Yeah, I agree with this. I don't really even consider Acura or Infiniti to be a luxury brand. These brands really don't cut it for me. I think many people associate Benz, BMW, and Lexus with $$$ and luxury not just people in the hood. Everytime I tell someone I got a Lexus they're like . This might be because of my age too but....

I laugh at your exaggerations.

True.

Also true.

It's nothing new and Infiniti isn't the only one that does this.

Failing to see your point. Every company is having sales promotions around this time including Lexus.

I see his point. If it's selling like hotcakes there would be no need for ridiculously low-priced (and no doubt restriction-laden) sucker offers. On top of that, that kind of advertising does nothing to help the image of Infiniti as a luxury marque. BMW learned with the 318ti--you can't alienate your core customer base and sacrifice what sets you apart in the market just for a few low-margin sales. (BTW, my local Acura dealer has a sign out front advertising new RSX's for $399 a month, which galls me every time I see it for just the same reason.)

I never thought much of the new RL till I saw one in person. In black or dark grey, the car is beautiful in an understated sort of way.

Here in the San Diego area there are an increasing number of new GSs. I have also noticed a slow , but growing frequency in spotting the new Infinit Ms. The RLs on the other hand are still a pretty rare sight.

though I actually find the RL to be a good looking a car Black or any dark color will make any car with (with a strong exception to the Pontiac Azztek).

By the way this is my 100th post(finally). All rise!!!! Stand up and applaud.

$399 per month for the M. Big deal. I've seen lease deals for the 2006 GS for $449 per month.

And the main reason why there are good lease deals for the M is because the residuals are very high for this car, higher than the GS.

36 month residual according to Automotive Leasing Guide:

M35: 58%
GS300: 52%

Infiniti (like Mercedes) has never separated sales of the FX35/45 and the M35/45, and I doubt they ever will. But if people are really interested, manufacturer to dealer M35/45 allocations are in the range of 75/25 to 80/20. And Infiniti dealers are more willing to discount on the M35 rather than the M45 because they say that the V8 has been selling better than expected.

The M has been selling very, very well (2750 units last month, 3370 for the GS). This is for a vehicle that has little "brand" value and the fewest dealerships.

"I laugh when the Infiniti fanboys come in and say how well the M is selling when NO ONE is buying it."

Please do some research before you make baseless comments like this. Then maybe someone will take you seriously.

Fact is, the M is selling well by any standard. And it's gotten excellent reviews from car mags and mainstream publications (i.e. Consumer Reports #1 rated luxury sedan) alike.

The scarcity of sightings by some ClubLexus members notwithstanding, I doubt that any Infiniti executives are "depressed" by how the car is doing.

This is reality. The only brands that come up in casual conversation that are not super brands, are BMW, Benz, lexus. The only time I hear a 2nd or 3rd tier luxruy brand question or comment, the person either owns the brand or likes it.

And BMW and Benz still own it. NO ONE can touch Benz. The 745 did WONDERS for BMW with the hip-hop/trendy crowd. But Benz, the S-class, CLS, and for some reason AMG seems to be more recognized than M.

When I talk to people and they talk about their "dream" car, as in the car they would love to own someday, its a BMW, Benz or Lexus.

all these cars look good ut let me add my 2 cents everyone is right when they say that when people talk about luxury its benz,mbmw and lexus but the g35 is the best looking car that ive seen from infinity so far. when i lived in baltimore in the late 90s it was kind of strange b/c all the young guys were driving q45s and i couldnt understand why i didnt see hardly ANY bmws the ls400 and the cs3/4 was pretty strong too. i of course was driving a 91ls at the time and every one thought i had all this money. even b4 i put the rims on the q45 couldnt stand up to me, if i saw a benz it was rare.im originally from ny so im used to seeing lots of benzes and bmws. now i fast forward to the present in ny and i see a few g35s but its like everyone has a gs whatever model i see crazy ls400. i even see alot of is300s. the benzes & bmws are still around but infinity is way behind. i dont have any #s like you guys but i can see whats all over the street. my 2 cents

I asked Brad Nelson who he thought Lexus's competition was. His response:

BMW and Mercedes.
Second tier: Audi, Cadillac
Don't really consider Acura a competitor, more like a car in between luxury and Toyota/Honda.

I mentioned he forgot Infiniti and Jaguar. He said he definitely considers Infiniti up there, I'm assuming on second tier, and he said he doesn't really consider Jag a competitor.

In the DC/Bawlmer area, I've seen a lot of RLs, slightly fewer GSs, and slightly fewer Ms, but I've seen a lot of each.

Maybe someone will take me seriously? ROFL Give me a break kid. Maybe you should do a little research into who you're talking to when talking of 'taking someone seriously'. I've only seen ONE M before and some elderly woman drove it. I see them packed up on the Infiniti lot and no one is buying it. I see it about as often as I see last-gen Q45s... around once every 3 or 4 months probably.

I see the sales figures but I don't see the cars and many others on this forum from all over the country have stated the same thing. Can you explain that?

Oh and uh... thanks for proving my point about the Infiniti fanboys

Speaking for the DC/Balto area as I did in my post above, saying there are relatively fewer Ms doesn't mean there aren't a lot. I still see Ms every time I'm out on the highway, just more of the others.

Posting personal observations of how many of each of the cars in question they see in their own area is quite meaningless The sales #'s tell the true story. I personally have seen about equal #'s of GS & M, but the RL only twice. That doesn't mean a thing. Both the GS & M are doing better than projected & even the RL isn't doing that badly given that they don't have a V8 version & they have only one loaded model to choose from.

That will be the day when someone says. "My dream car is an Infiniti".

Edit: Hmmm i take that back, that could be reality to those who love Nissans.

Sigh.

We have two "facts" here:

1) Sales numbers published by the manufacturer that say that the M is selling very well.
2) A few ClubLexus members who haven't seen the M that much on the road.

Now, which one has a greater statistical reliability in drawing a conclusion about how well the M is selling?

BTW, I won't stoop to your level and start calling posters "fanboys" and "kids" in a pejorative way.

Yeah, few people would designate an Infiniti as their "dream" car. But that may change in a couple years now that they trademarked the GT-R as an Infiniti.

Of course, it could flop, but at least up until now, no Japanese car could rival the GT-R in street and track cred in terms of performance.