(first posted 9/15/15 – updated with new photos of a recent CC sighting) Introduced the same year as Toyota’s Lexus division, Nissan’s Infiniti brand never achieved the runaway success of Lexus, and this has largely been the plight of Infiniti ever since. Nissan’s luxury brand has had several notable victories, such as the G-Series, but over the course of its now quarter-century history, Infiniti has largely come up short when it comes to compelling products and high sales figures.
This isn’t to say that Infinti’s vehicles are inferior in quality or luxury features, because they’ve always been competitive in these respects. It’s just that for most of its history, Infiniti’s had a tough time standing out as something exciting in a crowded field of luxury vehicles, and presenting itself as more than just “a luxury Nissan”. Never making the inroads that Acura and Lexus accomplished early on, Infiniti has suffered from lack of notoriety and substantially lower sales over the past two and a half decades.
Whereas the Lexus LS 400 appeared to embody a balance of everything buyers of a flagship luxury car wanted, in comparison, the original Infiniti Q45 seemed to fall flat on its face, largely a result of its bolder, but more subjective qualities. Although it offered better performance, the 1990 Q45 turned off many potential buyers by its avant-garde styling, starker interior, and less comfortable ride. Despite attempts to address these issues in 1994, the Q45 remained but a shadow of the LS’s popularity, with Lexus selling more than twice as many LS 400s annually, for every year of the first generation Q45.
Adding insult to injury, by this point in time, Nissan as a whole was in a downward tailspin. Following a massive 1980s expansion in an unsuccessful attempt to usurp Toyota as Japan’s largest automaker, Nissan was left in an especially weak standing just as a global recession hit, affecting Japan particularly hard. With the Yen’s value skyrocketing against the U.S. Dollar, Japanese automakers were forced to raise prices of their vehicles. Sales took a beating from this, and in 1991, Nissan’s net operating profit fell a massive 64.3 percent. By 1994, net losses amounted to nearly $2 Billion U.S.D.
In order to combat this, Nissan implemented a massive cost-cutting program across the board. In conjunction with factory closings, massive layoffs, and heavy loans from the Industrial Bank of Japan, this cost-cutting program began producing positive results almost immediately, and by 1997 Nissan posted its first profits since the decade’s beginning. Predictably, this cost-cutting extended beyond manufacturing costs, and forced Nissan to reduce quality of materials and the expensive development of new vehicles. Even the flagship Infiniti Q45 was not immune to this.
Given the automaker’s then-advantageous financial standing and its high hopes for a world-class luxury sedan, Nissan spared little expense in the development of the first generation Infiniti Q45. However, investing heavily into an exclusive platform, an all-new highly-advanced V8 engine, unique styling, dedicated interiors, specially designed seats, and numerous technologies including hydraulic active suspension and four-wheel steering yielded significantly less return on investment than Nissan had bargained for.
As a result, Nissan could not take the same laissez-faire attitude when it came to developing the second generation of its Infiniti Q45. Investing in an all-new dedicated platform and styling was out of the question. Instead, the Q45 was now based on the slightly smaller Japanese-market Nissan Cima, sharing its platform, engine, styling, and interior. The JDM Nissan President, based on a long-wheelbase version of the 1990-1996 Q45, continued in original form through 2002.
Moving to the Cima’s platform meant that the Q45 lost two inches in wheelbase, although interior volume was increased by two cubic feet and rear seat passengers gained 3.9 inches of legroom. Power from a smaller 4.1L v8 also down a modest twelve horsepower and sixteen pound-foot of torque, to 266 and 278, respectively. While few lamented at this minor loss of power, some pundits criticized Infiniti for not renaming the car “Q41”, reflective of the new engine’s smaller displacement. Thanks to the 4.1 liter’s lower weight, as well as weight-saving measures taken with the car’s suspension, its overall weight was down over 200 pounds from the first generation Q45, resulting in similar acceleration despite lower output.
