Infiniti

Last year, I bought a used Infiniti G35 sedan – a 2008 model. It was a wonderful deal having run only 58,000 kms, maintained well, and at a very reasonable price. Apart from the cost advantage over a brand new one, I had a specific intention behind purchasing this model. Its design. Personally, I feel the G sedan sports the best design that ever came out of the Infiniti stable since inception; even better than the post-2009 version which had a number of cosmetic changes. Not sure if its just me, but my eyes can pick up minor superficial design changes even if I may not, at the time know where exactly the changes lie. Actually, the personality of the vehicle is altered. The new design felt incomplete and unstable to me.

The 2007/2008/2009 G sedan has been my dream car ever since it was launched. I accidently spotted it at the local Nissan showroom when a colleague of mine was contemplating on purchasing the Pathfinder and wanted to have a feel of it. This was purely a case of love at first sight; I had picked up a brochure, and would drool over the car every morning at work. The design is unique with inimitable curves and a refined fluid styling. It looked both classy and sporty, qualities ably accentuated by what lay under its hood – a solid 3.5L V6 engine throwing out 306 horsepower and 268 pound-feet of torque. Design-wise, the interiors weren’t too attractive for my liking, especially the analogue clock and its background outlay.

However in a car crazy Dubai, the G didn’t have the common presence one would have expected from such an amazing machine. I think this was mostly due to the virtually non-existent advertisement/branding support provided to it at the right time. Infiniti should’ve added some serious fizz into their marketing campaigns and thrust it in front of the public eye. The plus point – exclusivity and I’m loving it J. Some of the advertisements I checked out in youtube weren’t executed well enough to blow away the imagination of the wider population. In fact, they should’ve introduced the G in the way Infiniti today presents the Q50 sedan. Anyway interestingly the point is, there are many G sedans on the road today than there were a few years back. I think drivers have welcomed the downgraded G25 version.

As with every beautiful/revolutionary, ground breaking auto design we have seen in the recent past, the sequel turns out to be purely cosmetic and a let-down. Take for instance, the awesome 2006 model Honda Civic. The 1.8L sedan was way ahead of any design in its segment during the time. Then, when the next model came with minor revisions, the flow in its design had grown corners giving it a boxy feel. While it may be called “futurstic”, “sporty”, or whatever, the 2008 design can never equal the original 2006 model in looks. Why, the 2006 model looks absolutely lovely even today! The mess they created in 2010 isn’t worth a mention anywhere in the history of automobile design, and I really don’t want to talk about it here. Such a disappointment. Similar story with the rear light changes in the Kia Optima this year. In all these cases, it begins to look like designer didn’t have a clue on how to improve the design rather than just change it for the sake of a newer version. Talking about Honda, where it has scored among my ratings is in its exquisite Accord range. The lines of the new Accord are stunning to say the least, and exude magnificent executive elegance. Some change in direction for satisfaction.

It would certainly be interesting to see what Peter Schreyer does with the beautifully designed Kia and Hyundai line ups. I’m observing.

Coming back to Infiniti, the new kid on the block is the Q50 sedan. Firstly, about the change in naming convention. For those who aren’t in the know, Infiniti has gone on a naming change across all its models, which will henceforth be a “Q” followed by 2 numbers. Note that the numbers do not denote the engine displacement. The crossovers and SUVs will be prefixed with “QX”. This renaming is being implemented as a tribute to the first ever Infiniti model – the Q45. Johan de Nysschen, Infiniti’s new CEO had to make his presence felt, and what better way that this, he apparently thinks. To me, its hideous! I mean, how will one identify a car with just the numerals? The Q50 is a platform change over the G. The sedan and coupe models will be called Q50 and Q60 respectively. The latter has no significant design changes over the G coupe, while the former is a complete platform change. The G sedan design has been retired for good. The QX60 is the former EX and the QX70, the former FX. The below diagrammatic representation would provide a clear picture. May be it’ll help.

So, while we could hitherto conveniently associate “FX” with a SUV and “EX” with a crossover in our minds, Infiniti decided to make that difficult. 60 is the crossover – but then it’s the QX and not Q !

 Back to design. Obviously I tend to irrepressibly digress. Now, the Q50 looks good, no doubt. But that’s about it. It has nothing unique – nothing to create the kind of impact the G did. Recently when I saw the car (it recently launched in Dubai), which appeared too small, compared to the monstrous presence promoted in its videos. The profile resembles the Mazda 6 sedan, and the lines above the rear wheels have been borrowed from the Nissan Sentra. What happened? Did the designers run out of ideas? You gotta do better, Infiniti ! Another example is the M luxury sedan. The car is absolutely awesome in terms of comfort and performance. Again, the same issue. Where are the ads? The M has an awesome muscular design too. But the curvy dotted lines on its tail lights are in bad taste – no creativity, or someone lost interest towards the end.

Infiniti has to do a better job of integrating their design with their marketing campaigns – and they need real winners in both departments.

On the design front, they have to come out with a new attractive platform. The Q and JX have unique looks but haven’t really captured the hearts of auto enthusiasts as much as the G; or the FX and EX. I’m sure people are awaiting the successors of these latter models as well.

Better choice of car colors in its ads, showcasing the power under the hood, etc are some of the ways it can connect to the segment of buyers it targets. In all, the advertisements have to be well executed. The design philosophy has to be clear.

I believe these two pillars will position Infiniti on a revolutionary course in auto history.