quality or badly designed, it just didn’t mesh at all with the rest of the Infiniti image. Looking at it now, however, I quite like it, but then again, I’m the guy that loves the square interior of the 1986 Cressida. Your opinion may very well differ.
Still, the wheel looks good and beefy, there’s an airbag (for the driver) and the gathered leather/vinyl/whatever on the door panels probably looked pretty good when it was still brand new. The door locks at the leading edge of the doors are somewhat novel as well.
177,428 miles is nothing for a Nissan V6, so who knows what happened, perhaps emissions, more likely the JATCO box.
Beer stickers on the rear bumper in my opinion point to a younger driver with perhaps less mechanical sympathy than desirable. The ’90’s were a time when we spoilered all the things and the M30 didn’t get away without one either in this case.
It’s almost as if Infiniti never intended for this car to be sold here, and of course it was supplemented by both the G20 for 1991 (itself a Nissan Primera, in G20 form one of the best compact sedans ever) and and indirectly replaced by the J30 for 1993, which while more in the mold of the Q45 and also a 4-door sedan, itself was an acquired taste that unfortunately veered more to the polarizing side.
Still, I suppose a luxury convertible was a potentially interesting choice seeing as how Lexus and Acura didn’t have one, although the svelte and lithe first generation Legend Coupe should have moved Nissan to bring us something or anything else rather than the M30, whose shellacking in the market was fairly predictable. I wonder if that’s the reason the convertible wasn’t available until the second year, perhaps it was an emergency program once the first sales results came in.
Even this ad doesn’t do it any favors, it doesn’t say much about the car and it doesn’t make you really want to go out and get one. It’s no wonder they didn’t sell very many, although the $8,200 upcharge for the convertible option on top of the around $24,000 price for the coupe was just as much to blame. Apparently there were no factory options available to further inflate that though, the cars were “fully equipped”.
The M30 is a forgotten player nowadays although it’s probably a fair question to ask how one forgets something they never knew in the first place. I wonder how long it will be until I see another.
Related Reading:
William Stopford’s Curbside Classic on the 1990-1992 M30
Jeff Nelson’s Curbside Classic on the 1992 M30
So….is it too late to do a COAL?
This is the exact car I owned from 2011-2014.
Please do!
Seconded!
“I went for several rides in it and I have to say it wasn’t particularly memorable in any way.”
I test drove a ’91 or a ’92 back in 1994 and it was memorable for how badly it drove; under-powered, cowl shake, a real, “Why bother?” experience.
I test drove a used one in Denver during the same time frame (also pearl white- Given their rarity, it may have been this very car). I was looking for a convertible at the time, but this one did not rise to the top of the list. I’m guessing it had seen a rather large depreciation hit, since I would have been in the sub $15k market at that point in life.
The test drive was rather unremarkable, but the sales person was very surprised when I mentioned the Japanese called it the Leopard. She wasn’t an Infiniti salesperson, but had spent time in Japan and knew the domestic market model name.
I wasn’t aware the top was a US conversion- The engineering was very thorough, including a pair of electric motors in the top mechanism that somehow engaged the windshield header and drew the top down into place (think Cadillac’s power trunk closer).
These were never sold in Canada so it was always interesting to see them when I visited the US.
Outside of that novelty factor they did not seem to offer a compelling reason for one to get excited over one.
My buddy had one and it was completely invisible. It seemed to have been an overpriced Maxima coupe that was rounded up into the new Infiniti dealerships. His was silver, so it was not only generic, but also completely camouflaged on the road. A total nothing-burger.
Not a bad car, just a meh car.
Never seen a ragtop Leopard but big luxury Nissans arent unknown here mate of mine currently has a 92 V8 President stored on his lawn its had the stance treatment but is still a nice looking car and that all alloy V8 is a gem, much prized for stockcar racing where a lighter engine means more steel reinforcing can be added for Saturday night full contact motor sport.
This model also led to a running gag in the movie “Three Kings,” released in 1999-
Mark Wahlberg’s character kept talking about buying a Lexus convertible, and his Chief Staff Sergeant (Ice Cube) noted that Lexus didn’t make any convertibles. At least once, Ice Cube noted that Infiniti made a convertible, but this was the only Infiniti convertible available when the movie was released, and had been out of production for several years.
It was driving me nuts what movie that dialogue was from! I haven’t seen it since around the time was released and all I remember from it was this, and even as a 10 or 11 year old, I knew no current Infiniti was a convertible!
Yeah, but how was the fried chicken? 🙂
One of these used to live somewhere near me. If I had known the low production figures at that time I would have tried harder for some pictures.
I agree with others, this car and the Q-45 had nothing in common. That said, some cars look “right” as a convertible and I always thought that this was one. Not saying it was the best executed convertible out there, but it certainly looked good, in a classic kind of way. A V8, a turbo, a 5 speed, or some real road-going suspension might have given this car something to talk about. That was a lot of money for not much more of interest than a folding roof.