Cost-cutting also dictated a loss of the original car’s advanced four-wheel multilink suspension, in favor of a cheaper and lighter McPherson strut suspension up front. The Q45t (“t” for Touring) and 2000 Anniversary Editions gained an Active Damper Suspension, which allowed drivers to choose between normal and sport settings for the shocks’ reaction to steering and road surfaces. Despite this, the second generation Q45’s suspension was decidedly tuned more for comfort, a greater nod to the precedent set by the LS. Unlike the Cima, which offered all-wheel drive, American market Q45s were strictly rear-wheel drive.
Also shared with the Cima, second generation Q45 interiors carried a far more traditional appearance than the swoopy, cockpit styling of the first generation. Leather seats no longer looked like modern Italian furniture. Instead, Infiniti opted for wider and softer seats with French-stitched gathered leather to address complaints over the previous seats’ lack of adequate comfort. Although placement varied by model and year, all second generation Q45s were adorned with copious amounts of wood trim.
Regrettably, unlike later model years of its predecessor, this wood was of the plastic variety. Along with the lack of dual-zone climate control, this was rather appalling in a car priced at $50,000 (roughly $72,000 in 2018). Also gone from the new Q45’s interior was an elegant analogue clock – one of the original car’s most favored and praised details. To much relief though, an analogue clock would return in 1999. The new model did add additional leather to the door panels, and made greater use of soft-touch padded surfaces and contrasting color schemes, however it just didn’t exude the same presence as the original, looking more like it was cribbed from the $28,000 I30.
Styling of the new Q45 was also significantly more conservative than the original, possibly another attempt to make it more Lexus-like in appeal. In fact, apart from grilles and badging, the Q45 and Cima’s exteriors were identical. This was likely not a huge issue for American Infiniti buyers, considering the Cima was not sold on this side of the Pacific. Additionally, taking into account that these were the earlier days of Internet and that the average Q45 buyer was 58.5 years old, with one-third over 65 years of age, many likely had no knowledge of the Cima whatsoever. With this in mind, having the Q45 share its body with a lesser Nissan still did take away a slight bit of special-ness from the Q45.
The Q45’s front fascia was graced by a larger chrome waterfall grille and more upswept flush headlights. High-intensity discharge projector units became standard in 1999. Moving along the side, the 1997 model now featured a more formal greenhouse with a gracefully concave roofline, echoing the full-size Chrysler C-body hardtops of the mid-1970s. Large chrome door handles tended to evoke the look of vintage European luxury cars.
At the rear, gone were the rather futuristic full-width taillights, replaced with more ordinary-looking horizontal units. The 1999 freshening also eliminated the trunk-located taillight portions, replacing them with separate reverse signals and a larger chrome piece over the license plate. The styling of the second generation Q45 was by no means as emotional as the original, but in your author’s opinion, it still was a very elegant and attractive design. Especially considering the second generation LS 400 was so evolutionary in design that it was hard to distinguish from the original, the Q45 certainly had its strong points. Particularly in the 1999-2001 Q45t models, with their larger 5-spoke wheels and more subdued chrome trim, the Q45 sported a lean, athletic look that was not found in the LS.
Unfortunately, buyers still didn’t warm up much to the new Infiniti flagship. While sales for the 1997 Q45 were up over 75 percent (to a staggering 10,443 units), by the following year they were back on the steady decline. Our principal featured car’s 10th “Anniversary Edition” package, which was really little more than a Q45t with “Anniversary Edition” badging and embossing on the front seats, did little to generate excitement. Truthfully, the 1997-2001 Infiniti Q45 was a mostly competent all-around luxury sedan, but it lacked any notable qualities to generate attention and buyer interest in either the car itself, or the Infiniti brand.
Unsympathetic to Nissan’s financial situation, in the minds of most consumers and journalists, the 1997-2001 Infiniti Q45 was a sign that the automaker had grown complacent in producing a run-of-the-mill luxury sedan in the place of a awe-inspiring technological marvel of a flagship. Some critics even went so far as to dub it (in highly unflattering manner) “The Japanese Lincoln” or even worse, “The Japanese Buick”. It would appear that Nissan’s approach in giving the Q45 a more subdued, Lexus-like personality was a losing battle, much like the more daring original.
In reality however, it wasn’t really the conservative styling of the second generation LS that was continuing to win over buyers. In fact, sales of the very evolutionary second generation LS were actually down significantly from the first generation, a result of its aging styling and climbing price. Instead, it was the strong brand equity and image that Lexus established early on that gave its vehicles a greater sense of prestige and recognition, thus continuing to drive sales. Lacking this distinction, the second generation Q45 was hardly the car to boost the allure of Infiniti in the same way as Lexus, and it faded quietly into the background more than ever before.
2000 Q45t Anniversary Edition photographed in Hingham Massachusetts – June 2018
1999 Q45t photographed in Bolton, Massachusetts – September 2015
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The LS made such an impact at launch but you’re right, sales really tapered off as Lexus lost its price advantage. But Lexus was able to solidify its luxury credentials, while the first Q45 was too…. odd. No grille? No wood? What kind of luxury car was this? Never mind that it actually was quite a decent car.
I like the looks of the second-gen Q45, but it’s no wonder rumors started that Infiniti was facing the axe by the late 90s. They rapidly changed course from restrained sports luxury to chromey plush luxury: look at the I30. The end result was sales were no better but their image was so confused and muddied. Thank goodness the G came along as it really spurred a renaissance for the brand.
I really enjoy your editorials on 1990s and 2000s-era vehicles. They are well researched and bring enough opinion and personal experience into the mix that they are enlightening and very relateable to read for someone on the younger end of the spectrum.
I’ve always liked Infiniti’s flagship cars for their rareness and unique JDM styling (the 02-04 M45 is my all-time favorite), but I also think those qualities were exactly what turned luxury car buyers off to them when new. Lexus manged to create brand prestige practically out of nowhere, but Infiniti stumbled with their weird advertisements and quirky styling upon introduction.
I think a lot of the problem is just mainstream awareness – everyone recognizes the brands “Toyota” and “Lexus” and could pick out which is the luxury brand, but ask a non-car enthusiast what a “Nissan” or “Infiniti” is and you will undoubtedly have a lot more confusion. It doesn’t matter how good the car is – luxury buyers are very image and brand conscious, and cars like this simply got lost in the mix. I would say it’s more of a Japanese Imperial than a Japanese Lincoln, with it’s third tier status on the luxury market. Ironically, the reverse slant C-pillar reminds me of the 1974-75 Imperial, and I personally think it is a more elegant design the the original Lexus LS, which looked kind of staid by the late-90s.
That’s a great analogy between Infiniti and Imperial. My own personal like of Infiniti has gone up and down at various points in my life, but I really like this generation Q45, and agree with you that it’s even better looking than the original LS 400. The 1989 LS, along with the 1992 Mercedes S-Class both had very menacing, tank-like looks to them. Each were still attractive, but tall and too bulky looking. The 1997-2001 Q45 on the other hand, was just an elegant and understated, well-proportioned design.
the first gen looked like an Olds to me.
Fully agree with you on the 02-04 M45. Despite being a JDM Nissan Gloria with an Infiniti badge, I love those cars. They looked like nothing else on the market at the time, and I think they’ve aged rather well (other than the fact that all of them have hazy/yellowed headlamp covers).
Those M45 models, outside of exterior sheet metal, were vastly revised compared to the home market Gloria. The engine, transmission, rear suspension, and dashboard were all unique. Not exactly a simple re-badge.
I didn’t realize they revised the rear suspension. How so? Did they change the architecture? Or just beef it up and alter its geometry?
The Gloria used a setup much like most rear wheel drive Nissans of the era where the rear springs are mounted directly to the struts. The M45 setup had the springs independent of the strut, resting on the lower control arms.
I was unaware the Gloria wasn’t available with that engine “back home”, though it makes sense given the taxes on larger displacement. And the dash makes sense given the all-important Infiniti clock, plus the small manner of converting it to LHD. Though I suppose I should have known better than to think identical styling makes an identical vehicle!