Agreed. I’d forgotten the M30 droptop wasn’t a factory job. It looks like it was designed from the get-go to be a convertible.
My good friend’s older brother had a pearl white M30 coupe back when I was in middle school. About the only thing I recall from riding in it was his wild driving style. Dude gave no regard for the speed limit. I suppose typical of most any teen driver…
The high-end Japanese Three all hit the market with a big luxury sedan but quickly realized they also needed lower-priced models to fill out the line. Most were created from vehicles not sold in the USDM. This was one of the less successful of the lot.
These always looked a little too close to a Foxbody Mustang convertible for what a newly minted luxury brand should have, and I strongly suspect a 5.0 would run circles around it to boot.
I really hate the font used on the gauge cluster, it looks just like the fancy pants font used in 90s magazine ads
My brother owns two of them, and they’re OK for their age, but definite cowl shake. What yard is the one in the picture located in?
It’s not there anymore, these pictures were from early this year. This yard is in Greeley, CO
I think there’s a direct correlation between one’s appreciation for the Toyota Cressida, and one’s appreciation for this M30. I like both, and even though the M30 excelled at exactly nothing, it’s still an appealing car to me… perhaps it’s the clear JDM influence that was usually diluted by the time a car reached North American shores, or perhaps it’s because I just like square cars. Regardless, I like it.
Like JPC above, I didn’t realize these were quite as rare as they are — only 2,500 convertibles! Wow.
There’s one that lives near me, and I see it driving occasionally — last time was in a heavy rainstorm, so it’s clearly used frequently. Below is the image of it parked, courtesy of StreetView.
My 1990s guilty pleasure is gathered leather trim on the inside of car doors. Growing up, that was *luxury*
The M30 was, if not a bad car, then a mistake. It didn’t fit Infiniti’s image, it looked dated even at launch, and it looked especially lousy next to a Lexus SC, even if there may have been a price difference.
I still maintain, as I did in my M30 article, that there were better JDM Nissans to choose from. First and foremost, the Skyline. No, they weren’t terribly luxurious. But damn, what a way to make an impact! Plus, it’s not like the Skyline line was just the GT-R, there were plenty of less powerful, naturally-aspirated six-cylinder sedans and coupes.
I mean, let’s not forget the car that really put Infiniti on the map for a lot of buyers, the G35, was a Nissan Skyline. Imagine if Infiniti had gotten that kind of momentum a decade prior. Instead they tried to follow Lexus which is ironic because the first Infiniti, the Q45, was almost an anti-Lexus (racier handling, no woodgrain, less classically “luxury” styling)
I had not idea these were that rare, I knew the M30 didn’t take off but I thought it looked pretty good and like it would be a nice comfortable cruiser. Of course at the time I didn’t have new convertible money and then came kids…….
The M30 was a bizarre misstep for Nissan at a time they really needed to knock it out of the park with the new Infiniti brand. When introduced in 1990, the platform on which it was based upon was already five years old… Not only that, compared to the home market Leopard, it was very much decontented. None of the turbocharged V6’s, no sonic adjustable suspension, no 6 inch display screen, and even a different dash shared with the significantly cheaper LHD R31 Skyline. What was the point? Lexus wisely chose to wait for the new for ’92 Soarer to introduce a luxury coupe, and that car made this Infiniti look like an ancient joke in every aspect one would critique a vehicle.
Maybe the owner gave up after one too many Zima’s
This was right on time. I’m dead. LOL
Great find and piece, Jim. I do remember thinking the M30 seemed like an also-ran immediately after its introduction. Where the Q45 looked incredible (better then, to my eyes, than the Lexus LS400), the M30 looked like a rebadge job. Its angular styling looked completely at odds with the muscular shape of the Q.
That’s not to say that seeing one wouldn’t bring a smile to my face.
I never knew these were convertible conversions done over here. The well-done convertible top mechanism is in stark contrast to that of the ’81 Skylark convertible posted earlier this week.
I’ve only seen one of these that I recall. When I was attending a community college in the mid 2000’s, a girl in one of my classes drove one. Same color as this even. I figured then that it was probably a fairly rare but not desirable car.
I leased hardtop M30 in that exact color scheme in 1991 when I lived in Nashville. There was not a dealer in town, so I had to go to Memphis (Germantown, actually) to do the deal. I drove it for the balance of the lease and turned it in.
I don’t have too may memories of the car however. They were very rare in Nashville at the time and I met a woman who drove a G20. We ended up getting married, at least in part because we both had Infinitis.
It could go pretty fast though. I picked up a couple of speeding tickets driving to Knoxville.
This car was very odd to me! It had very similar tail lights to the 85-86 Maxima, and the blocky style dashboard again similar to the 85-88 Maxima instead of the nice sweepy/ curvy/contemporary style at the time dash from then current 89-94 Maxima and 90-94 Q45! With the extra weight it was slower than the Maxima and Z with the same engine, oddball for sure!