This was the last of the good looking Infiniti cars. Everything after that kept getting more and more hideous.
Thanks for a very enjoyable read on a largely forgotten Infiniti. I am always fascinated when automakers swing for the fences, miss, and then respond with something that hardly amounts to a bunt. That to me is this car. So forgettable, with odd details that crib some less-than-desirable features from U.S. automakers like fake wood in a luxury car. While I’d always thought the rear roofline/back window of this car was its most distinctive design element, I’d never connected the dots to the ’74 Imperial sedan. But, wow, you are right! Strangely though, this “retro” element seemed so out of place both for a Japanese car, and looked oddly dated for the era.
Nissan’s design decisions have always fascinated me. They tend to be all over the map, more so than almost any other automaker I can think of. Sometimes, Nissan nails it, with perfect designs that stand the test of time, like the original 510 and 240Z, or the 1989 Maxima, 1989 240SX and 1990 300ZX. Other times, they seem to go for designs that are utterly bizarre and deliberately provocative, like the F10, 2004 Maxima, the Juke and the Infiniti J30. Sometimes, the company gets the basic shape right, but botches the details–the original Q45 being a prime example (much more original than the LS400, but no wood? no grille? C’mon…). Frequently, Nissan churns out cars that are utterly mundane and frumpy, like most Sentras, the Stanza and the Infiniti I30. I’d say that this Q sedan falls into the mundane category, and the sales results showed how disastrous a decision that was for a flagship.
I also never connected the 74 Imperial to the Q45 but I do see the 63 Grand Prix in the c pillar as well.
I find that the second-generation Q45 looked more like a 1998 Cadillac Seville than anything else, particularly in profile. Since the Q depreciated much faster than the Lexus LS, it made for a pretty decent secondhand buy as long as you could afford the upkeep.
I hate to admit it, but I sometimes forget that Infiniti exists. In my defense it looks like the two closest dealers are each more than an hour away. The same is true for Acura but they seem to do more advertising.
I should like this car a lot. I always liked the styling. Making the interior more traditionally luxurious with a softer, quieter ride is also a positive change in my opinion. Shrinking the engine while lowering the weight and footprint while maintaining performance and improving economy is exactly the kind of engineering excellence to be applauded. Somehow this car lost me and seemed to sell on price rather than excellence.
I for one was excited by the original Q45. The LS400 was the big hit with the MB styling combining with American ride and quiet and the promise and reality of Japanese reliability. In a way though the Q45 was more ambitious. It was actually trying to bring Japanese ideas of luxury to the world market. The retrained Japanese style with the incredible little refinements so ingrained in the Japanese way would take time to be appreciated. The first Q45 sold in my opinion well and in my opinion would have slowly built on that reputation if Infinity had been allowed to continue making it more uniquely Japanese with subsequent improvements. Each sales would have added to the image of Infinity by offering a unique never before offered option.
Instead the easier road was chosen and the Q45 was made to conform and the price reduced. What a letdown, but perhaps inevitable with Japan’s economic reverses of the nineties. The losses turn the mind to making the best of what still remains, with the adjoining thoughts of how to make money at reduced levels of sales.
To reach for the stars the way Cadillac did 1945-68 or the way Lincoln did in 60-68 or the way Mercedes did 1963-1985, or the way Jaguar did 1948-68 requires an optimism that the future is better and there will be room for you as a part of that. Japan, with it’s optimism of the eighties was able to create the Q45. It came out a little late and was not able to sustain once the pessimism arrived in Japan and at Nissan.
It will be interesting to watch if the current optimism and prosperity in South Korea sustains long enough to see if the first Korean stabs at luxury, like the Equis and the K900, are allowed to take their place in the world market.
Thanks Brendan for this well researched writeup.
For me, Infiniti’s failure in the market really proves the old adage that
“You only get ine chance to make a first impression”
Looking at things in the context of the time ( Yeah, I’m old, OK?) Infiniti was in for a tough launch no matter – Mercedes and BMW were the masters of the field, although Acura with its legendary Legend and Lexus with the LS400 had firmly established beachheads in the market. Lincoln wasn’t dead yet because of evergreen Towncar, and Cadillac, well, the last of the True Believers still hoped for the Return of the King.
This is a pretty crowded market place. There are only so many people who can afford to play with luxury cars at any given time, and they fall into pretty predictable segments:
Mercedes has the ‘Best Quality at any price’ gang. BMW has the Sporty crowd. Lexus owns the ‘Smart’ crowd who gamble against the old meme. Acura has the ‘Aspirationals’ who can’t quite afford the top brands yet. Cadillac and Lincoln hold the Old Guard.
What is Infiniti’s niche? As best as I can guess, they were going for ‘Sophisticates’ – art lovers who wear black turtlenecks, drink expensive wines, and like fast cars. All six of them already own Jaguars and since they are all about ‘the soul of the car making the maintenance headaches worthwhile, Japanese reliability is not a selling point to them.
Still, chasing the intellectual snob market would seem the only explanation for the cosmic name Infinity,er, Infiniti, and certainly the first commercials which introduced the seem to support that aim. There certainly is no other explanation. Even if you’ve seen them before, you should watch them again -they’re only 30 seconds long. Remember, Infiniti leaked no spy photos, and these ads were the only information available about the car until its formal debut.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0R6Gl94FEo4
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5rIUAuW6vLk
Then when the car is unveiled, it has a big pimple on its nose. Suddenly the Q45 becomes the car you have to justify to your friends – “For that money, why didn’t you buy a BMW?” “What’s that thing on the nose -some sort of radar or something?”
Game (almost) over. It took decades for Infiniti to recover from that pimple
Thanks for the link to those ads, Lokki. I’d heard about them, but now I understand the confusion. Having watched them I see what they were trying to achieve, but they needed a really good follow-up showing the car, with that same voice tying it in to the ‘spirit’ of the geese and the water and suchlike. I’m guessing that didn’t happen.
Very good article.
A few additional points worth adding:
The famously odd initial marketing campaign that didn’t actually show the first Infiniti, and wandered off on philosophy instead of talking about the car made Infiniti just a bit “weird” in the minds of high-end car buyers. When they finally showed the car, the grill less front with its unusual badge was enough to cement the “just a bit weird” image that I’m not sure Infiniti has ever shaken. You could even argue that the initial campaign was sort of a snobby way of saying the coming product is so superior that we don’t need to talk about it. This was a variant on the over hype combined with underwhelming product that was the same mistake Ford made with Edsel.
Add to that, during the 1990s, Nissan’s financial woes were so bad that its future as a going concern was in question. This was weird again, as during the 1990s just about every car company was able to make money. Why invest in a luxury car that might become an orphan brand?
Add to that, Nissan’s Nissan branded cars became known during the 1990s as the worst of the A-List Japanese manufacturer’s products. When you could buy a better Toyota, Honda, Mazda or Subaru, why buy a Nissan? Nissan was a bit like GM at times, still rolling on the inertia of its size rather than the merits of its products. More importantly for Infiniti, why buy a luxury brand attached to a tarnished brand like Nissan?
No doubt, Infiniti has a long history of being challenged in its quest for recognition as a credible luxury brand.
When the clock is “one of the original car’s most favored and praised details,” it doesn’t say a whole lot…but whether about the car or the observer is up for debate.
I’m still waiting for a miniature real wood-cased grandfather clock that ticks and chimes the hours. As a nod to automotive dynamics, I’d be willing to settle for a simulated pendulum. Now THAT would be a prestigious clock! 🙂
My $0.02 worth:
Infiniti found out the hard way that luxury car buyers AREN’T looking for “unusual”. Add in the “unusual” advertising and the scene is set for middling sales at best.
I like the Qs (both generations), and the J30 and 1st generation M. I owned a 1st generation G20, and bristle at the idea they are just “gussied up” Sentras. That said, Infinti and Nissan has been all over the road with styling and marketing….witness the “let’s name EVERY VEHICLE Qxxx” route they have recently taken.
I admire the 1st and 2nd gen of the LS400, but to me they are just the Camry of the luxury car market.
The failure of the gen1 Q45 was sad. At the time, I much preferred it over the LS400, because it was more driver-oriented, and less of a blatant pitch to Cadillac owners.
As much as I deeply respect the LS, and give it full credit, it was targeting the kind of buyers that were more interested in other qualities than I was. The lack of front grille on the Q45 just made it look that more menacing and different, especially in a dark color.
But then I didn’t represent the typical luxury car buyer at the time….
Given my feelings for the gen1 Q45, this second generation was a serious let-down, as it was blatantly obvious that Nissan was now going to chase the LS’ tail. Good luck with that…. But it wasn’t a bad looking car; just not distinctive.
The ultimate clipart car for “4-door sedan”. No strong family resemblance to anything and neither big nor small, though I always found these overly narrow looking — when you opened the door the edge of the beefy seat cushion was literally at the door sill, there was no carpet or even a finisher in between like on most cars. Obviously the company was strapped for cash but why even do the car at all? The change in shifter from the fantastic gated type on the first Q to the Camry one on this says it all.
A masterful article Brendan. Well done.
“Additionally, taking into account that these were the earlier days of Internet and that the average Q45 buyer was 58.5 years old, with one-third over 65 years of age, many likely had no knowledge of the Cima whatsoever.”
Just out of curiosity, where does someone get demographic information like this? Is there some sort of database, or did this come from an article/book/magazine that you read?
I found those age stats in a vintage Motor Trend review of the 1997 Q45. Regarding knowledge of the Cima and the Internet, I just used my better judgement.
It’s interesting that in many of their late-90s reviews, they included a substantial amount of impressions from owners of the subject car – both the new model and previous.
Lexus is always the Japanese Buick ( except LS ) rather than a typical full-line luxury brand. The vehicle line-ups, sales figures and buyers have more similarities to Buick than Cadillac or Lincoln, while any Lexus SUV is closer to GMC. I am curious to see how much longer they can pretend being fully-luxury before being really entry-level luxury.
Hell, are Cadillac and Lincoln really “full luxury” any more, beside the cachet their names still have from laurels of long decades past?
Depends on how one wants to define “luxury”, anything below the Rolls, Bentley, top tier S classes and 7 series is basically “near luxury”. That, or those cars are some sort of super, aetherial luxury cars.
And yet once upon a time, Cadillac and Lincoln used to be right up there in the top stratum with no apologies. Amazing, when you think about it. At least now Cadillac knows they lost their way and are trying to get back. Lincoln, maybe not.
I don’t recall any Lincoln not sharing platform with Ford after the ’50s, sometimes it works better as a luxury car and sometimes not. But it is on the basis there is a good Ford to start with.
Well 61-69 Continentals shared platforms only with the Tbird. Given their premium positioning and distinction, being unibody rather than BOF as all other Full sized Ford/Mercuries were it’s unfair to say Lincoln wasn’t a real Luxury player up until the 70s. Even Cadillacs weren’t that distinct underneath from other C and B bodies in their peak.
I was a huge fan of the original Q45, especially in its pure, initial form. The car was designed without a grille, and it looks right without one. Extremely distinctive, and I was disappointed when they stuck one on there as an afterthought (the same problem I have with the 1993 Crown Vic, though that one worked even less well).
These second-gen cars did seem like something of a letdown. However, judged on their own merits, I found them to be extremely attractive. The roofline is quite distinctive, and the well-defined character line at the shoulders creates some nice sculptural details. The fake wood is disappointing, but I wouldn’t mind a later Q45t one bit.
The less is said about the Q45 that followed this one, the better.
It’s no coincidence I decided not to mention anything about that bloated monstrosity that followed this car 🙂
Considering they shared the same engines and instrument panel, the 2002-2004 Infiniti M should’ve been badged as the Q45 here in North America. A much more attractive vehicle and it’s likely that sales figures for the two were similar. Plus, the 2005 M effectively replaced the Q45.
Somehow it never actually occured to me these Q45s succeeded the original Q45. That’s both representative of how disconnected these generations are, and how Infiniti’s naming scheme is completely forgettable.
I don’t really think the second gen is that bad a successor though, other than not having any design continuity. I never particularly liked the first gen for various reasons, it’s styling, proportions all seem a bit off. The original design of the second gens look better to my personal tastes, even if a bit nondescript. I absolutely hate what they did to the trunklid with that taillight delete panel in later years though, that was an awful execution to an awful styling fad.
I have a wealthy, older relative who is still driving his first-gen Q45. He keeps it in fantastic condition. I see him at family functions every few years, and the topic of his car usually comes up. He can afford anything he wants, but he really, really likes his car and hasn’t yet found anything different or newer that he has preferred to drive instead.
Never really paid much attention to the Infiniti, except to note the Q45 looked for the most part as a Japanese knock-off copy of Mercedes-Benz models, which likely was their benchmark. Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery but in the car business, it makes one an also-ran.
I’ve come to think that the big JDM luxury sedans, like the latter-day Nissan Gloria (of which the Cima was originally a spin-off) and Toyota Crown, were sort of like parallel-universe iterations of the Chevrolet Caprice and Ford LTD/Crown Vic. They were smaller, even by the ’90s, and more sophisticated in some respects, but still essentially mass market big luxury cars rather than the quasi-European variety. (In that, I think it’s revealing that Toyota and Nissan both also had luxury cars that were pitched as being more European, such as the Toyota Aristo (Lexus GS), while still retaining the traditional big cars.)
I don’t know how correct that interpretation is from a JDM perspective, but from an American viewpoint, looking at this generation Cima/Q45 as a sort of Japanese Caprice Classic really kind of brings it into focus — the way it’s sort of fancy and plush, but not ambitiously so.
Perhaps they’re more akin to the likes of the LeSabre, Marquis or Newport of the ’60s and ’70s?
I like the first gen Q45 best, without any hint of grille and it conveys an athletic image. I think Nissan was trying to target the sporting luxury sedan market, which as commented on earlier isn’t that big a market. The first gen reminds me a little of a BMW 7 series with a little Jaguar thrown in. Unfortunately the grille less front end looked too much like the grille less Crown Vic which were everywhere. Eventually even Ford had to throw a little chrome grille on the front. I think the Cadillac Seville of this era (especially the STS) got this look right and it’s sales dwarfed the Infiniti numbers. The Infiniti had the advantage of rear wheel drive and it also had the success of the Maxima, the four door sports car, to build on. From what I’ve read in contemporary road tests the Q45 was a pretty good handling road machine. They should have emphasized the performance instead of the “harmony”, picking up sales from disgruntled Jaguar buyers and those hoping for a lower priced 7 series competitor.
Nissan should have kept the name ‘Datsun’. They lost a lot of name brand recognition when they did that. If they _had_ to use ‘Nissan’, why not go with that instead of Infiniti? Datsun for the lower cost Sentras and Tiildas and pickups would have made sense.
I seem to have missed this the first time around. I had not understood how different Gen2 was from Gen1, particularly in the cost cutting department.
Like some others here there was something about the original Q that appealed to me. These never really did.
Infinity has absolutely no presence. Even while reading this, I couldn’t tell the difference between the Infinity and about a half dozen other similar looking cars. I have no idea how an owner can find their car in a parking lot. They aren’t by any stretch of my imagination the least bit interesting.
I guess one has to be a Nissan fan to want one.
Same here. The only Infiniti I find especially memorable was the original FX, simply because it was such an original design with nothing else like it on the road at the time. Then everyone else came up with their own “coupe SUVs” (all of which I dislike except for the FX).
That’s inaccurate. Porsche came out with the Cayenne in 01 and launched in Asia and Europe in 02 followed by North America. Nissan copied with the FX as it copied other Porsche models with Z. The FX looked and even sounded pretty nice but it was down right boring when it came to performance.
Acura and Lexus were successful in part because there was nowhere else to move up to from a Honda or Toyota. The Cressida had failed to make an impact. Additionally, Honda launched both the Integra and the legend at the same time, thus covering a low end and a high end. Nissan already had burnished the Maxima as a luxurious and sporty Nissan so I’ll wager a lot of customers thought the Maxima was just fine and there was no need to get fancier. Other than that, it’s hard to tell why Infiniti hasn’t done as well, other than that nissans do not seem to do as well in their segments generally as Honda or Toyota products.
I remember one of the car magazines questioning whether it’d be more accurate to call the second generation Q45 the Q41 based on its engine displacement. But haven’t Mercedes and BMW done the same thing for years, where the badging doesn’t line up with the engine displacement? And it’s even worse now with those two. This car looked too anonymous for a flagship model; in fact it resembles the smaller JDM Bluebird Le Grand that was on sale around the same time. Seems as though Infiniti abandoned the idea of a flagship sedan after repeated failures of the Q45.
“Those two” happen to be two of the best you know.
While he original Lexus certainly didn’t have ground-breaking styling, it did have the solid look of “old money” and maybe that’s what buyers in this lofty price bracket wanted back then (and maybe even still do). The Infiniti had a GM generic look to it and didn’t really convey anything.
I bought a 1990 Q45 somewhere around 1996 or 1997. I’m not a Nissan purist by any means, but I had a 300xz at the time and a wholesaler friend of mine came by one day with the Q45. I drove it and was impressed with the performance for a large Japanese car and bought it. As for the styling, I didn’t love it, but didn’t dislike it either, but rather liked the care because it was different. I sold it a few years later after needing a truck but glad I got to experience it.
I wonder where they have all gone. Even at half the sales of the Lexus, I would think I would see one every once in awhile, but the last one I saw was 2 years ago during the CC meetup as part of the Nissan collection in the basement of the Lane Motor Museum. Since then, I have seen one on the road.
My first car after arriving in the United States was a Q45. It was essentially a BMW and Nissan Maxima mash up but I loved it and though my dream car has always been a BMW the Q45 was the closest I could get without sacrificing medical school. Then Nissan took the brand in a downward spiral until Renault rescued them but by that time it was too late for me and others. Fast forward 1994 and I figured what the heck, now I was in a newly leased LS400 and never really looked back. And who would have thought that a brand like Tesla would come along someday? But Infiniti lost that edge it once had and I just couldn’t get back those feelings that I had lost in the early 90’s in college. I finally got my dream BMW a Tesla and a few other toys. After the LS I went with the LX450 and to this day I still get a new LX every 3 years for hauling around the children to swim, soccer and camp as well as long road trips. The LX’s size and luxury seems like the perfect combination along with it’s practicality. I looked at Infiniti but unfortunately I stilll don’t get wowed enough.
To each their own. I own 2 Infiniti’s. 01 Q45 and 97 Qx4. I love both of them probably a little to much, but who cares their mine and I’m happy. Infiniti might not have done the right decisions out of the gate, but their quality to me is above par. Not to mention their customer service is outstanding. Here’s an example. 2 years ago I took my 97 Qx4 in for a recall and a seat belt issue. Took it out with brand new seat belts up front, recall fixed and the parts manager gave me a factory front sun shade they had for over 15 years all for free. I didn’t buy my Qx4 new as a matter of fact I was the 3rd owner of it. At 250k and 21 years old it was far far from new but never has it failed to start or left me stranded. To me even though the Q45 wasn’t an Ls400 I guarantee the customer experience you got from buying a new Q would’ve been out of this world and far better than the Lexus experience. Of course I can’t answer that because I’m a poor American that buys 20 year old Infiniti luxury vehicles and not new Toyotas.